Jaswant Singh Gill Biograpgy, Capsule Gill
Age | 80 Years |
Death Cause | Cardiac Arrest |
Wife | Nirdosh Kaur |
| Bio/Wiki | |
| Other Name | Sardar Jaswant Singh Gill |
| Profession | Engineer-in-Chief |
| Known As | The Capsule Gill |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 178 cm |
| in meters- 1.78 m | |
| in feet & inches- 5’ 10” | |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Career | |
| Awards, Honours & Achievements | • 1991: Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 22 November 1939 (Wednesday) |
| Birthplace | Sathiala, Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| Date of Death | 26-Nov-19 |
| Place of Death | His home in Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| Age (at the time of death) | 80 Years |
| Death Cause | Cardiac Arrest |
| Zodiac sign | Sagittarius |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Sathiala, Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| School(s) | • From class 1 to 4, he studied at an Urdu School |
| • Khalsa College Public School in Khalsa College School, Amritsar, Punjab, India | |
| College/University | • Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| • Panjab University, Chandigarh | |
| • Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand | |
| Educational Qualification(s) | • BSc Non-Medical from Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India (1959) |
| • Graduation in Mining Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand (1961-1965) | |
| • LLB from Khalsa College (2018; died in 2019, while he was in the second year of his degree) [5] [6] | |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Address | 883/1, Circular-Road, Amritsar, Punjab, India |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status (at the time of death) | Married |
| Marriage Date | 19-Oct-69 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Nirdosh Kaur |
| Children | Son- He had two sons, and one of his sons Dr Sarpreet Singh Gill is a Doctor, PGC Cardiology at Johns Hopkins USA. |
| Daughter- He had two daughters, and one of his daughters’ name is Poonam Gill. | |
| Parents | Father- Daswandha Singh Gill (senior clerk at the postal department, Amritsar) |
| Mother- Sardarni Preetam Kaur Gill | |
| Siblings | Brother(s)- 2 |
| • Kulwant Singh Gill (ret. bank manager) | |
| • Dr Harwant Singh Gill (D. Ortho, retired as SMO from the PCMS College) | |
| Sister(s)- 2 | |
| • Narinder Kaur (retired head mistress) | |
| • Dr Raminder Kaur (pathologist and former HOD at Rajindra Medical College, Patiala and GMC, Amritsar) | |
| Note: He was fourth among five children of his parents. | |
Who was Jaswant Singh Gill?
Born in Amritsar in 1940, Jaswant Singh Gill studied at Khalsa School and later took admission in BSc at Khalsa College (Amritsar). He studied BSc at the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. Gill eventually joined Coal India Limited in 1973 from where he retired in 1998 as Engineer-in-chief.
Gill’s rescue mission at Mahabir Colliery, Raniganj, West Bengal in 1989 remains one of the high points of his career. He saved the lives of 65 miners who were trapped in a flooded coal mine. He also got the moniker of Capsule Gill after the incident.
What actually happened at Mahabir Colliery in November 1989?
At that time, 232 miners were working in night shift on November 13, 1989. They were tasked to mine coal through blasts inside the 320-foot-deep mine.
At 4 a.m., there was a sudden entry of water, and the mine got flooded. The 161 miners who were near the lifts in the mine were saved immediately, but 71 miners were far-off and couldn’t reach the lift due to the heavy water.
Luckily, there was a telephone linking between the borehole and the surface, from which message was sent that 65 miners had taken shelter at a rise part of the mine, but six of them had gone lost.
Jaswant Singh Gill’s role in the rescue operation
The steel capsule was constructed in 72 hours and after a few trial runs up and down the borehole, rescue of men began on November 16 at 2.30 am. Gill insisted on going into the capsule himself to bring out the trapped men.
To celebrate Gill’s act of bravery, Coal India Ltd announced November 16 as ‘Rescue Day’.
Gill was also honoured with the highest civilian bravery award, ‘Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak’ by President Ramaswamy Venkataraman in 1991.
Limca Book of Records has certified this operation as a national record in the history of coal mining.
