KARTAR SINGH, a martyr of faith
Knowing Christ
Kartar Singh,who was a contemporary of Sadhu Sundar
Singh, was a Sikh and the son of rich Zamindar (Land owner)in the land of Punjab, India. All
the hopes of the family were centered in this boy, for there were no other sons to carry on the name. Like Sadhu Sundar Singh he was brought up in the midst of luxury, and preparations for his future were made by
giving him the best education possible. Nothing was forgotten that could make his training
complete for the fulfillment of the ambitions of his father for the boy. However, in
spite of an utter neglect of religion in this education, there grew up in his mind a desire after spiritual things, which
his secular training could not satisfy. He heard of Christianity, and little by little,
got to know and understand its claims, until a deep conviction of its truth laid hold of him. The more he studied it the more
he felt it supplied the cravings of his own soul, until at last he saw but one path - and that the strait and narrow one before
him.
Tempted but not yielded
Kartar now took the irrevocable step of declaring
himself a Christian, a fact that filled the hearts of his people with dismay. Many
attempts of various kinds were made to win him from persisting in this determination, but finding him not to be tempted by
ordinary means, his father sent to him the beautiful girl who was his chosen wife. This
poor girl came before him in all her tender promise of life, and with tears besought him to desist from taking a step that
would mean such terrible loss to her. Looking upon her misery his heart was touched,
yet even in this last temptation God gave him strength, and with much tenderness he put the sweet Hindu child from him, declaring
that the one heart he had to give already belonged to Christ his Savior. The broken-hearted
girl returned to the house of her future father-in-law to tell how useless had been her protests, since Kartar had said all
his love had been given to Another.
Persecuted but not yielded
Not long afterwards, Kartar was driven forth homeless
from the house of his father. To enable him to buy food and sufficient clothes, he
then took up the work of a laborer, and undiscouraged by his hard lot, this tenderly reared boy bent his back to tasks which
the servants of his father would have despised. Very soon, however, Kartar began
his mission to the people of his own country, and went preaching among the towns and villages of Patiala, where he trod the
thorny and difficult path that was to prepare him for the harder future awaiting him. After
preaching in many places in the Punjab, Kartar turned his steps towards the mountains that lay between him and the darkest
Tibet, and after some weeks of weary journeying over rough country, he found himself in the land of his choice.
Preached amidst persecution
The Buddhism of Tibet has no place for Christ,
whose very name arouses the deepest feelings of hatred and opposition. No record remains
that Kartar met with much personal kindness or that his message was accepted, but no thought of going back seemed to have
occurred to his mind. These people were without Christ and had need of Him, and as
Christ had given His life, so Kartar was prepared to sacrifice his life also, that at least his witness should be borne and
his love testified to before his persecutors. Although the sight of his youth and the
fervor of his message touched hearts, there was little courage to take his part, and it was only after his death, the fruit
of his labors and testimony became known.
Kartar saw, as our Savior did before him, that the thorny path could only
end in one way. In spite of numerous efforts to drive him out of the country, he continued
his preaching in many places for some time, but eventually he was hauled before the Lama of Tsingham and charged with unlawfully
entering the country with intent to teach a foreign religion. The end he had looked
forward to had come, and with undaunted courage, he faced the inevitable, trusting to God to give him the necessary grace
to witness to his faith to the end. On the way to the judgment seat, he delivered his
last message, urging on the crowd the necessity of seeking salvation through Jesus Christ, and one at least of all who heard
his words remembered them and through them found the Savior.
Martyrdom
Arrived at the place of execution Kartar was stripped of all his clothes
and was sewn up in a wet yak skin, which was then put out in the sun. A cruel mocking
crowd stood about to witness his tortures, and as the skin, shrunk and tightened round him, they laughed to hear the bones
cracking in the slow process of death. By his side on the ground lay the New Testament
that had been his one and only comfort through the hard days that had followed his confession of his Master. Unheeded it lay until on the third day, when Kartar knew the end of was drawing on, he asked that his right hand
might be set free for a moment. This was done, probably more from curiosity than mercy. Collecting all his strength, Kartar wrote his last message on the flyleaf of his Testament. It was written in Urdu, which was translated into English as follows:
From God I life besought, not once but a hundred
thousand times,
That to what Friend again is oft I might return
it.
That love for Him, Khasrawa, shall not be less
than hers - the faithful Hindu wife,
Who on the burning pyre draws to her heart the
loved one,
And lays her life beside him.
The life he gave to me was what I gave to Him:
True is that though I did it all, yet all I
could not do.
No cry of anguish escaped the brave lips, but as
evening came on, Kartar gave thanks aloud to God for comfort in death, and quietly passed away with the words, "Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit".