Jaswant Singh Rahi

Jaswant Singh Rahi
Born	1913 Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab
Died	11 April 1996(1996-04-11) (aged 83) Dera Baba Nanak, Punjab
Occupation	Writer, freedom fighter, communist
Years active	1930–96
Spouse(s)	Satwant Kaur
Children	Inderjeet Singh Rahi, Sarabjeet Singh Rahi, Rajwant Singh Rahi

Jaswant Singh Rahi was an eminent Punjabi poet, democratic writer, communist and freedom fighter. He was born and lived his whole life in Dera Baba Nanak. Rahi was born in a Rajput (Jaswal) family. As per eminent columnist Joginder Singh Bedi, "Born in the holy town of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district the Sahit Shiromani Poet Jaswant Singh Rahi's contribution to Punjabi world of letters is no less than that of Dhani Ram Chatrik, Prof Mohan Singh (poet) and Prof Puran Singh. This poeet is Popularly known for his slogan Jai Mitarta".

Biography

Early life

Rahi family had devoted itself to India's struggle for independence from British colonial rule. He was very close to Baba Pyare Lal Bedi, a Punjabi Sikh, an author and philosopher. He married Satwant Kaur, a Sikh girl form Fatehgarh Churian of Gurdaspur district in Punjab who bore him eight children, three sons namely – Rajwant Singh Rahi, Inderjeet Singh Rahi and Sarbjeet Singh Rahi; and five daughters namely – Late Ms Sukhbir Kaur (was a social activist and Punjabi writer), Santosh, Raj Kumari, Mohanjeet and Kanwaljeet. The daughters-in-law are Charanjeet Kaur, Ravinder Rahi and Kulwinder Kaur. His grandchildren include Baninder Rahi who is a journalist and media educator and has worked with The Indian Express, The Pioneer and Daily Post. Other children are Kavita Rahi, Bikramjeet Singh Rahi, Natasha Rahi, Navkiran Rahi, Prateek Rahi and Sarvnoor Singh Rahi.

He also mentored famous writers like Rajwant Kaur Nagi and Shiv Kumar Batalvi, during his early years. Batalvi used to spend weeks at his house in Dera Baba Nanak.

Works

Jaswant Singh Rahi was inspired by the freedom struggle, joined the Communist movement and at that time changed his name to Rahi. He wrote several novels, poetry, and biography in three parts. He was awarded by the Punjabi Lekhari Sabha and won the Punjabi Sahit Shiromani Award.

Books

• Lahoo Bhiji Chanani (1981)
• Pauna De Tarihaey (1981)
• Kabran Da Gulab (1982)
• Parchhavian da sach (1988)
• Moye phulan da mandar (1990)
• Adhoora Safar (1991)
• Main Kiven Jeeveya I, II, III (Autobiography)
• Dohre Rahi De (1996)

Communist

His political identity soon came into the limelight, and he became an influential political leader of the border region. He had very friendly relations with Santokh Singh Randhawa, the then MLA of the constituency.

Awards

Jaswant Singh Rahi won several awards for his works, and his contributions for freedom struggle. He was conferred with the honour of "Rashtriya Kavi" (National Poet) by the Government of India on 26 January 1972 for his immense contribution to Punjabi literature. Rahi was also conferred with Tamar Patra by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

References

• "Jaswant Singh Rahi (Open Library)". openlibrary.org. Retrieved 2014-01-31. ^[1]
• "SINGH BROTHERS". singhbrothers.com. Retrieved 2014-01-31. ^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

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External links