When we come across the words ‘Flying Sikh’ the first name that conjures up in one’s mind is the great runner Milkha Singh. A movie has been made and countless stories recalled about the Flying Sikh. But actually there are 3 more of them – Karamvir Singh - the Malaysian car rally driver, Satwant Singh - Zambian Sikh who was 14 times winner at Zambia International Rally and there is one more. And he is the most popular Flying Sikh in the world.
Born in 1932, Joginder Singh Bhachu grew up amidst the tea plantations in Kericho, Kenya. His father who had come to Kenya in the 1920’s for work came from a small village called Kandola (27 kms. from Jalandhar city, India) was a big inspiration for him and his brothers because of his hard-work, sincerity and determination.
Joginder did his initial schooling at the Indian High School in Kericho and later finished from a boarding school in the capital city of Nairobi. He always had an interest in cars and by the time he was 13, he had learnt how to drive his father’s Chevrolet.
One thing that always attracted him was his father’s driving. His father drove fast, very fast. Sitting besides his father he would see how his father raced past traffic to reach any destination. That feeling of speed got in to him. Soon after he joined his father’s auto repairing workshop learning and mastering the techniques as a mechanic. His attraction towards car racing prompted him to join the Kenya AA (then known as the Royal East African Automobile Association) as a guide.
By the time he was 26, his interest to modify and drive cars gets him more involved. He begins by participating as a co-driver in his first race on a Morris Minor along with a friend called Raman Patel in 1958. Then with support from the Cooper Motor Corporation, distributors for Volkswagen (a firm that still exists today) Joginder and Jaswant his younger brother participate in rallies on a Beetle.
During his entire racing career, Joginder Singh had association with different car makes – FIAT 2300 in 1963, a Mercury Comet in 1964, Datsun 2000, Datsun 1600SS, Mitsubishi Gallant and even a Mitsubishi Lancer. Later he also raced in a Mercedes-Benz 280SE and the 450SLC. But one car and brand that brought him fame and glory, was another.
To commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, a rally called the East African Coronation Safari was held in 1953. Starting from the capital city of Nairobi this race was one of the toughest those days. Traversing through rural towns and jungles where lions and other wild animals roamed in abundance, this rally had high amount of attrition (abandoning) rates as drivers and their machines could not take the tough terrains that covered 5000 kms. Average wise only 10% of the participants would complete the race. This rally became a permanent feature in the East African circuit and was formally called East African Rally.
Volvo had sent four cars from Sweden in 1964, but none of the four could even complete the race. So they decide to take three cars back and leave one with their importers who convinced Joginder to race with it. Joginder Singh takes the offer and modifies the car, winning several small races. In anticipation that either Ford or Datsun might lend a car for the next year race Joginder doesn’t approach any other manufacturer. But he is mistaken as no one approaches him with sponsorship. And so for Kenyan Shillings 1300 (then US$ 200) he buys the same second-hand Volvo that had already clocked 42,000 kms. So he begins to tinker with the car for the next 3 months preparing her for the race.
1965, the year the world and Volvo will never forget. Driving this Volvo PV544 car, Joginder and his brother maintain the top spot throughout the race.
Conditions were dry when they left Kenya for Uganda with both Citroen and a Mercedes-Benz trailing in the first part of the race. The closest was a lady driver call Patricia Moss who was driving a Saab and was behind the brothers by only sixty seconds. Soon rains began and as the route went further towards the south, it became worst with the downpour and the roads becoming slushy and Patricia Ross crashes in to a truck. The brothers win the race handsomely with their car #1,with the next winner more than 1.5 hours behind.
That day the entire country rejoiced. Next day one newspaper had this headlines - Second-hand car wins the Rally. By now he is famous as the only non-European to win an international rally and the first Kenyan too. People start addressing him in Swahili as ‘Simba wa Kenya’ (Lion of Kenya) while the local Sikh fraternity and media starts called him the ‘Flying Sikh’.
Few years later he also wins one more title called the ‘Unsinkable Seven’ (Joginder was one of the only seven drivers who would complete all the rallies in years 1963 and 1968).
All the titles suited him as he was also a winner of the East African Rally in 1974 and 1976. In his career of racing he completed to the finish line all his races except one in 1972, when his car broke down miserably. His tally of 19 finishes out of the 22 he participated in, still remains unbroken even after almost 50 years. And his win in the 1965 race with the biggest lead time in any rally still stands out.
So what was so unique about Joginder Singh Bhachu?
One classic example will reveal this uniqueness. An incident took place in the East African Rally of 1971 while he was driving a Ford Escort. One of the nylon bush in the gearbox gave away leaving him only with the reverse gear functional. He had to fix it if he had to continue the race and so decides to go back to his service crew that was few kilometres behind. For nearly five kilometres he drove on reverse gear by inserting a screwdriver. He saw over 80 participants who were sped past him and surely every one wondered what was this crazy man doing driving back.
Even Ford Team’s Chief Manager who by this time had taken off on a plane to oversee his team’s performance from the sky, saw Joginder pointing towards him, the broken gear lever. So he makes a radio call to the service crew ahead to take care of the their other team member Hanu Mikkola (Finland) who was now their only hope as a potential winner. But what happens next is an interesting twist.
Upon reaching the spot, Joginder finds that most of the crew members had left and he had only two hands to help him. He gets down to his knees and starts working along with them. With no extra lever available he does one by bending a steel rod and fixing the rod. He starts again. With full speed he keeps on overtaking the tail-enders one by one. By the end of the race, Joginder’s car that had started off from the 30th position moved ahead of 100 cars to cross the line third. Since he had lost precious minutes during his breakdown it cost him dearly and so finished 16th (technically) in that rally.
The radio broadcast by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was being followed by every Kenyan in the country and after the race, the commentator who was covering the event made one statement that said it all “I want to touch that car”.
There are many other interesting anecdotes about Joginder. One hilarious was when he had participated in the Swedish Rally in 1966. Sweden then, did not have many Sikhs living there. Upon finishing his race, a woman rushed towards him asking him to go to the hospital as he had injured his head. Joginder who had finished the race early had to explain the significance of his turban and why he is wearing it.
Much later in the early eighties, Joginder Singh Bhachu moved from Kenya to live in the UK where he died in 2013 at the age 81.
A scale model of his winning car Volvo PV544 is an object of desire for every car racing enthusiast in the world and is an extremely rare collectible. The same is available in India only @ Scale Model Cart
Now, you know why Milkha Singh is not the only famous Flying Sikh. There is one more who is of a much larger stature.
by Genie