First Principal Chhabil Das awrd given to two Punjabi scholars

The first Principal Chhabil Das Memorial Award ceremony was held at Punjabi University. The event, organized by the Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Chair and the Department of Youth Welfare established at the university, was presided over by Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jagdeep Singh. The funds for this award were provided by Saba Dewan, the granddaughter of Principal Chhabil Das (who was a teacher of Shaheed Bhagat Singh), along with Prof. Chaman Lal. #punjabiuniversity

Principal Chhabil Das on Bhagat Singh ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ, ਪਸਟਆਲਾ ਪ੍ਰ ਿੰਸੀ੍ਲ ਛਬੀਲਦਾਰ ਯਾਦਗਾਰੀ ਐਵਾਰਡ ਪਰਮਾਸਿਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਸਕ ਖੋਜਾਰਥੀ / ਸਵਸਦਆਰਥੀ . ........................................................ ਪ ੁੱਤਰ ਿਰੀਮਤੀ.................................... (ਮਾਤਾ) ਅਤੇ ਿ. / ਿਰੀ.................................................(ਸਪਤਾ) ਕਲਾਿ ਰੋਲ ਨੰ ਬਰ / ਪੀਐੱਚ.ਡੀ. ਐਨਰੋਲਮੈਂਟ ਨੰ ਬਰ ...................................................... ਅਧੀਨ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ ਦੇ .............................................................................................................................................................. ਸਵਭਾਗ / ਰੀਜਨਲ ਿੈੈੰਟਰ / ਕਾਂਿਟੀਚ ਐਂਟ ਕਾਲਜ / ਕਾਲਜ ਨੇਬਰਹ ੁੱਡ ਕੈੈੰਪਿ ਦਾ ਖੋਜਾਰਥੀ / ਸਵਸਦਆਰਥੀ ਹੈ। ਇਿ ਖੋਜਾਰਥੀ / ਸਵਸਦਆਰਥੀ ਦ ਆਰਾ ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... ਸਵਸ਼ੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਸਲਖੇ ਖੋਜ-ਪੁੱਤਰ / ਖੋਜ-ਸਨਬੰਧ / ਖੋਜ-ਪਰਬੰਧ ਸਵੁੱਚ ਿਾਸਹਤਕ / ਸਵਚਾਰਗਤ ਮੌਸਲਕਤਾ, ਉਚੇਰੇ ਅਕਾਦਸਮਕ ਸਮਆਰ, ਅਤੇ ਸਵਦਵਤਾਪੂਰਨ ਉੱਤਮਤਾ ਦਾ ਪਰਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਸਗਆ ਹੈ। ਇਿ ਸਵਸਦਆਰਥੀ / ਖੋਜਾਰਥੀ ਨੇ ਆਪਿੀ ਇਿ ਸਲਖਤ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਸ਼ਹੀਦ ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਅਤੇ ਉਿ ਦੇ ਿਾਥੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਜੀਵਨ, ਿੰਘਰਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਯੋਗਦਾਨ ਬਾਰੇ ਉਪਲਬਧ ਸਗਆਨ ਸਵੁੱਚ ਮਹੁੱਤਵਪੂਰਨ ਯੋਗਦਾਨ ਪਾਇਆ ਹੈ। ਇਿ ਯੋਗਦਾਨ ਦਾ ਿਨਮਾਨ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੋਈ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ, ਪਸਟਆਲਾ ......................................................... ਨੂ ੰ ਅੁੱਜ ਸਮਤੀ .................................ਨੂ ੰ ਸ਼ਹੀਦ ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਜਨਮ ਸਦਹਾੜੇ ਦੇ ਮੌਕੇ ਪ੍ਰ ਿੰਸੀ੍ਲ ਛਬੀਲਦਾਸ ਯਾਦਗਾਰੀ ਐਵਾਰਡ ੍ਰਦਾਨ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ। ਵਾਈਸ ਚਾਂਸਲਰ ਪਸਟਆਲਾ ਸਮਤੀ................................... Principal Chhabil Das on Bhaghat Singh HE WAS A DEVOTEE OF THE GOD OF REVOLUTION CHHABIL DAS Cukhdev and Bhagwati Charan joined the National College Lahore) in 1922-23. They remained at the College for about three-four years. The Naujawan Bharat Sabha was very popular in the College at that time. The Sabha encompassed two different trends of thought, because during those days, India used to get light either from Russia and Russian Revo- lution of Lenin or from Ireland, that is De Valera and Sinn Fein movement. Naturally, the Naujawan Bharat Sabha was also, ideologically speaking, split into two factions: the em- phasis of one was on the Irish revolution and the methods adopted by those people, that is, collecting arms, throwing bombs, etc. The other section liked the Russians, who wanted to create class-consciousness amongst the masses, rural peo- ple, peasantry and factory workers. In the beginning, Bhagat Singh belonged to the Irish group. His favourite book was Dan Breen's My Fight for Irish Freedom. His other favourite book was Heroes and Heroines of Russia by Pre-Looker. It was a very important book. Sukhdey and Bhagwati were also there. They were members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. They also belonged to the Irish faction. Sukhdev was a very mediocre student at the College. He was a quiet type of per- son. Bhagwati Charan was also a quiet type- nobody would HsWAs A DEvOTEE O THE Goo OF ReyoLUTION aver hear him utter anything Bhagat Singh was, however, a different man. Besides being my students, they had good personal (friendly) relations with me. In the evenings we would meet and talk informally on so many subjects. We would often go to' the banks of the river Ravi and spend moonlit nights, boat- ing and rowing there, giving expression to our innermost feelings In 1928, when Bhagat Singh heard that I was going to be married, he approached me and asked me if it was true? I re- plied in the affirmative. He insisted that I should not marry. 