Village Baur is located between Sirhind and Sanghol one kilometer away from Kheri Naudh Singh, the fort of the Singh Sardars. After killing Vazeer Khan,the Nawab of Sirhand, Baba Banda Singh's army destroyed Sirhind brick by brick. The pieces if bricks can be seen scattered in all the above areas from Sirhind to Sanghol including Baur. Though, the village Baur is a very small and relatively unknown village, yet it was seen in all media reports and became world famous when Malikiat Singh, the 53-year-old man of this village, played the Shabad of Gurbani and unfurled Nishan Sahib; the Sikh flag on the top of Mt. Everest on 19 May 2024 and won acclaim globally.
Malkiat Singh unfurling Nishan Sahib on top of Mount Everest
Climbing the 8,849 m (29,035 ft) always snow-capped Himalayan mountains is very challenging, but this brave warrior scaled the Mount Everest after facing challenges far beyond those faced by general mountaineers. This brave mountaineer had to fight with severe illness right from the base camp where he was on glucose drip for ten consecutive days. In this condition, he was given a medical opinion against climbing the Himalayas, but his passion, his determination, and perseverance continued to encourage him to climb. Not only at the Base Camp but while he was climbing after camp 4, a fierce snowstorm threw him off the route and he started dangling on the tope. He may have possibly fallen into the deep gorge at any time, but fate and grit favored him, and he survived the ordeal due to his hard training and skill.
Malkiat Singh passed his High School from Kheri Naudh Singh High School and joined Punjab Agricultural University for B.Sc (Hons) in Agriculture in 1988 where he obtained higher education up to B.Sc Agriculture and MBA. Before graduating in 1993, he also won the Best Athlete title three times.
His Himalayan Vijay story actually began in 1985 when Edmund Hillary, the first person to summit Mount Everest, visited his educational institution as the chief guest. Hillary was the New Zealand Ambassador to India at that time. According to him, "I received two awards from him that day. When I was told who he was, it piqued my interest. When I went to New Zealand, I met him again. Those moments were the initiators of my trekking and mountain climbing,”
In 1998, after a brief stint with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Malakiat Singh left for greener pastures in New Zealand the country whose nationality he holds now. The idea of climbing the Himalayas came to him in 2022. According to him "I was doing lower peaks like Mt Taranaki (2,518m), but in 2022, I felt I must climb Mt. Everest."
His son, the first Amritdhari Sikh to receive a commission in the New Zealand Army, became his coach. "He designed an exercise program for me, and I worked hard accordingly," he said.
“I would run 10 km in the morning, do yoga in the evening and climb designated stairs the next morning. I repeated these exercises till November 2023,” he added.
Malakiat Singh wanted to climb Mount Everest in November 2023 but was advised by his company to climb the 6,000-meter peak first to acclimatize his body. He climbed Mount Lobuche (6,119 m) in 2023.
"I came back to New Zealand after that and started my preparations for Everest," said Malakiat Singh.
“When I was at Camp 3 for Camp 4 en route to Mt. Everest, I was physically exhausted and was not in a state to continue due to my sickness. But after Glucose drips for 10 days I regained strength took a nap and left for the final leg at 7.30 am on 19th May. I cannot exactly say how I got through. It was my faith in God and Gurbani, my determination to reach Mt Everest and the grit that gave me the courage to go ahead and climb and finally I reached Mt. Everest. I thanked God, recited Shabad and Sikh prayer and hoisted Nishan Sahib on the summit of Everest on May 19, 2024,” he added. He felt heavenly and thanked God for allowing him to reach the top.
He thus raised the pride of Sikhs, Punjabis, Indians, New Zealanders and the whole world and also showed that the passion, determination and hard work can overcome all difficulties and can fulfil the highest dreams.
For this great achievement, he was awarded with many honors globally, but the biggest honor he felt was the June 14, 2024, honor given by the villagers of Baur along with the residents of the area, as he considers it to be the pride of his love for his soil.
