Work extensively on Master Tara Singh, scholars told

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 18

The department of history of the Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh, organised a one-day national seminar on Master Tara Singh in ‘Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism and Politics of Sikh Identity’, on Wednesday.

The theme of the seminar was to analyse Master Tara Singh in the cultural framework of Punjab and contextualise him in the background of the nationalistic aspiration for a free nation.

The inaugural session started with a welcome address by Dr Jatinder Kaur, Principal, Guru Gobind Singh College for Women. Col JS Bala (retd), secretary, Sikh Educational Society, welcomed guests and deliberated upon the multidimensional persona of Master Tara Singh.

Guest of honour Prof Jaspal Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, highlighted Master Tara Singh’s role in Indian politics and emphasised that he was a person in politics but behaved beyond politics and worked towards ‘sarbat da bhalla’.

Jathedar Gobind Singh Longowal, president, SGPC, Amritsar, who was the chief guest, released the book, ‘Master Tara Singh in Indian History: Colonialism, Nationalism and Politics of Sikh Identity’, authored by Prof JS Grewal, former Vice-Chancellor, GNDU, Amritsar.

The keynote address for the seminar was delivered by Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar, Emeritus Professor in History, Kurukshetra University, who applauded Prof Grewal’s work in creating an unmatched narrative on Master Tara Singh. He mentioned that the success of Master Tara in emerging as a powerful leader of the panth could only be made possible by his unrelenting pursuits of Sikh interests. Prof Tanwar motivated other scholars, present at the event, to work extensively on the great man.

Talking on his book, Prof Grewal shared anecdotes and his creative process of writing. While narrating excerpts from his historiography, he mentioned that a new phase in the study on Master Tara has commenced and Wednesday’s seminar was a foundation stone for the same.

In the plenary session on critical appreciation of Master Tara’s contribution, Prof Indu Banga, Emeritus Professor of History, Panjab University, was in the Chair. The invited lectures were delivered by Prof Prithipal Singh Kapur, former VC, GNDU, Amritsar; Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, member, SGPC, Amritsar; Dr Dharamjit, former principal, Sikh National College, Banga; Harvinder Singh Khalsa, former president, Punjab Lalit Kala Academy, Chandigarh; and Dr Harpreet Singh Hundal, assistant professsor, Sikh National College, Kadian.