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Patiala, Punjab: Punjabi University is all set to digitise the literary research papers and other articles related to the Ghadar movement.
The centenary celebrations of the movement culminated on November 1.
The university has over 1,000 books, newspaper articles and research papers related to the movement. Some of them, being very old, are in bad shape. Taking note of their condition, the university has decided to preserve them digitally.
The initiative will not only ensure proper upkeep of the record but will also act as an easy reference for students for studying the history of the movement and for research purposes.
Speaking to The Tribune, Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh said the university had already prepared a bibliography on various aspects of the mutiny, which has already been released in San Francisco, the headquarters of the Gadar movement.
“This historical document, comprising more than 700 pages, about the history of the Ghadar movement, will serve as source-book for historians and scholars. Many of the documents available with us are very old and it was getting difficult to preserve them properly. Therefore, we have compiled them in the form of a book and are now going to digitise the records. This will help researchers in tracing a particular incident in the movement,” he said.
The university in collaboration with the Cultural Affairs Ministry, Government of India, also organised a two-day national seminar to mark the centenary celebrations of the Ghadar Movement. The theme of the seminar was “The Ghadar Movement: Analysis of the Writings of the Gadarites and their Representation in Punjabi Literature”. Member of Parliament Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was the chief guest on the occasion.
JS Grewal, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, presented the inaugural address while Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, presided over the seminar.
Prof TR Sareen, former Director, Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, delivered the key-note address.
The Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor lauded Gadri Babas for their contribution in the freedom struggle and honoured the families of martyrs such as Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Shaheed Banta Singh, Pt Sohan Lal Pathak and Pt Jagat Ram Hariana.
Dhindsa inaugurated the newly constructed Sri Guru Granth Sahib Bhawan in the morning. Talking to The Tribune revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha’s granddaughters Sukhjinder Kaur and Sukhdev Kaur today expressed resentment against the Punjab Government saying it had completely ignored the contributions of martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for the independence of India. They said these martyrs had not been given due recognition. They were present at the seminar on the Ghadar Movement at Punjabi University.
“We have met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal many times and have urged him to put forth the case of Sarabha, who was the youngest martyr in the history of the Indian independence. We want him to be given the status of a national martyr with the Central government but all we get is assurances. The government is not doing anything substantial to give these heroes their due,” they said.
They said the government should renovate the ancestral house of Sarabha besides popularising the Ludhiana-Pakhowal road as the Kartar Singh Sarabha road.
Many of the documents available with us are very old and it was getting difficult to preserve them. Therefore, we have compiled them in the form of a book and are now going to digitise the records. This will help researchers in tracing a particular incident in the Ghadar movement
Source: The Tribune
