Sahib Singh (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly r ...

: ਸਾਹਿਬ ਸਿੰਘ) (16 February 1892 – 29 October 1977) was a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

academic who made a contribution to

literature. He was a grammarian,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was born in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

family to father Hiranand and was named Natthu Ram.

Early life

As a youth, Natthu Ram was apprenticed to a Muslim teacher, Hayat Shah, son of Punjabi poet

Hashim Hashim ( ar, هاشم) is a common male Arabic given name. Hashim may also refer to: *Hashim Amir Ali *Hashim (poet) *Hashim Amla *Hashim Thaçi *Hashim Khan * Hashim Qureshi * Mir Hashim Ali Khan *Hashim al-Atassi *Hashim ibn Abd Manaf *Hashim ib ...

, to teach him the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...

. Whilst at junior school, he saw Sikh soldiers and was so impressed with them that he decided to keep unshorn hair. In 1906, when he was in the ninth grade he became

Amritdhari Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

and gave himself the name of "

Sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...

Singh Singh (Help:IPA, IPA: ) is a title, middle name or surname that means "lion" in various South Asian and Southeast Asian communities. Traditionally used by the Hindu Kshatriya community, it eventually became a common surname adopted by different ...

". At that time he stopped learning

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and started learning

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, which later on helped him in understanding

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and Guru Maneyo Granth, eternal Guru following the lineage of the Sikh gur ...

Later life

After passing the tenth grade, Sahib Singh joined a local school. Later he applied for a job with the postal department, and got the job, borrowing 20 Rs from his house maid as traveling expenses. Later he left home to pursue higher education. He had nowhere to go, having very little money. He later met Pundit Vesta Parsad, a scholarly teacher for help. Sahib Singh passed his FA and BA and started work at Frakka college and later joined

Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

Khalsa college. It was at this college that he met Bava Harkrishan Singh and Bhai Jodh Singh. Sahib Singh's financial situation had improved by this time so that he was able to pay back his debts.

Employment

The death of his father made the situation hard for him. He entered Dyal Singh College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, and then the

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Gov ...

Gurabni Vyakaran by Sahib Singh, where he obtained his bachelor's degree. In 1917 he joined Nanak Khalsa College,

as a lecturer in

. In 1921 Sahib Singh became the Assistant General Secretary of the

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ...

. Sahib Singh took part in Guru Ka Bagh Morcha in 1922 and was arrested. In 1923 he was again arrested when he took part in Jaito Morcha. In 1927 he rejoined

college, where he stayed until 1936. At this time he moved to

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

and joined the Khalsa college as a lecturer in Punjabi. At the college he met fellow Sikh scholars like

Teja Singh Teja Singh was an Indian Sikh scholar, teacher, author and translator. Early life Teja Singh was born on June 2, 1894, in Adiala village, Rawalpindi district, Punjab Province, British India The provinces of India, earlier presid ...

Ganda Singh Ganda Singh, whose home town was Ferozepur in India, was a prominent member of the Ghadar Party. He spent some time in Hankou, China, where he met Chiang Kai-shek. in 1926, and M. N. Roy, in 1927. On the occasion of the visit of the former, he w ...

, Veeram Singh and Mohan Singh. In 1952 he retired from this college to take up a post as Principal at Shaheed Missionary college,

. In 1962 he left to join his son at

Sidhwan Bet Sidhwan Bet is a village in Jagraon Tehsil in Ludhiana district of Punjab State, India. It is located from Jagraon. The village is administrated by a Sarpanch who is an elected representative of village as per the constitution of India and Pan ...

near Jagroan. When his son moved to

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

, he took classes at Gurmat college in

. He was awarded a

Doctorate of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

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. ...

in 1971.

Health and illness

Sahib Singh was often afflicted with illnesses. He suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and died on 29 October 1977.

Publications

Sahib Singh wrote extensively in Punjabi, but most of his works have now been translated into English,

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and other prominent world languages. * Savaiye Sri Mukhvak Maihla 5 ate Bhatta De Savaiye Steek (1930) * Jap Ji Sahib Steek (1931) * Asa Di Vaar Steek (1933) * Sad Steek (1935) * Bhattan de Savaiye Steek (1935) * Sukhmani Sahib Steek (1939) * Khulhe Maidan * Jaap Sahib Savaiye Chaupai Steek (1944) * Dasa Varan Steek (1946) * Salok Te Shabad Farid Ji Steek (1946) * Dharmic Loka (1946) * Gurbani Te Itihas Bare (1946) * Burai Da Takra (1946) * Salok Guru Angad Sahib Steek (1948) * Chanan Munare (1949) * Salok Kabir Ji Steek (1949) * Satte Balwand Di Var Steek (1949) * Gurbani Vyakarn (1950) * Chara Varan Steek (1951) * Dharam Te Sadachar (1951) * Sarbat Da Bhala (1951) * Siddh Gost Steek (1957) * Bhagat Bani Steek Pahila Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Duja Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Tija Hisa (1959) * Bhagat Bani Steek Chautha Hisa (1960) * Bhagat Bani Steek Punjvah Hisa (1960) * Sikh Sidak Na Haare (1962) * Jeevan Britant - Guru Nanak Dev Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Angad Dev Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Amar Das Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Ramdas Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji * Sri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan (Dasa Pothiarn) (1965) * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1966) * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji * Jeevan Britant - Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib te Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib * Gur Itihas Patshahi 2 ton 9 (1968) * Aad Bir bare (1970) * Sikh Sidak Na Hare * Sadachar Lekh (1971) * Simran Diya Barkata (1971) * Barahmaha, Tukhari Te Maajh (1972) * Meri Jeevan Kahani (1977)

Posthumous

* Nitnem Steek (1979) * Babania Kahanian (1981) * Bani Maihla 9 Steek (2003)

References

External links

* http://www.sikhsangat.org/2010/10/october-29th-sahib-singh-ji/ * http://www.gurugranthdarpan.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sahib 20th-century Indian linguists Indian Sikhs 1977 deaths 1892 births Sikh writers People from Patiala Indian religious writers Punjabi-language writers Writers from Punjab, India Converts to Sikhism from Hinduism