Mahan Kosh published by Punjab Language Department remains unavailable for months

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, JUNE 9

Published by the Punjab Language Department, ‘Mahan Kosh’, the prominent Punjabi language encyclopaedia, and ‘Punjab’, one of the most famous books have gone out of stock as no copies printed by the department are available in any of the districts of the state for the last few months. While Mahan Kosh was written by Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha, Punjab was edited by Mohinder Singh Randhawa.

These books have been in demand for a long time. Even the state office in Patiala has been receiving queries about the books.

It was in 2019 when 10,000 copies of Mahan Kosh were reprinted and before that the language department got it reprinted in 2011 for the eighth time, printing over 5,000 copies.

The book has around 1,250 pages and is considered the best guide to the Punjabi language as it has old maps of India, Lahore, and pictures related to history that are otherwise hard to find. According to writers and officials of the department, one can find every possible Punjabi word and its meaning in this book.

Sources from the language department said that there was a huge demand for these books and people were asking about the availability. Even though Mahan Kosh by private publishers was available, it was costly compared to the cost set by the department. “Now everything depends upon the government,” an official said.

Director of Punjab Language Department Harpreet Kaur when contacted, said that the books have been sent for reprinting to the press. “The process will be complete soon and copies will be available,” she added.

Even two books based on Shaheed Bhagat Singh, one in Hindi and Punjabi, published almost 20 years ago, have been out of stock for years because these were never reprinted.

A book in Hindi, ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh’, was published in 2002. It had 83 pages. Another book in Punjabi titled ‘Yug purush Bhagat Singh te ohna de buzurg’ was also published in 2003. As per information, no new book based on the martyr was published after 2003 by the department.