ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>KESAR SI&#7748GH (d. 1935)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="KESAR,SIDGH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279KESAR SI&#7748GH (d. 1935), a Sikh virtuoso of the Qur'&#257n. How Arabic sat upon Sikh lips will be a fascinating question to ask. Arabic when she came to India made good friends with the languages of India. They took note of its sonorous periods and resonant style of recitation. There were Indians at that time who had gained remarkable proficiency in cross-cultural expression. R&#257j&#257 Rammohun Roy (1772-1833) was one of them. He had mastered both Sanskrit and Arabic. A Sikh scholar who had established unquestioned authority in Arabic letters was Sard&#257r Sir Attar Si&#7749gh of Bhadau&#7771 (1833-1896). He carried the dual distinction of formal certification in both areas --- in Arabic as well as in Sanskrit. In the former he was honoured with a Shamas ul-'Ulem&#257 and in the latter with a Mah&#257mahop&#257dhy&#257ya. He commuted between these two worlds of learning with sovereign ease and distinction. There had likewise been scholars before and after them claiming mastery of both. At least two of them were venerable Sanskrit and Arabic scholars. They were Sard&#257r &#7788h&#257kur Si&#7749gh Sandh&#257&#7749v&#257l&#299&#257 (1837-1887) and Ka&#7749var Bikram&#257 Si&#7749gh of Kap&#363rthal&#257 (1835-1887).</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To return to Kesar Si&#7749gh, the life of the Sikh who knew the Qur'&#257n by heart was as unusual as was his original name, Akbar Si&#7749gh. He was the youngest of three sons of Thaman Si&#7749gh, who owned 20 acres of land, partly irrigated by canal, in &#7692&#257&#7749gr&#299 village, in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 state. He had three sisters. In those days every additional hand, boy or girl, was needed for cultivation and farmers as a rule did not send their children to school.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Akbar Si&#7749gh tended his father's cattle until he was 12. He wanted to go to school. Being sick of a cowherd's life, he ran away from home and reached his maternal uncle, who welcomed his nephew and had him admitted to Government Middle School, Dehe&#7771&#363, five miles away.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Akbar Si&#7749gh went to school on foot, like boys of other neighbouring villages. In those days the middle school examination was also conducted by the university.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mr Trump, the chief inspector of schools, who came to hold the examination was surprised at the queer name, Akbar Si&#7749gh.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The inspector ordered his name to be changed to Kesar Si&#7749gh. His certificate of University of the Pañj&#257b, Lahore, dated 11 June 1885, certified Kesar Si&#7749gh as having passed the Vernacular Middle School examination held in April 1885. At the left hand top of the certificate, his original name, Akbar Si&#7749gh Dehe&#7771&#363, is written in Persian.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kesar Si&#7749gh joined class 9 in Government Model School, Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, which was located in one wing of Mohindr&#257 College. After Matriculation he joined Mohindr&#257 College.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kesar Si&#7749gh topped the university in BA and won the Viceroy's (Northbrook) Gold Medal and university scholarship for postgraduate studies. As Mohindr&#257 College had no M.A. classes, his M.A. was from Lahore Oriental College run by Pañj&#257b University. Of all the subjects, he chose Arabic, which normally Muslims opted for. He stood first, in the first class, in the final examination.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those who believe in rebirth would perhaps interpret the phenomenon in these terms. Kesar Si&#7749gh must have been a Muslim in his previous birth, and an Arabic scholar to boot.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There being only one college in the state of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 in which the post of Arabic teacher had already been filled up, Kesar Si&#7749gh joined service as science master in Government Middle School, Bhav&#257n&#299ga&#7771h.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Some years later, he was transferred to Mohindr&#257 College as Lecturer-cum-Librarian.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After 15 years as Lecturer-cum-Librarian; he was transferred to Foreign Office or Munsh&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257n&#257 as it was commonly called. He wrote English, Persian/Urdu and Sanskrit in a beautiful hand.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kesar Si&#7749gh's last assignment was that of a <i>vak&#299l</i> at Toor&#257vati in Jaipur state. Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257 state appointed <i>vak&#299ls</i> in the states and in <i>a&#7749grez&#299 il&#257q&#257</i> (British Indian territory) which had a common border with the state. The <i>vak&#299ls</i> acted as the state's representatives and watched its interests.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kesar Si&#7749gh quoted from the holy Qur'&#257n, Had&#299th, renowned Persian poets like Shai<u>kh</u> S&#257'd&#299 and H&#257f&#299z and from Sanskrit classics as fluently as he quoted Gurb&#257&#7751&#299 in his letters to his only son, Part&#257p Si&#7749gh, to educate him and advise him.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Eventually, Part&#257p Si&#7749gh became a doctor and joined state service. In one of his letters, quoting from the Holy Qur'&#257n, Kesar Si&#7749gh wrote to his son thus : "Dear Part&#257p Si&#7749gh always keep in mind what moral comes from the sacred verse --- it says that when the near and dear ones of a dying man lose all hope, they lay him on the floor. That scene you must always keep before your eyes while serving ailing humanity and preparing medico-legal reports at your place of posting. Never give a false report. This is very important."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In another letter Kesar Si&#7749gh quoted the Prophet as having said that the ink of a scholar is more precious than the blood of a martyr.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kesar Si&#7749gh had a close relationship with Sard&#257r Dy&#257l Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257, the founder of <i>The Tribune</i>, Dy&#257l Si&#7749gh College and Dy&#257l Si&#7749gh Library at Lahore. Kesar Si&#7749gh's first cousin, Bhagv&#257n Kaur, was married to Sard&#257r Dy&#257l Si&#7749gh Maj&#299&#7789h&#299&#257. She could read and write Punjabi (Gurmukh&#299) and was well versed in Sikh scriptures and was matchless in beauty. She had great influence upon her husband.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; While the exact date of birth of Kesar Si&#7749gh was not known, he was said to have been born 12 years after the Mutiny, i.e. in 1869. He died in 1935, of pneumonia, after a short illness. He was 65.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His son, Dr Part&#257p Si&#7749gh, has made his home in Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257. On a stipend given by Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Bh&#363pinder Si&#7749gh, he entered King Edwards Medical College, Lahore, where he received his M.B.B.S. in 1924-25. Today, at 96, he sounds as truly as a bell. He regularly goes out for his morning walk. He travels, attends his professional meetings and scarcely ever misses a conference or symposium of his interest at the Punjabi University.</p> </ol><p class="CONT">R. S. Datta<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>