Punjabi culture patron Jagdev Singh Jassowal dead

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 22

Former MLA Jagdev Singh Jassowal, much recognised for promoting the Punjabi culture and folk arts, died at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana on Monday morning. He had been ailing for some time and was admitted to the hospital on December 24. He was 80, and is survived by wife and two sons.

A fervent advocate of revival of Punjabi art, culture, literature and heritage, he founded the Prof Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation, which has been organising the “Prof Mohan Singh Mela” for years. Jassowal also headed several social organisations.

A graduate in law, he was elected MLA from Raikot in 1980, after which he was appointed Chairman of the Dairy Development Corporation and the Forest Development Corporation. He had also remained founder director of the Youth Welfare Department of Punjab. During the Punjabi Suba Morcha he was imprisoned for two years.

Jassowal mentored and supported several Punjabi singers and artists, who later went on to make a mark in the entertainment and culture world.​