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A Colossus that Inspired Legions
Sardar Verpal Singh*
It took me longer than I would have expected to come to
terms with the news of Dr Kharak Singh’s passing
away. Though my association with Dr Sahib started in 1997,
it seems as if I had known Dr Sahib virtually all my life.
His role in giving direction to my life that has taken
me to where I am today cannot be put into words. All the
skills that I find indispensable in my work with the Sikh
community of New Zealand were honed under Dr Sahib’s
mentoring.
My first contact with Dr Sahib, when I look back as to
how it came about, often makes me wonder if it was something
that was meant to be. It so happened that a translation
of Jap ji by one M L Sharma was being distributed free
as part of Khalsa Tercentenary celebrations. I brought
the flawed translation to Institute of Sikh Studies’
attention (during my first visit to Dr Sahib’s house,
which happened to be Institute of Sikh Studies (IOSS)
office as well) and suggested a critique. Dr Kharak Singh
asked me with a smile, “Why don’t you review
it for Abstracts of Sikh Studies?!” Till then, except
for a paper read at a symposium of Institute of Engineers’
and a couple of articles in the Sikh Review, I had not
written much, especially no book reviews, for publication.
I was encouraged by the idea that a scholar of Dr Kharak
Singh’s stature thought me capable of critiquing
this particular book. So I returned home to Kapurthala
and wrote the critique, which was published by Dr Kharak
Singh (at that time founder Secretary of Institute of
Sikh Studies, and founder editor of widely respected research
journal Abstracts of Sikh Studies) in the Abstracts.
This started my association with Dr Sahib, which would
be further strengthened when he invited me to join the
IOSS as Assistant Editor to work on a five-volume history
of Sikhs, which was being funded by the SGPC. I spent
the next nearly five years under his tutelage learning
and discussing various aspects of Sikh history and philosophy
with some of the best Sikh minds, the brightest and sharpest
amongst whom I always found to be Dr Sahib himself.
Though Dr Kharak Singh’s expertise was in Agriculture,
specifically Agro-Economics in which subject he did his
M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Ohio University of USA, he was respected
by historians of the calibre of Dr Kirpal Singh, Dr Balwant
Singh Dhillon, Dr Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, Pr Surjit
Singh Gandhi, to name only a few. His scholarship was
respected by even those he criticized – like Dr
W H McLeod, Dr J S Grewal, Dr Indu Banga and Dr Gurinder
Mann.
He was one of a crop of Sikh intellectuals who at one
time occupied some of the most prominent positions on
world bodies. Amongst these may be named Dr S S Johl,
Dr G S Kalkat and Dr Kharak Singh himself. We as a community
were so enthralled when Manmohan Singh became the PM.
We heard statements that he has brought the Turban prominence
on world stage. It is true – but before the turmoil
in Punjab in 1980s and 1990s, the Sikh Turban was seen
with understanding and respect virtually all over the
world due to intellectuals like Dr Kharak Singh, Dr Johl,
Dr Kalkat, Justice Choor Singh (of Singapore) amongst
many others, who not only carried their Sikh identity
with pride but added to this pride due to some of the
most brilliant work in their respective fields.
B S Danewalia, in his book Police and Politics in 20th
century Punjab writes at one place that Akali leaders
never understood the importance of legal and administrative
framework and never rose above the level of a “bunch
of agitators.” It was from Dr Kharak Singh that
I learnt the importance of legal and administrative framework
and how it may be harnessed to attain a community’s
aspirations without resorting to an agitational approach.
I remember an article that I had written and shown to
Dr Sahib for comment. He called me to his office and very
gently asked what I sought to achieve through that article.
I said I wanted to apportion blame for the mess Punjab
was in. He pointed to the part where I had used harsh
language for a prominent Akali leader and to maintain
my own neutrality treated his main rival (leader of another
Akali Dal) to similar terminology. To add to it, I had
used language that castigated the entire Congress and
communist leadership as well. Dr Sahib gently said, “Through
language like this, you are not going to change anything.
In fact, you cannot make a positive difference in the
present situation by abusing those who can. Our writings
and our actions should be aimed at influencing those in
a position to make a difference. You can say exactly the
same thing without using the harsh terminology. Words
chosen with care can open doors and words used carelessly
can shut the doors in your face.”
That is a lesson, which has served me very well since
that day towards end of 1998. It was then that I learnt
the difference between a belligerent approach and a constructive
approach. I learnt not to doubt the intentions of those
whose actions may have affected us negatively. For, then
one does not look to agitate, but looks for solutions
so that similar events do not happen in future. As chairman
of the Sikh Centre and secretary of the Sikh Council of
New Zealand, this approach has proved most useful in my
work.
The time that I spent at IOSS was all spent at Dr Sahib’s
house. In fact, like many others who worked for IOSS,
I became virtually a member of Dr Sahib’s family.
Initially, it took me a long time to realize who was and
who was not related to Dr Sahib through family ties, for
I myself felt as if I had always been part of Dr Sahib’s
family. The love and affection I got from Biji, the numerous
discussions I had with Sumit Kaur and Birendra Kaur, the
poetry recitations of Gurjot Singh that I enjoyed, have
forever enriched my life. I cannot even begin to imagine
the loss that they all have had to bear at Dr Sahib’s
passing away. My heart especially goes out to Biji who
always welcomed a steady line of visitors every day of
the week with a smile and a ready cup of tea. Dr Sahib
and Biji’s home was a true example of Guru Nanak’s
dharamsaal. People from all over the world came to visit
the Institute and sometimes stayed for days and enjoyed
the hospitality like part of the family, without feeling
even for a second that they might have overstayed their
welcome. I do not think I will ever see the same openness
and welcome of heart and hearth that I experienced in
the household of Dr Sahib and Biji. It was Biji’s
strength that enabled Dr Sahib to tirelessly work for
the community.
The range of projects that Dr Sahib initiated and managed
is so great that it boggles one’s mind. The Sikh
history project, the Nanakshahi Calendar reformation,
the Vanjara Trust, the Sikh Core Group, International
Sikh Confederation, Abstracts of Sikh Studies, All India
Gurdwaras Act, Sikh Personal Law, Gurmat Chetna Lehar
— all these projects (to name only a few) have had
an everlasting impact on the Sikh community. The way Dr
Sahib, along with other stalwarts like S Daljeet Singh
and S Jagjit Singh organized a series of seminars in UK,
Canada and USA to successfully thwart the false propaganda
by certain Western scholars is something that will continue
to resonate with Sikh masses for generations to come.
His in-depth writings on various aspects of Sikh history
and philosophy occupy a very special place for me.
A little known aspect of Dr Sahib’s life is the
mentoring he did of some prominent personalities from
the field of creative arts and sports. Dr Sahib mentored
portrait artists, feature film directors, folk singers,
novelists and also sportspersons amongst a whole range
of creative fields. What I learnt from him was that a
Sikh’s life does not revolve only around the narrow
definition of religion that we often mistakenly follow.
“Our ever expanding understanding of Gurmat provides
us the focus and strength to excel in a field of our choice.
A Sikh is a generalist with specialist knowledge of a
chosen field. We should know something about everything
and everything about at least one thing,” he had
once said to me when we were discussing the difference
between a gurmukh and a manmukh.
Dr Kharak Singh’s passing away is a great loss to
the community, but in his life are some very important
lessons for all of us. He will continue to inspire generations
of Sikhs with the way he lived his life – selflessly
and imbued with Gurmat.