1 aid "Bhagat Singh, if I could get a really very goo life com- panion who, instead of retarding mny activities, invigo rate them, what would be your view? In the same breath I quoted three concrete examples of Mrs. Sun-Yat Sen, who was Private Secretary to her husband; Mrs. Krupskaya, wife of Lenin; and Jenny Von Westphalen, a companion of Karl Marx. About t her, his colleague Engels wrote "But for the coopera- tion of Mrs. Jenny, Karl Marx would not have been Karl Mars". So when I talked like this, Bhagat Singh replied, "Gu- By that time Bhagat Singh had shifted to the Russian side. He had joined the Hindustan Republican Association, which later became Hindustan Socialist Republican Associa- tion. He asked me to join it.I said, "I have already signed a pledge as a life member of the Servants of the People Society. So how can I join your society without breaking that pledge? I have studied the full prospectus and aims and objects of your society. I know that your programme consists of three things: collecting arms and ammunition; using them on suitable oc- casions; and starting vigorous propaganda, anti-imperialist propaganda, in the country. I am doing the last thing. These days I am writing books and pamphlets and delivering lec- tures". He said, "1 am more than satisfied". I, however, 135 ruji, who can vanquish you in argument". So he yielded. II A word on the sources of inspiration of Bhagat Singh may be a legitimate question here. He drew most of his inspiration from his family. His uncle Sardar Ajit Singh and his father Sardar Kishan Singh were great nationalists who sacrificed their all for the liberation of India and suffered for it. Bhagat Singh admired and eulogised the activities of his uncle Ajit Singh and had a great reverence for him. Also, he had rever- ence for his father but he would not agree with him when he wanted to marry him. It was for this reason that he ran away from home. As for Bhagat Singh being an atheist, it is difficult to say anything, for he never talked on these things with us. As a revolutionary, to him revolution was the biggest goddess or god. He never believed in any other deity. When Bhagat Singh left Lahore and first went to Kan- pur, and thereafter to Delhi to attend the meeting of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, he met me many a time. He would not talk to me on the activities of the Hindu- stan Socialist Republican Association. Those were secret things to be shared only with their own inner men - I was not in the inner coterie of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. But we talked on other political subjects like, for instance, we used to tallk about the progress of the non- cooperation movement and Gandhi. Bhagat Singh had no admiration for Gandhi and his methods. The attitude of Bha- gat Singh was like that of Subhas Chandra Bose. Subhas had said to Gandhi, "Bapu, let us learn to talk the language the British understand. The British will not understand the phi- 136 H: WAs A DEvOTEE Or THE GoD Or REvoLuTION losophy of suffering and non-violence; their mighty empire is based upon the brutal force. So if we are equally equipped with similar weapons, there can be no doubt about our vic tory. They are four crores and we are forty crores in num- her", The attitude of Bhagat Singh and his fraternity was like that. Bhagat Singh was a born artist. He was fond of dramatics. He used to play the role of Maharana Pratap in the drama (being staged at the college) depicting the life and times of that great hero. I do not remember he ever played the role of Shivaji. That was by chance. He played many other roles. He was a good singer. The song of Banke Dayal, which he used to sing with his friends, was his great favourite: Kade too bhi Hindiya hosh sambhal ve Hosh sambhal ve, Tera lut gaya mall ve Hindu kahe main sab ton vada mera Hindustan thikana, Muslim kahe ae ghar han sada sanoo miliya hukm rabana, Sikh kahe sada vi sanjha asan pahla kadam jamana Banke, Banke Kahe yaar Firangi aakhe, koi hath lave mnain jana This was a good song and was used to be incorporated in every drama. Another popular song with Bhagat Singh was: Asan vasana ve vasana beeba ae sada ghar baar Tusan nasana ve nasana chhad ke akhirka. IV When Bhagat Singh was in jail (Lahore), I was also in jail (Multan). I had, therefore, no occasion of meeting him. My last meeting with him was, as far as I remember, about the first week of January 1 929 at Kolkata. Bhagat Singh had cuT off his long hair, the symbol of Sikhism, at that time, He wa dressed in a coat, pant and hat. The story of this meeting is in- teresting. I, too, had gone to Kolkata to attend the session of the Congress. Bhagat Singh was staying at a friend's house This friend of Bhagat Singh was none other than Seth Chhaiu Ram.! He was not in the revolutionary movement. He was a very big merchant, a commercial magnate. He was from Haryana. So people from Punjab used to come to him. Some Punjabi friend informed me about Bhagat Singh's where- abouts. I went to the Seth's house and met Bhagat Singh there. During my meeting here with him, we didn't talk. We ex- changed glances. And, then, after a brief Namaste he disap- peared. I also met Bhagwati Charan there. He said to me, "Guryji, you have seen Bhagat Singh, kindly don't divulge the secret that you saw him at Kolkata". V Bhagat