Dr Lakhwinder Johal elected Punjabi Sahit Akademi president

A Punjabi poet and critic from Jalandhar, Dr Johal is also the current secretary general of Punjab Arts Council.

'Athru Di Aatamkatha' and 'Ikk Supna, Ikk Samwaad' were his most popular books.

Dr Lakhwinder Johal (66) was elected as the new president of Punjabi Sahit Akademi in the elections held at Punjabi Bhawan in Ludhiana Sunday. He was elected unopposed.

The Akademi, which is almost 60 years old, is a highly acclaimed association of Punjabi writers with members from North America, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The body works on the promotion of Punjabi literature, book reading culture, deals with challenges facing Punjabi language.

A Punjabi poet and critic from Jalandhar, Dr Johal is also the current secretary general of Punjab Arts Council. He retired from Doordarshan as programme executive.

Story continues below this ad

He has written seven poetry books. ‘Athru Di Aatamkatha’ and ‘Ikk Supna, Ikk Samwaad’ were his most popular books. The latter had imaginary conversations between Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.

Dr Sham Sunder Deepti from Amritsar, a Punjabi litterateur and Dr Guriqbal Singh from Ludhiana, a retired college principal, were elected as senior vice-president and secretary, respectively.

A total of 485 valid votes were polled. The tenure of the elected body is of two years.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram