Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa ‑ a Sikh Hazoori Ragi of Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, India – succumbed to Covid-19 virus on 2 April 2020.
Bhai Nirmal Singh was born on 12 April 1952, at village Jandwala Bhimeshah in Ferozepur, Punjab. In 1976, he graduated with a diploma in Gurmat Sangeet from Shaheed Missionary College in Amritsar. From 1977 to 1978, he served as a music teacher at Gurmat College in Rishikesh and later taught at Shaheed Sikh Missionary College in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. From 1979, he started serving as a Hazoori Ragi at Darbar Sahib. He had performed Kirtan at all five Takhts, various historical Gurdwaras across South Asia and throughout 71 countries. Bhai Sahib was a highly regarded ragi with knowledge of all 31 Raags of Guru Granth Sahib.
For services in the field of arts, Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa was awarded the Padma Shri, fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India in 2009. He was the first Hazoori Ragi to receive this award.
On 2 April 2020, Nirmal Singh Khalsa died due to cardiac arrest after testing positive for coronavirus disease 2019, at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar. His body was cremated at village Fatehgarh Shukarchak in Amritsar.