Jagjit Singh grew up in Tanda in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, about 180 km from Chandigarh into a Sikh Rajput family.

Chohan was first elected to the Punjab Assembly from the Tanda as a candidate of the Republican Party of India in 1967.

Two years after losing the Punjab Assembly elections in 1969, Chohan moved to the United Kingdom to start his campaign for creation of Khalistan.

[3] Chohan was invited by Pakistani army dictator Yahya Khan and was proclaimed as a Sikh leader.

[4] On 13 October 1971, he paid for an ad in the New York Times claiming an Independent Sikh state.

A similar announcement was made by Balbir Singh Sandhu, in Amritsar, who released stamps and currency of Khalistan.

In June 1983, Bhindranwale was asked: "If Jagjit Singh Chohan attacks India with assistance from England, America, and Canada, whom will you help?"

On 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for Operation Blue Star.

Chohan visited Punjab in 1989 and hoisted the flag of Khalistan at a gurdwara in Anandpur Sahib.

He died on 4 April 2007, aged 78 due to heart attack at his native village Tanda in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab.