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Dr Kharak Singh – A Gurmukh
Dr Prithipal Singh Kapur*
Dr Kharak Singh who breathed his last about a fortnight
ago, was one of those few who dedicated every moment of
their retired life to the service of the Panth in the
real sense. He had a strong feeling that Sikh history
and religion had been coloured by a few historians so
as to befog the shine of it’s narrative. This emanated
from such western scholars who refused to appreciate the
dynamics of the Sikh doctrine. Without wasting time, he
joined hands with S. Daljit Singh, IAS (retd) to establish
an Institute of Sikh Studies at Chandigarh and chartered
a programme to counter misrepresentations and misinterpretations,
which were being treated by the Sikh scholars as academic
studies by applying ‘modern methodology’.
In fact, a band of friends flocked around Dr Kharak Singh
for active discussions that resulted in the launch of
a quarterly journal Abstract of Sikh Studies. The very
first objective of this journal as delineated by Dr Kharak
Singh read: “To bring the latest advances in Sikh
studies to the notice of scholars and general readers”.
Once engaged in this onerous task, Dr Kharak Singh never
looked back. He sat long hours to study Sikh history and
doctrine in depth and tried to understand it in the light
of Singh Sabha tradition. This provided him with necessary
equipment to take the mission ahead. He assiduously worked
on Janam Sakhi tradition to comprehend what Mcleod had
to say. His was a devotee’s crusade that created
a storm. He never cared what professional historians thought
of him. After the demise of S Daljit Singh, he carried
forward the task almost single handed. His commrades had
full faith in him. His dedication and sincerity attracted
the eye of Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the then President
of the SGPC. He took Dr Kharak Singh on the Dharam Panchan
Committee of the SGPC. Soon he was to realize that an
intellectual of high caliber in Dr Kharak Singh carried
within himself an unflinching faith of a Gurmukh who came
up to the definition laid down by none other than Bhai
Gurdas.
Dr Kharak Singh remained at the centre of all activity
that aimed at advancing the Panthic interests for over
a decade. He never hesitated to spend out of his own pocket
wherever necessary to make himself available for deliberations
anywhere. In fact, during this period, he thought, and
lived to serve his community. He conceived a host of projects
on Sikh history and persuaded the SGPC to provide necessary
finance and infrastructure for the same. To see these
projects through, he kept in constant touch with scholars
based in the universities to seek their help. Himself
a tireless worker, he had the perseverance to motivate
many to join his bandwagon. Dr Kharak Singh kept busy
in this arduous task till death knocked at his door. Before
departing, he still looked ahead to complete the work
in hand.
His book Guru Nanak : A Prophet with a Difference (published
by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar) speaks enough
of the intensive study that he undertook to present the
founder of Sikhism as the one who claimed high place among
the galaxy of religious divines that stalked the earth
planet.
Dr Kharak Singh’s contribution shall be thankfully
remembered by the coming generations.
