Magher Singh and Basant Kaur Chima Memorial Bursary

Magher Singh Chima was born in 1912 in Chima Village in Punjab, India. He attended the local village and district schools, and worked on the family farm for a few years before he married Basant Kaur. His wife was also born in 1912 in Kussa Village, Punjab.

Magher Singh eventually joined the colonial police force in Singapore, while Basant Kaur stayed in Chima Village with their young son. In 1935, Magher Singh was recruited into the Prisons Department in Hong King. There, he served as Hospital Warder after passing the required examinations in English and Cantonese.

When the Japanese attacked Hong Kong on December 8, 1941, Magher Singh was drafted into the Hong Kong Defense Force. This unit fought alongside British, Canadian and Indian troops until the colony fell on Christmas Day, 1941. Magher Singh survived four years of internment and privation.

After the Japanese surrender on August 30, 1945, Magher Singh went back to his job as a Hospital Warder in the Prisons Department. In early 1946, he returned to India on leave to be reunited with his family. Then, in Spring of 1947, he sailed from Calcutta to Hong Kong with his family (which now included his infant daughter), shortly before the communal bloodshed, that marked the partition of India on its independence from Britain, reached horrendous proportions.

Magher Singh and Basant Kaur had two more children in Hong Kong, a second son and another daughter. Over a 32-year career, Magher Singh carried out his duties with diligence and dedication. He was promoted several times. The Governor of Hong Kong recognized his outstanding contributions, awarding him the Colonial Prison Service Medal with Clasp. He retired in 1967 in the rank of Principal Officer.

Basant Kaur was a devoted mother to her four children, and a loyal friend to many in the close-knit community of Punjabi Sikhs in Hong Kong. Both she and her husband prized generosity, diligence, and charity.

They spent their retirement years in Hong Kong, Canada, and England, as well as in Chandigarh and Chima Village. Basant Kaur passed away in 2003, Magher Singh died in 2009.

Magher Singh and Basant Kaur believed that education was the cornerstone for self-improvement.

They encouraged and supported their children to further their studies in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. They are survived by their four children, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren in the United States, Canada, England, Panama, and Hong Kong.