Sahib Singh (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonl ...

: ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਿੰਘ) (16 February 1892 – 29 October 1977) was a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...

academic who made a contribution to

literature. He was a grammarian,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or research ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

. He was born in a Hindu family to father Hiranand and was named Natthu Ram.

Early life

As a youth, Natthu Ram was apprenticed to a Muslim teacher, Hayat Shah, son of Punjabi poet Hashim, to teach him the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision of th ...

. Whilst at junior school, he saw Sikh soldiers and was so impressed with them that he decided to keep unshorn hair. In 1906, when he was in the ninth grade he became

Amritdhari Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

and gave himself the name of "

Sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...

Singh Singh ( IPA: ) is a title, middle name or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it eventually became a common surname adopted by different commu ...

". At that time he stopped learning Persian and started learning

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

, which later on helped him in understanding

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...

Later life

After passing the tenth grade, Sahib Singh joined a local school. Later he applied for a job with the postal department, and got the job, borrowing 20 Rs from his house maid as traveling expenses. Later he left home to pursue higher education. He had nowhere to go, having very little money. He later met Pundit Vesta Parsad, a scholarly teacher for help. Sahib Singh passed his FA and BA and started work at Frakka college and later joined Gujranwala Khalsa college. It was at this college that he met Bava Harkrishan Singh and Bhai Jodh Singh. Sahib Singh's financial situation had improved by this time so that he was able to pay back his debts.

Employment

The death of his father made the situation hard for him. He entered Dyal Singh College,

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 ...

, and then the

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

Gurabni Vyakaran by Sahib Singh, where he obtained his bachelor's degree. In 1917 he joined

Nanak Khalsa College Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wo ...

, Gujranwala as a lecturer in

. In 1921 Sahib Singh became the Assistant General Secretary of the

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ...

. Sahib Singh took part in Guru Ka Bagh Morcha in 1922 and was arrested. In 1923 he was again arrested when he took part in

Jaito Morcha Jaitu (sometimes written as Jaito, also known as Gangsar Jaitu) is a historical city. Jaitu is a municipal council in Faridkot district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is subdivision in Ferozepur Division. It is from Bathinda, from Ludhi ...

. In 1927 he rejoined Gujranwala college, where he stayed until 1936. At this time he moved to

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

and joined the Khalsa college as a lecturer in Punjabi. At the college he met fellow Sikh scholars like Teja Singh, Ganda Singh, Veeram Singh and Mohan Singh. In 1952 he retired from this college to take up a post as Principal at Shaheed Missionary college,

. In 1962 he left to join his son at Sidhwan Bet near Jagroan. When his son moved to

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constru ...

, he took classes at Gurmat college in

. He was awarded a Doctorate of Letters by

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

in 1971.

Health and illness

Sahib Singh was often afflicted with illnesses. He suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and died on 29 October 1977.

Publications

Sahib Singh wrote extensively in Punjabi, but most of his works have now been translated into English,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

and other prominent world languages. * Savaiye Sri Mukhvak Maihla 5 ate Bhatta De Savaiye Steek (1930) * Jap Ji Sahib Steek (1931) * Asa Di Vaar Steek (1933) * Sad Steek (1935) * Bhattan de Savaiye Steek (1935) * Sukhmani Sahib Steek (1939) * Khulhe Maidan * Jaap Sahib Savaiye Chaupai Steek (1944) * Dasa Varan Steek (1946) * Salok Te Shabad Farid Ji Steek (1946) * Dharmic Loka (1946) * Gurbani Te Itihas Bare (1946) * Burai Da Takra (1946) * Salok Guru Angad Sahib Steek (1948) * Chanan Munare (1949) * Salok Kabir Ji Steek (1949) * Satte Balwand Di Var Steek (1949) * Gurbani Vyakarn (1950) * Chara Varan Steek (1951) * Dharam Te Sadachar (1951) * Sarbat Da Bhala (1951) * Siddh Gost Steek (1957) * Bhagat Bani Steek Pahila Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Duja Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Tija Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Chautha Hisa (1960) * Bhagat Bani Steek Punjvah Hisa (1960) * Sikh Sidak Na Haare (1962) * Jeevan Britant - Guru Nanak Dev Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Amar Das Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Ramdas Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji * Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan (Dasa Pothiarn) (1965) * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1966) * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib te Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib * Gur Itihas Patshahi 2 ton 9 (1968) * Aad Bir bare (1970) * Sikh Sidak Na Hare * Sadachar Lekh (1971) * Simran Diya Barkata (1971) * Barahmaha, Tukhari Te Maajh (1972) * Meri Jeevan Kahani (1977)

Posthumous

* Nitnem Steek (1979) * Babania Kahanian (1981) * Bani Maihla 9 Steek (2003)

References

External links

* http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/10/october-29th-sahib-singh-ji/ * http://www.gurugranthdarpan.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sahib 20th-century Indian linguists Indian Sikhs 1977 deaths 1892 births Sikh writers People from Patiala Indian religious writers Punjabi-language writers Writers from Punjab, India Converts to Sikhism from Hinduism