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Dr Kharak Singh – A Gem among the Sikh Intellectuals
–
Dr Kirpal Singh*
Dr Kharak Singh is no more. The loss will be felt by all
Sikhs in India and abroad. His life was dedicated to the
cause of the welfare of Sikhs. He did a pioneering work
in founding the Institute of Sikh Studies along with late
S Daljit Singh.
Dr Kharak Singh belonged to the family of freedom fighters.
His father suffered imprisonment several times along with
Sardar Darshan Singh Pheruman. He had a brilliant student
career throughout. He stood first in Matriculation and
did his M Sc (Agricultural Economics) and Ph D in Agricultural
from Ohio State University, USA. He was topper and scholarship
holder throughout. He served at various places in India,
and abroad in various capacities. He served as a Professor
in Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Joint Director,
Punjab Government and Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of
India. He was appointed as Agriculture Advisor at various
African countries and Iran in the UNO’s Food and
Agriculture Organization with its Headquarters at Rome.
After retirement, he settled in Chandigarh and devoted
his last decades in the service of Sikh Panth. One of
his desires was to see Sikhs in high spirits and he wished
to elevate them as a community. He wrote, number of books
relating to Sikhs. Some of the books published by Institute
of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh, are: Sikhism: Its Philosophy
and History, Current Thoughts on Sikhism, Gurmat Chetna
Lehar Manual, Khalsa and Twenty First Century, Martyrdom
in Sikhism, Guru Granth – Guru Panth. His last publication
was Guru Nanak: A Prophet with a Difference. This book
was specially written for Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
It was very well written and gives a lot of information
about the founder of Sikhism.
Dr Kharak Singh’s advice was often sought-after
by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar.
He had been a member of its Dharam Parchar Committee for
a number of years. He played a significant role in telecasting
live the kirtan from Golden Temple Amritsar. He got approved
the Project of writing history of the Sikhs in five volumes
in English. One volume has been published and the second
has been sent for publication. The third and fourth volumes
are near completion. It was due to Dr Kharak Singh’s
persuasion that the Project of editing of Historical Source
Material relating to Sikh History was approved. In this
project, four volumes of Sri Guru Nanak Parkash had been
published. Gurpartap Suraj Granth has been edited. The
books relating to lives of Guru Angad and Guru Amar Das
have been also published and the book on the life of Guru
Ram Das is in press.
Dr Kharak Singh organized a number of seminars on important
issues like Apostasy among the Sikhs, Sikh Personal Law,
Gurdwara Legislation, Guru Granth – Guru Panth,
etc. Last, but not the least, he established International
Sikh Confederation. His ideal was to make this Organization
representative of the entire Sikh Panth in India as well
as abroad.
Dr Kharak Singh was a man of multifarious qualities of
head and heart. As a matter of fact, he was a gem among
the Sikh intellectuals. His loss cannot be repaired.