Singh was a very loving soul, very sweet, and at his death I shed copious tears just as one would do at the demise of a sweet friend, sweet comrade. As for Sukhdev, he was lesser than Bhagat Singh, not only in his activities but in per- sonality too. Their colleague Bhagwati Charan was, as noted above, a quiet, silent working man. His comrades and other people unfortunately suspected him to be a Police agent or an agent provocateur. Let me clear another point: Bhagwati Charan was, of course, a senior man, he did not inculcate a feeling of revolu- tion among Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh. It was our colleague in the National College, Pandit Jaichandra Vidyalankar who did it. He inspired these people to go for Irish type of activi- ties. Jaichandra was Professor of lndian History in the Na- |tional College. He was a graduate of Gurukul Kangri He Was a man of few words. He never talked to anybody- he 138 HsWAS A DevoTEE OF THE Goo OF REvOLUTION was a silent man. He used to discuss revolutionary matters in his classes and may be elsewhere too, VI In sum, I must say that Bhagat Singh was a loving personality of whon this 'Land of Five Rivers' shall be proud. Ideologi- cally, vhe and his other colleagues were leftists. The very inclu- sion of the word 'Socialist in their party's name, Hindustan Socialist Republican Association indicates their leanings. Dur- ing the College days, they did not give any inkling of this or any such leftist tendencies. Later, they did. They read a lot of literature on the subject at the Dwarkadas Library, Lahore. They also used to consult me sof all about the choice of books. I do not remember the names c the books they studied but two important books, as indicated above, were Heroes and Heroines of Russia by Pre-Looker and Dan Breen's My Fight for Irish Freedom. They would also study The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte by Abbot. They would study one very important book by Mr. Upton Sinclair, Cry for Justice. During my English classes, I used to recite passages both in prose and poetry and they would show great zest for those classes. NOTES From his statement in the Oral History Section at the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum and Library, New Delhi. 1. A Jat businessman from village Alakhpura, dist. Hisar (Haryana); he was treasurer of Arya Samaj at Kolkata. 2. At Haridwar, UP started by Swami Shraddhanand. Principal Chhabil Das and Smt Sita Devi's children - 1. Mrs Vijay Chauhan, professor of English in Delhi University and well known Hindi writer. She was married to Shivdan Singh Chauhan, renowned Hindi MARXIST critic and writer 2. Dr. Santosh Sood, professor Political science, Punjab University, Chandigarh. Married to Mr. Lalit Sood, lawyer Punjab High Court. 3. Mrs Manorama Dewan, journalist and Hindi writer. Married to Dewan Berindranath, Zafar Payami, well known journalist and Urdu writer 4. Shri Ashok Kumar Ahuja, businessman. Married to Mrs Asha Ahuja, homemaker. 5. Dr. Jyotsna Wig, retired Professor of anaesthesia, PGI, Chandigarh. Married to Dr. Jaidev Wig widely respected Surgical Oncologist, PGI and later upon retirement at Fortis hospital, Mohali. Only Dr. Jyotsna Wig survives among all the sisters and brother and their spouses. mESSAGE FROM SABA dEWAN On behalf of Principal Chhabil Das's family - his surviving daughter, Dr. Jyotsna Wig and his grand children and great grand children, I would like to thank Punjabi University, Patiala, for instituting the Principal Chabbil Das Yaadgari Award, and Prof Chaman Lal for his tireless efforts in conceptualizing the award and advocating for it. He has dedicated his life to documenting the lives and struggles of Bhagat Singh and his associates including Principal Chhabil Das. As his teacher and mentor at National College Lahore, Principal Chhabil Das played a critical role in shaping young Bhagat Singh's political beliefs and his vision of a socialist and secular India. His commitment to socialism prompted Principal Chhabil Das's to write extensively on socialist ideas in simple language that could be accessed by people at large. My sister, Samira Dewan Suri, and I grew up hearing from our mother, late Smt Manorama Dewan, about the contribution made by our grandfather Principal Chhabil Das and grandmother Smt Devi, a women's rights advocate and labour leader, towards India's struggle for independence. Committed to the ideals of liberty, equality and social justice, they spent long years imprisoned in colonial prisons. Their commitment towards a progressive nationalism remains relevant even more so today and has been a guiding light for us. It is a proud moment for the entire family to see Principal Chhabil Das's political legacy being recognized in the form of the Principal Chhabil Das Yaadgari Award. Our congratulations and best wishes to the two award winners this year, Shri Jagtar Singh and Shri Manjeet Singh.