B
hai Vir Singh was a poet, scholar and theologian who was a major figure in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary tradition. His identification with all the important concerns of modern Sikhism was so complete that he came to be canonized as Bhai, the Brother of the Sikh Order, very early in his career. For his pioneering work in its several different genres, he is acknowledged as the creator of modern Punjabi literature. Born on 5 December 1872, in Amritsar, Bhai Vir Singh was the eldest of Dr Charan Singh’s three sons.
Bhai Vir Singh was the child of an age in ferment. The extinction of Sikh sovereignty in the Punjab, the decline in the fortunes of Sikh aristocracy, the gradual emergence of an urban middle class, the dissipation of the “national intellectual life” of the Punjab owing to the neglect and decay of any indigenous education of the local people aroused among the Sikhs a concern for the survival of Sikhi, any political destiny and a concern for redefining the boundaries of their faith. Further challenges arose in the concern over modernization, of proselytization from Christian, Muslim and Hindu movements and even from agnostic cults such as Brahmo Samaj. Parallel to the developments foreboding gradual appropriation of Sikhism by the Hindu social order emerged a powerful end towards Braj classicism in the Sikh literary and schlolarly tradition.
Through Bhai Vir Singh’s writings he brought awareness of the glory of the Guru’s and the Khalsa to the Sikh masses. His writings in Punjabi are famous all over India. From his pen came the best novels of the Punjabi language. He wrote historical and philosophical essays, he was the force behind the cultural renaissance in the Punjab at the turn of the century. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Oriental learning Honoris Causa in 1949 by Punjab University. He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955 and the Padam Bhushan in1956 for his contributions of Punjabi literature. Bhai Vir Singh was the force behind the Singh Sabha movements literary output which was so important in awakening the Sikh masses. His earlier written novels like Sundari, Vijay Singh, Santwant Kaur and Baba Naudh Singh have to the viewed with reference to the social and political conditions of the end of the nineteenth century. Their central theme was heroism and chivalry of the Sikhs and the ethical excellence of the religion. The novels brought out the pristine glory of the Khalsa in contrast to the servility of the Hindu masses and the oppression of the Pathan and Mughal rulers.
Bhai Vir Singh then turned his attention to explaining the Sikh scriptures in his weekly paper, the Khalsa Samachar. He also wrote poems which gave him a most honoured place among Punjabi poets. Thereafter he wrote biographies of the Sikh Guru’s: Kalgidhar Chamatkar, the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Guru Nanak Chamatkar, the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Bhai Vir Singh Ji was dedicated to the cause of reform, he propagated the cause of education by building schools and colleges and was a founder director of the Punjab and Sind Bank, which greatly helped in uplifting the Sikh economy.
No sooner was the Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Grallth completed than Bhai Vir Singh launched on an even more arduous task. This was a detailed commentary on the Guru Granth Sahib. In a way, exegesis had been his lifelong occupation. Early in his career he had annotated selections from the Holy Book published in 1906 under the title Panj Granth Saiik, and, as he himself declared, all of his writing was an exposition of the Sikh Scripture. He devoted himself unsparingly to the commentary, but it remained unfinished. A lifetime of unrelieved hard work and the weight of advancing years at last began to tell. In early 1957 signs of fatigue and weakness appeared. He was taken ill with a fever and died in his home in Amritsar on 10 June 1957. The portion of the commentary- nearly one half of the Holy Book- he had completed was published posthumously in seven large volumes.
Bhai Vir Singh
Events at a glance
1872 - Bhai Vir Singh S/o Dr. Charan Singh and Mata Uttam Kaur, Born on 5th December at Katra Garbha Singh, Amritsar.
1891 - Passed Matriculation Examination getting District Board’s Gold Medal.
1892 - Led Singh Sabha Movement. Established Wazir-i-Hind Press at Amritsar. Founded Khalsa College, Amritsar.
1894 - Founded Khalsa Tract Society
1899 - Started the Khalsa Samachar, Punjabi Weekly
1902 - Organized Chief Khalsa Diwan.Reorganized the Management of the Khalsa College, Amrisar.
1904 - Started the Central Sikh Orphanage at Amritsar
1908 - Organized The Sikh Educational Committee. Established the Punjab & Sind Bank Ltd.
1909 - Helped in getting the Anand Marriage Act passed
1912 - Established Vidhva Ashram at Amritsar
1915 - Established Khalsa Hospital at Tarn Taran.
1920 - Initiated the movement for the uplift of the so called untouchables.
1935 - Started the Blind Asylum at Amritsar.
1936 - Helped in the foundation of Gurdwara at Hemkunt Sahib.
1943 - Founded free Homeopathic Hospital at Amritsar.
1949 - Conferment of the Degree of Doctor or Oriental Learning Honoris Causa by University of the East Punjab.
1953 - Nominated as the Member of the first Punjab Legislative Council after Independence. Presented Sahitya Akademy Award for his book “Mere Saiyan Jeo”
1954 - Presented Abhinandan Granth at the Sikh Educational Conference in Bombay. Nominated to the National Academy of Letters
1956 - Awared Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India.
1957 - Passed away on 10th June at 60, Lawrence Road (Renamed Bhai Vir Singh Marg) Amritsar.