Pash
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pash (9 September 1950 – 23 March 1988) was the pen name of Avtar Singh Sandhu, one of the major poets in the Punjabi literature of the 1970s. He was killed by extremists on 23 March 1988. His strongly
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
views were reflected in his poetry.


Early life and activism

Pash was born as Avtar Singh Sandhu in 1950 in a small village called ''Talwandi Salem'' in
Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...
district of
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
, in a middle-class farmers family. His father Sohan Singh Sandhu was a soldier in the Indian army who also composed poetry as a hobby. Pash grew up in the midst of the Naxalite movement, a revolutionary movement waged in Punjab against the landlords, industrialists, traders, etc. who control the means of production. This was in the midst of the
Green revolution The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...
which had addressed India's problem of
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
using high yield crops, but had also unconsciously led to other forms of inequities in Punjab. In 1970, he published his first book of revolutionary poems, ''Loh-Katha'' (''Iron Tale''), at the age of 18. His militant and provocative tone raised the ire of the establishment and a murder charge was brought against him. He spent nearly two years in jail, before being finally acquitted. In 1972, the 22-year-old started a On acquittal, he became involved in Punjab's
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
front, editing a literary magazine, ''Siarh'' (''The Plow Line''). He became a popular political figure on the left during this period and was awarded a fellowship at the Punjabi Academy of Letters in 1985. He toured the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
the following year; while in the U.S., he became involved with the Anti-47 Front, opposing Sikh extremist violence. His words had a great influence on the minds of the people.


Assassination

At the beginning of 1988 Pash was in
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
for the renewal of his visa from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. A day before leaving for Delhi, however, he was gunned down by gunners along with his friend Hans Raj on the well in his village on 23 March 1988. Pash deserves all the audience that can come his way. He has paved the way for revolutionaries with his poems finding spaces in protests and marches till date. Pash was assassinated by the Khalistani terrorists for being a vocal critic of
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (; born Jarnail Singh Brar; 2 June 1947– 6 June 1984) was a militant leader of the Sikh organization Damdami Taksal. He was not an advocate of Khalistan. "Bhindranwale was not an outspoken supporter of Khalistan, ...
.


Literary works

*''Loh-katha'' (''Iron-Tale'') (1970), *''Uddian Bazan Magar'' (''Following The Flying Hawks'') (1973), *''Saadey Samiyaan Vich'' (''In Our Times'') (1978), and *''Khilre Hoye Varkey'' (''Scattered pages'') (1989) ''Khilre Hoey Varkey'' was posthumously published in 1989 after his death, followed by his journals and letters. A selection of his poems in Punjabi, ''Inkar'', was published in
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
in 1997. His poems have been translated in many languages including other Indian languages, Nepali and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. Poems written by Paarsh are popular in India, especially in Punjab and North India. Recitations of his poems are often carried out, especially on the weekends close to his death anniversary.


Sab Ton Khatarnaak

One of Pash's most popular and often cited poems is titled ਸਬ ਤੋਂ ਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਸਾਡੇ ਸੁਪਨਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਮਰ ਜਾਣਾ। सबसे ख़तरनाक होता है हमारे सपनों का मर जाना (Sabse Khatarnak hota hai hamare sapnon ka mar jaana - meaning: ''The most dangerous thing is the demise of our dreams''). In 2005, this poem was included in NCERT's Hindi book for 11th standard.


References


External links


Pash's Poetry''Pash'' by Tejwant Singh Gill


See also

* Arjan Singh Mastana *
Baldev Singh Mann ''Baldev Mann'' was a left-wing activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) New Democracy. He was a state level leader of Kirti Kisan Union and the editor of ''Hirawal Dasta'' a revolutionary journal of the Naxalites. On 26 ...
*Chanan Singh Dhoot *
Darshan Singh Canadian Darshan Singh Canadian (born Darshan A. Sangha in 1917, in Langeri, Punjab, India – 25 September 1986) was a Sikh trade union activist and communist organizer in Canada and India. Canada Darshan Singh Canadian immigrated to Vancouver, Br ...
*
Deepak Dhawan Deepak Dhawan was the State Committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) representing Punjab and also Joint Secretary of Khet Mazdoor Union, a mass organisation of CPI(M), which campaigns for the rights of landless agricul ...
*
Gursharan Singh (theatre director) Gursharan Singh (September 16, 1929 – September 27, 2011) was a writer, political activist and a progressive director of Punjabi drama who played the part of Bhai Manna Singh in a popular Punjabi TV serial drama on DD Punjabi . He became kn ...
*
Jaimal Singh Padda Jaimal Singh Padda was a poet, communist activist. He was shot dead on 17 March 1988 in Lakhan ka Padda village, Kapurthala district by Khalistan movement extremists. He was filmed reciting his poem Una Mitterandi Yaad Pyari, before his death, ...
*
Nidhan Singh Gudhan Nidhan Singh Gudhan was a communist activist, a central team member of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). He was tortured and then hanged by Khalistan movement extremists. At the time of his death, he was leading Kisan Sangharsh Samit ...
*Professor Ravinder Singh Ravi *Sarvan Singh Cheema *Sumeet Preetlari *
Punjab insurgency {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Insurgency in Punjab , image = Punjab in India (claimed and disputed hatched).svg , caption = Affected areas coloured in Red , image_size = 300px , date ...
{{Authority control Indian male poets 1950 births 1988 deaths Indian Sikhs Punjabi-language poets Punjabi people 20th-century Indian poets Poets from Punjab, India People from Jalandhar district 20th-century Indian male writers