CM opens Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale Chair at GNDU

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 14

On the first day of his two-day visit to the district, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday inaugurated prestigious Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale Chair here at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) here. The Chair, set up in memory of the spiritual leader and eminent educationist at a cost of Rs 1 crore contributed by the state government in the current fiscal, will be permanent.

The Chair will be headed by a professor along with three research assistants, for which the university has already sent out applications. Dr Sarabjinder Singh has been appointed as the Chairman of the newly established Chair.

The CM also inaugurated several other projects that had been in the pipeline, including School of Education to be set up at a cost of Rs 6.10 crore, Department of Mass Communication that has been allotted Rs 2.45 crore, Department of Hotel Management and Tourism to be set up at a grant of Rs 3.30 crore and laid the foundation stone of Golden Jubilee Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to be built at a cost of Rs 3.50 crore. He also laid the foundation stones of a shooting range to be built at a cost of Rs 1.58 crore and new sports hostel for boys and girls at a cost of Rs 12.42 crore.

The Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale Chair, he said, would help scholars and researchers undertake extensive research on the life and philosophy of the great saint, who was a pioneer of the practice of imparting formal education at a time when education was not considered important. Lauding the enormous contribution of the Lubana community towards the spread of Sikhism, the Chief Minister said the pivotal role played by the legendary devotees Makhan Shah Lubana and Lakhi Shah Vanjara during the lifetime of ninth Sikh Guru Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, would continue to inspire Punjabis.

Notably, Sant Prem Singh established Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa Lubana School in 1921, and subsequently another school was established in memory of the saint. Even today there are colleges being run by this religious group in Nadala and Begowal towns in Kapurthala district. Sant Prem was elected to the Punjab legislative assembly in 1937 and 1945 and remained a member of the SGPC from 1926 to 1950, playing a pro-active role in the Gurdwara Reforms Movement. After the Partition, he came to Begowal and established a religious group under the name of Sant Bisan Singh. He passed away on June 2, 1950.

In his introductory remarks, Minister for Higher Education Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said the chairs established in universities died their own death due to the paucity of funds. However, the CM in his address assured that grant would be increased for such research and revival of established chairs in universities.