Pandit Girdhari Lal, ‘symbol of Hindu-Sikh unity’, passes away

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Malout, February 25

Pandit Girdhari Lal, founder of Mahavir Gaushala, passed away here on Sunday night due to a cardiac arrest. He was 78. He was considered a symbol of Hindu-Sikh unity in the town.

Lal was a security guard with the Punjab National Bank at Lambi and Malout, but he left the job in 1980s and made a small cattle pound in the town. Thereafter, people supported him in the cause and he was now the caretaker of a cattle pound spread in nearly 16 acres. Notably, most of the cattle kept here were non-milching. The milk produced by the cows here was distributed among needy people in some local hospitals.

People close to Lal said the cattle pound land was registered for the purpose of giving shelter to cattle and cannot be used for any other purpose.

A resident said “When he was an employee of the bank, a motorist hit a cow and it died on the spot. This incident changed his life. Thereafter, he started a small cattle pound. However, with the passage of time, his hard work and support from public, he became one of the most respected residents of the town, taking care of nearly 2,000 stray cattle. Besides, he used to hold big religious events annually. He had a large number of followers, including politicians and bureaucrats from Punjab as well as neighbouring states, including Haryana and Rajasthan.”

Harpreet Singh Kotbhai, a former MLA from Malout, said “We used to start our election campaign after taking blessings from him. He was a non-political, reputed personality of the town, who got equal respect from both Hindus and Sikhs. Apart from organising religious events and managing a largely spread gaushala, he brought injured cattle to the gaushala and treated them.”

Pandit Girdhari Lal is survived by two sons — Ram Lal, a bank employee, and Sham Lal, a panchayat secretary.

Now, Lal’s grandson Sandeep Kumar (son of Ram Lal), who was serving along with him, would look after the cattle pound, Kotbhai added.

Sources said from the past about two years, Lal was having a dispute with his son Sham Lal over management of the gaushala. He had even shifted to Rajasthan due to this dispute about two years ago but came back on the request of some social activists of the town.

The cremation was attended by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and local MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti’s son Amanpreet Singh Bhatti. Besides, a large number of people from various walks of life were also present.

Badal too admired Lal for his contribution towards forming a better society.