Sahib Singh (16 February 1892 – 29 October 1977) was a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a 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 ''Si ...

academic who made a contribution to

literature. He was a grammarian,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He was born in a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

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 (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

. 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 and gave himself the name of " Sahib Singh". At that time he stopped learning Persian and started learning

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, which later on helped him in understanding

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) 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 religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

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

Bachelor of fine arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

and started work at Frakka college and later joined

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

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 ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, and then the Government College, LahoreGurabni Vyakaran by Sahib Singh, where he obtained his bachelor's degree. In 1917 he joined Nanak Khalsa College,

as a lecturer in

. In 1921 Sahib Singh became the Assistant General Secretary of the SGPC. 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. In 1927 he rejoined

college, where he stayed until 1936. At this time he moved to

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

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, he took classes at Gurmat college in Patiala. He was awarded a Doctorate of Letters by

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India, 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 Universit ...

, Patiala 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 neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

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 Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

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 Punjabi 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 Indian former Hindus