Along with rare documents of Indian struggle for freedom, including Komagata Maru incident of Canada, the Singapore mutiny and the San Francisco case, a copy of the epic Heer, written by Sufi poet Waris Shah, has been put on display at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall (DBYH) from today.

The copy that belonged to martyr Shaheed Udham Singh and bears his signature was in possession of a UK-based NRI Sohan Singh Cheema.

“My father Babu Karam Singh Cheema had met Shaheed Udham Singh in 1937 in the UK and he treated my father as a friend,” said Sohan.

Before leaving he gave the copy of ‘Heer’, which he always used to read, to my father and said he will take it back if he returned. But my father never met him again and the copy remained with my father, he said.

“It was in 1973, a decade after my father’s death, when I found it among old documents at my home in native village Cheema Khurd, Jalandhar.

In late 1980s, I met Ghadari Baba Bhagat Singh who had made great contributions to establish the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in Jalandhar. I gave the book to him, said Sohan.

Gurmeet Singh, convener of DBYH cultural committee, said the book has been with them since long and now it will be on display for general public.

He said DBYH committee has been trying to bring all the documents of freedom struggle and belongings of freedom fighters from all over the world.