Gulzar Singh Sandhu (born 27 February 1935) is a prominent

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 m ...

writer. He won the prestigious

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

, given by the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, India's National Academy of Letters, for his short story collection, ''Amar Katha'' in 1982.Official list of Awardees

website. Among other awards he was also the recipient of International Association of Authors, Playwrights and Artists of Canada in 1992 and Shiromoni Punjabi Sahityakar Puruskar from the Education Department of Punjab in 2001.

Early life and education

He was born on 27 February 1935 in the village of Kotla Badla in

Samrala Samrala is a city and a municipal council in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical ...

division of

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are ...

. He has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

Gyani A gyani or giani (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਗਿਆਨੀ ) is an honorific Sikh titles, Sikh title used by someone learned in the Sikh religion and who often leads the congregation in prayers, such as Ardas, or in singing (kirtan). The word ...

Punjabi literature Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab region of India and Pakistan and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Sha ...

. He was married to Dr. Surjeet Kaur Pannu on 11 March 1966.

Career

He has held various senior posts with the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultura ...

and

Indian Red Cross The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) is a voluntary humanitarian organization to protect human life and health based in India. It is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and shares the Fundamental Principles of the Inter ...

. He taught in

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

as a professor of Journalism and

Mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

. He was also the chief editor of prominent newspapers and the founding editor of The Punjabi Tribune published from Chandigarh. Due to his remarkable contribution to Punjabi literature has been honored with appointments to several educational and literary institutions such as Punjabi writer's academy, Punjabi literary academy and Punjab arts council. He lives in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

, India with his wife and continues to make valuable contribution to

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognised languages. The earliest works of Indian literature were o ...

. His columns are published regularly in noted Punjabi magazines and newspapers in India and abroad.

References

Sources

* Publication Bureau Punjabi University Patiala * www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandhu, Gulzar Singh Punjabi-language writers Journalists from Punjab, India 1935 births Living people People from Ludhiana district Indian male journalists Indian columnists Indian newspaper editors Academic staff of Punjab Agricultural University Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Punjabi Academic staff of Punjabi University 20th-century Indian journalists