A lifelong bond

I was introduced to The Tribune as a school student. Since then, my day has begun with a cup of tea and The Tribune. I have not missed a single issue, even when I was away in the US on teaching assignments. I vividly recall that my first write-up in The Tribune appeared in the form of a ‘Letter to the Editor’. Thereafter, I have contributed to special supplements in the paper on almost all major historic events in Sikh history — particularly the bicentenary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s rule, the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, and the 150th birth anniversary of Bhai Vir Singh.

While conducting my research on the Akali movement, I discovered that The Tribune was the only dependable source that consistently covered the five-year-long struggle of the Akalis (1920-25). I also came to appreciate Prof Ruchi Ram Sahni’s special commitment to presenting a truthful, day-to-day account of the movement, countering false official propaganda. When Prof Sahni realised that, as a Trustee of The Tribune, he could not visit Guru-ka-Bagh to expose the excesses of police brutality against peaceful Akali volunteers, he resigned from the Trusteeship and became a correspondent. This enabled him to provide first-hand accounts of the Akali resistance against British authorities — an agitation that Mahatma Gandhi described as the “first victory of India’s struggle for freedom”.

Prof Sahni also authored a reliable account of the movement in his book ‘Struggle for Reform in Sikh Shrines’, published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 1965. When we organised a seminar to mark the centenary of the Akali Movement, we invited Prof Ruchi Ram Sahni’s great-granddaughter, Dr Neera Burra, whom we honoured along with Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu, the grandson of the great Akali leader Teja Singh Samundri.

Samundri had refused to secure his release from prison by signing a conditional release, as some leaders had done, and ultimately died in jail on July 17, 1926. On this occasion, a book titled ‘Secret and Private Papers of the Akali Movement’, edited by me and carrying a foreword by Mark Tully, was also released. By a strange coincidence, a review of this book appeared in the magazine section of The Tribune on February 1, 2026.

I have also been reading about The Tribune and its visionary founder, Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia. It is heartening to note that the Trustees of The Tribune have zealously guarded the founder’s legacy and preserved its liberal character. I am equally glad that the Editor-in-Chief and the editorial staff continue to write bold editorials without fear or favour.

Encouraged by Sh NN Vohra, Chairman of The Tribune Trust, I paid my tributes to Dr Amrik Singh and Dr Manmohan Singh, the gentle Prime Minister of India and president of the governing body of our institute, by writing an article titled ‘Dr Manmohan, the Authentic Gentleman’, in The Tribune.

— The writer is Director of the

National Institute of Panjab

Studies and Bhai Vir Singh

Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi