Swaraj Bir gets Prof Bhogal Memorial Award

The maiden Prof Piara Singh Bhogal Memorial Award was bestowed on the eminent Punjabi writer, former administrator and ex-Editor of Punjabi Tribune Dr Swaraj Bir Singh at a function held here today.

The award was conferred on him by a panel headed by Prof Jaswant Singh Gandam. The panel’s general secretary Gurmit Palahi told newspersons that the award carried a cash of Rs 51,000, a shawl, a memento and a citation. Other panel members included senior journalists Satnam Manak, Lakhwinder Singh Johal, Dr Gulzar Singh Virdi (Prof Bhogal’s son-in-law), Dr Hirdejit Singh Bhogal and Prempal Bhogal (Bhogal’s sons). His daughter Deepa was also present on the occasion.

The nonagenarian Prof Bhogal, who had penned down about 60 books, had died sometimes back. He had always championed Punjabi language and stood for Punjab and Punjabiat.

A former DGP of Meghalaya, Dr Swaraj Bir had penned down over a dozen plays, three poetry books and served as Editor of Punjabi Tribune for many years. A seminar on the topic of “Present political situation of country and Punjab’s role in it” was also held on this occasion.

In his keynote address, Dr Swaraj Bir, paying tributes to Prof Piara Singh Bhogal, described him as a bridge between Punjabi and Hindi writers. He opined that distinct geographical situation and certain other regional conditions and happenings had injected the spirit of ‘nabri’(defiance) in Punjabi ethos.

Mentioning other factors like preachings of Sikh Gurus, Sufi/Bhagati movements, Sidh-Jogi ‘parampara’, Dalits lehar, kissakars in sculpting features of Punjab, he asserted, “We can not allow ourselves to tumble down into the gorge of disappointment”. “Kisans, Dalits, workers and artisans can unite together for generating energy for waging a struggle against fissiparous forces”, he remarked.

He called ‘Babar Bani’ of Guru Nanak as an energising voice for fighting against political injustice.

He said, “ The present political scenario is that the Centre, dominating politics of some other states, wanted to turn the country’s politics towards a certain side. It can not happen because the country can not be seen in one colour as it is kaleidoscopic.”

On the role of Punjab in this situation, Dr Swaraj Bir said, “By giving birth to Kisan Andolan in 2021, Punjab played a historic role by pulling out people from the gorge of disappointment. Farmers will play a significant role in future struggles.”