ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>NISHCHAL SI&#7748GH PA&#7750&#7692IT SANT (1882-1978)</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="NISHCHAL,SIDGH,PAF IT,SANT,Person,Person"> <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">&#65279NISHCHAL SI&#7748GH, PA&#7750&#7692IT SANT (1882-1978), widely respected holy man, preacher of Sikhism and head of the Sev&#257panth&#299 sect of the Sikhs (1950-78), was born on 18 April 1882, the son of Bh&#257&#299 Am&#299r Si&#7749gh and M&#257&#299 Pi&#257r Kaur, a pious couple of Mi&#7789&#7789h&#257 &#7788iw&#257n&#257 in Sh&#257hpur (Sargodh&#257) district of Pakistan Punjab. Nishchal Si&#7749gh lost his father at the age of five and was brought up under the care of his eldest brother, Mahit&#257b Si&#7749gh. Mahit&#257b Si&#7749gh, himself a devoted Sev&#257panth&#299 saint, led Nishchal Si&#7749gh to take to the same path . He sent him to V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299 for higher learning. Nishchal Si&#7749gh, having attained proficiency in Sanskrit studies at V&#257r&#257&#7751as&#299, spent another seven years at Haridv&#257r studying traditional Indian philosophy. He was particularly attracted to Ved&#257nt which he found somewhat akin to Sikh thought. His wide knowledge of Sanskrit literature and philosophy earned him the sobriquet of pa&#7751&#7693it. He returned to Mi&#7789&#7789h&#257 Tiw&#257&#7751&#257 after completing his education in 1914, and vowed to dedicate his life to the propagation of <i>gurmat</i> (Sikhism), spread of education and to humanitarian service. Mi&#7789&#7789h&#257 &#7788iw&#257n&#257 was the centre of his activities in the beginning. Here with the help and guidance of his brother, Mahit&#257b Si&#7749gh, was founded the Gur&#363 N&#257nak High School, in 1914. In 1925, he shifted to Mand&#299 Bah&#257udd&#299n, a sub-divisional town in Jehlum district, and started teaching and preaching in Santpur&#257 &#7693er&#257, a Sev&#257panth&#299 seminary, 3 km outside the town. From here he also went out on long preaching tours to places as far apart as M&#299rpur in Jamm&#363 and Kashm&#299r and &#7693er&#257 Ism&#257'&#299l <u>Kh</u>&#257n in North-West Frontier Province. In 1930-31, he undertook a six-month long journey travelling leisurely and visiting Sikh shrines on the way to preach the word of Gur&#363 N&#257nak at important towns in the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789ra. The tour terminated at N&#257nde&#7693 in what was then the princely state of Hyder&#257b&#257d. He undertook similar tours, by train, in 1940, 1965 and 1973.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The buildings of Sr&#299 Ta<u>kh</u>t Harimandar at Pa&#7789n&#257 S&#257hib had suffered serious damage during an earthquake in 1934, necessitating reconstruction and renovation. The supervision of this work was entrusted to Sant Nishchal Si&#7749gh. He was at Pa&#7789n&#257 S&#257hib in 1947 when the partition of the country and the unprecedented carnage and mass migration of population took place. &#7693er&#257 Santpur&#257 at Ma&#7751&#7693&#299 Bah&#257udd&#299n had its share of the consequent disruption and disaster. Sant Nishchal Si&#7749gh's brother Sant Mahit&#257b Si&#7749gh, a dedicated, luminous soul and lifelong bachelor like himself, died along with about 700 others who had sought refuge in the premises, fighting against a horde of Muslim fanatics who had attacked them. Sant Nishchal Si&#7749gh re-established &#7693er&#257 Santpur&#257 in 1952 at Yamun&#257nagar, now a well-known industrial town in Hary&#257&#7751&#257. The <i>k&#257r-sev&#257</i> at Pa&#7789n&#257 S&#257hib completed by 1957, he made Yamun&#257nagar his permanent residence although his preaching tours continued almost till the end which came on 23 August 1978.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Besides administering the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 <i>p&#257hul</i> to thousands of seekers, Pa&#7751&#7693it Sant Nishchal Si&#7749gh's most memorable contribution was in the field of education. He established several schools and colleges, outside the Punjab, which besides general education provided for the teaching of the Punjabi language and Sikh religion. In addition to separate secondary schools and colleges for boys and girls, other educational institutions founded by him included Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh College, Pa&#7789n&#257 S&#257hib, <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 School, Gauh&#257&#7789i (Assam), <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 School, R&#257ñch&#299 (Bih&#257r), and <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 School Gurdw&#257r&#257 Ba&#7771&#299 Sa&#7749gat, Calcutta (West Bengal).</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1">Jagj&#299t Kaur, <i>J&#299van Brit&#257nt Pa&#7751&#7693at Sant Nishchal Si&#7749gh J&#299</i>. Jalandhar, 1988<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>