Diwan Singh Kalepani (Diwan Singh Dhillon) (b.22 May 1897 d. 14 January 1944) was a Punjabi poet, freedom fighter and President of the Indian Independence League's regional wing in

Port Blair Port Blair (), officially named Sri Vijaya Puram, is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headqu ...

. He participated in the Indian freedom movement and the Non-cooperation movement in the 1920s.Singh, Atamjit. "Twentieth Century Punjabi Literature" (249-288) in Handbook of Twentieth Century Literatures of India (ed. Nalini Natarajan). Greenwood Press, London: 1996, 253. He wrote poetry in free verse and composed two volumes: ''Vagde Pani'' (‘Running Waters’) in 1938, and ''Antim Lehran'' (‘Winding Waves’) which were published posthumously in 1962. His poetry often criticized the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and of organized religion.

Early life

Diwan Singh was born on 22 May 1897 in Little Galotian, Sialkot District, British Raj (now Pakistan), to Sunder Singh and Inder Kaur. His mother died when he was two, and his father died due to plague. He was raised by his father's younger brother, Sohan Singh, and grandmother. He studied at Scotch Mission School at Daska, learning literature and science.

Career

His poems include "Wagde Pani" and "Antim Lehran". He later established a school. He died on January 14, 1944.

Legacy

The Shaheed Dr. Diwan Singh Kalepani Museum is in Siswan, Mohali district. The museum comprises five sections, containing his photographs and writings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Diwan Punjabi-language poets 1894 births 1944 deaths British Indian Army soldiers 20th-century Indian poets Indian torture victims Executed Indian people People executed by Japanese occupation forces 20th-century executions by Japan Foreign nationals imprisoned in Japan Indian male poets People from Agra Poets from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers People from Punjab Province (British India)