Ganda Singh (historian)

Early life

Dr. Ganda Singh ji was born on November 15, 1900, at Hariana, a town in Hoshiarpur district of British Punjab. He was schooled in the local Government Middle School and then the D.A.V. Middle School. He matriculated from Government High School, Hoshiarpur. Then he went to the Forman Christian College, Lahore.

Researcher and Historian In October 1931 began Dr Ganda Singh's long and fruitful career as a researcher and historian. The Khalsa College at Amritsar placed him in charge of its newly created Sikh History Research Department, which position he kept till 1949. During this period he travelled extensively, rummaging various public libraries, archives and private collections throughout India in quest of materials on Sikh history, enriching the library of his department. He also brought out several books and tracts based on these. In 1949 he was appointed Director of Archives and Curator of Museum under the Government of PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union). In 1950 he received the additional charge of Director of the Punjabi Department. His thesis on Ahmad Shah Durrani earned him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Punjab University, Chandigarh, in 1954, as well as much applause from scholars and historians. Among them he counted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a leading Indian savant of the day. Dr Ganda Singh was principal of the Khalsa College, Patiala, when he was invited by the Punjabi University, Patiala, to organize its Department of Punjab Historical Studies. He set up Punjab History Conference in 1965 which became a very active forum for the discussion of matters relating to Punjab history. In 1967, he launched the University's journal, the biannual The Panjab Past and Present, of which he himself was the editor and which gathered high repute and much prestige over the years. In 1938, he had been appointed a corresponding member of Indian Historical Records Commission of Government of India, and was a full member of the Commission from 1950 to 1956. He was nominated member of Punjab Regional Committee for the Survey of Historical Records, Government of Punjab, Lahore, and of Indian Historical Records Commission, Government of India. He was secretary of the Committee for the History of Freedom Movement in PEPSU, Patiala, and chairman of the Regional Records Survey Committee for History of Freedom Movement, Shimla/Patiala, from November 1957 to December 1962. He held membership of Asiatic Society, Calcutta, Indian Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London, and Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Poona. He presided over the medieval section of Punjab History Conference session of the Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, held at Shillong in 1974 as well as over its 13th session held at Panaji (Goa) in 1975. In 1974, he presided the 35th session of Indian History Congress at Jadavpur. HONORS Dr Ganda Singh's magnificent work was widely acknowledged and lauded in his lifetime, and he received honours from a number of professional institutions and associations. The Punjab Government invested him with the Award for Literature on 31 March 1963 and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, paid its tribute on 28 March 1964. On 19 December 1964, Muslim University, 'Aligarh, conferred on him the degree of D. Litt. honoris causa. Sikh Educational Conference honoured him during its 52nd annual session held at Kanpur on 2527 October 1974, and Punjabi University, Patiala, at the annual session of the Punjab History Conference held during November 1976. The University also brought out during the same year an anthology, Essays in Honour of Dr Ganda Singh, lovingly edited by his old pupil Professor Harbans Singh. The University also awarded him the degree of Doctor of Literature at its 15th convocation held on 25 February 1978. The Indian History Congress during its Silver Jubilee session held at Panaji (Goa) on 57 November 1987 honoured him as one of the five distinguished historians of India. The Government of India honoured him with the award of Padma Bhushan in 1983. In the course of his long career as a researcher and scholar, Dr Ganda Singh had acquired a vast personal collection of rare books, maps, documents and manuscripts which occupied several rooms of his modest residence on the Lower Mall at Patiala. This precious treasure is now the property of Punjabi University, Patiala, to which institution he donated the entire collection. Dr Ganda Singh died at Patiala on 27 December 1987.