Bhai Vir Singh's birth anniversary: Time to redefine human connect with nature, say scholars

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 2

A two-day global conference to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sikh scholar Bhai Vir Singh concluded today with a call to redefine human relationship with nature.

In his valedictory address, Prof Pritam Singh from Oxford Brookes University, UK, focused on the ecological concerns of Bhai Vir Singh through his writings. He laid special emphasis on poetic discourse of Bhai Vir Singh which transcends boundaries of caste, colour and gender.

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Former Chief Justice of India Justice JS Khehar (retd) inaugurated the conference yesterday. It was attended by 40 delegates from different universities and colleges from Punjab and Delhi and scholars from the US, Canada and Singapore. Five academic sessions and a valedictory session saw debates on themes such as modernity and change in colonial Punjab; polity and society of Punjab after its annexation by the British in 1849; Bhai Vir Singh and colonial modernity; recurring themes of the characters depicted in his novels.

Talking about Bhai Vir Singh’s first novel, “Sundri”, Dr Karamjit K Malhotra from Punjabi University mentioned how relevant this novel was in defining the past, present and future of Sikhism. In her paper, Prof Amrit Basra emphasised how the colonial masters created the Punjab School of Administration to control a difficult province which was last to be conquered by the British. They successfully divided the Punjabi society by creating agricultural and non-agricultural classes, controlling important Sikh shrines, including the Golden Temple, and appointing managers who professed loyalty to the Raj and condemned nationalist forces.

Most scholars agreed Bhai Vir Singh’s novels could be a major source of inspiration to promote equality in society especially with regard to the role of women. In her presidential address, Prof Madhu Khanna emphasised ecology and spirituality should form central space in the curriculum in universities. Dr Nina Puri, vice-president of the Bhai Vir Singh Sadan, assured the sadan would take up research projects to work on themes with regard to ecology.

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