Punjabi University institutes award in name of Bhagat Singh’s teacher Chhabil Das

“Bhagat Singh completed his FA studies in 1923, before jumping into full-time revolutionary activities and joining the Hindustan Revolutionary Association/Army (HRA) in 1924, which later became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association/Army (HSRA) in 1928. The HSRA is known for killing JP Saunders, a British police superintendent, as revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai who died after sustaining injuries in a police lathi charge. It is also known for throwing harmless bombs in the Central Assembly, Delhi ‘to make the deaf hear’,” said Chaman Lal, an eminent researcher on Bhagat Singh.

“Along with Chhabil Das and his fellow students such as Sukhdev Thapar and Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Ramchand, Bhagat Singh had founded Naujwan Bharat Sabha (NBS) in National College, Lahore, said Chaman Lal.

Chhabil Das and his wife Sita Devi were both freedom fighters who had migrated to Jalandhar post 1947. Chhabil Das, a professor of English, was also a prolific writer. Sita Devi, as a labour leader, remained an MP. Their daughter Manorma Dewan wrote a few books in Hindi on the freedom struggle.

As per the PU, the Rs 5,000 award along with a certificate of merit will be given to any young researcher of the Punjabi University for writing/presenting/publishing any book/research paper on the contribution of Bhagat Singh, his revolutionary associates or any aspect of the freedom struggle of India in the Punjabi language. The first award is likely to be given on Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary on September 28. The award amount may go up as and when the endowment fund increases, as the fund is kept open for further contributions with the consent of the two original donors.

The endowment for the award was first proposed by both the contributors in 2020, but matured with the active interest taken by incumbent Vice Chancellor, Dr Jagdip Singh.