By Asia Samachar | India |
Sardar Saran Singh, a respected Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official who then took up Panthic service with gusto, passed away on Wednesday (16 February 2022). He was 98.
He will be remembered for his dedicated seva (voluntary service) as the editor of The Sikh Review, a monthly Sikh magazine published from Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. Until the 1980s and the emergence of online Sikh platforms, the magazine was probably one of the most influential titles for Sikhi discussions in the English medium. Saran (11.9.1923 – 16.2.2022) played a key role here.
“A man of many talents with a deep understanding as an IAS officer and as an Editor of Sikh Review magazine, Kolkata,” wrote Sikh thinker Prof I.J. Singh, who had served on the magazine’s editorial board.
T Sher Singh, editor and publisher of media portal The Sikh Chic, wrote in a LinkdedIn entry: “This extraordinary man retired from his day-job in 1983 as one of India’s top civil administrators, widely acclaimed by the people of every state in which he was posted, and by his IAS peers. The marvel is that he then became twice as busy.”
Saran’s last posting was as an advisor to the Governor of Assam at Guwahati. At point of time, he was a deputy commissioner at Dhanbad, Bihar and secretary to the Government of India in its Ministry of Social Welfare. Over the years, due to his IAS stints, he had known personally Indira Gandhi, who became Prime Minister for three consecutive terms between 1966-77 and then again from 1980-84.
He wrote that Saran then headed an educational foundation which has been successfully running one of the leading schools – a Sikh one at that – Dagshai Public School), in the Simla hills.
“He led a large publishing venture which focuses on gurmat literature. And the crown achievement of his life: he was the Editor of ‘The Sikh Review’ for the last four decades. That is, during the full span of his ‘retirement’,” he wrote.
The story as to how Saran came into the fold of The Sikh Review is captured in an article he penned himself for The Sikh Chic. Among others, he alluded to the volatile situation in India then in 1983.
“Being swept into these circumstances, and with the Punjab (and Delhi) seething under untoward political developments, I stayed on in Calcutta. In fact, I had an appointment with the then PM, Mrs Gandhi (who knew me well in Assam and earlier) on May 1984, when I was scheduled to visit Delhi (on invitation of UPSC). I intended to advise her to forebear and temper her Punjab policy under President’s Rule….That meeting never materialized because of her preoccupation in the Lok Sabha. When the army launched a frontal assault on Amritsar on June 3, 1984. I was shocked. I found The Sikh Review editor, Capt. Bhag Singh Ji [a WW II hero] broken hearted!,” he wrote.
At Capt. Bhag Singh’s request, Saran said he wrote the Guest Editorial for The (black border) Sikh Review’s July 1984 issue, which was promptly banned in Punjab and Chandigarh by a government notification. In 1985, when Capt Bhag Singh left, Saran said that he had no choice but to assume the role as editor.
For those who have had the opportunity to converse with him via letters, they were always left marvelling at his beautiful handwriting.
“His handwritten letters look as though they had been typed,” Harcharan Singh, a former Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) leader who has been a long-standing representative for The Sikh Review in Malaysia.
Prof Devinder Singh Chahal from Canada-based Institute for Understanding Sikhism (IUS) described Saran as ‘a person of open mind and rationalist’.
“He has been publishing my articles and also published the views of those who disagree with my views who believe in traditional Sikhi being taught for the last 100 years,” he wrote in an entry at email-based Sikh discussion platform Gurmat Learning Zone.
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The tragic demise of Sardar Saran Singh, Emeritus Editor of The Sikh Review, signals the end of an era for the Sikh world. Way back in 1985, Sardar Saran Singh had assumed the challenging role of the Editor of the esteemed Sikh journal. Under his amazing stewardship, the quality of The Sikh Review improved significantly; the magazine’s readership also increased phenomenally. The global Sikh community regarded the unique Sikh magazine as its own mouthpiece. Sardar Saran Singh took up the Sikh causes with great zeal and enthusiasm. The outstanding Editorials penned by him were read with keen interest by the readers in India as well as in other countries. Many new Sikh writers found their writings published for the first time in the prestigious Sikh journal.
Public servants who become fearless Panthic servants following retirement (or after being sacked!), can be troublesome for the State in “Ghar da bheti Lanka dhaahay” mode! They get to know the system and are required to second-guess their political bosses when serving, briefing or writing political speeches. I include judges (when the judiciary is not fully independent), army and police officers in this category. And, of course familiarity breeds contempt. Panthic sevadars in this category, who readily come to mind, are, Sirdar Kapur Singh (sacked), Dr Sangat Singh, Prof Gurtej Singh IAS (sacked), Justice Bains and, of course, S. Saran Singh. He will be missed. I treasure some short e-mail exchanges with him in which he encouraged coverage of diverse topics concerning Panthic advancement. Loved his last video recording of a Shabad which reminded me of own Gurdwara Kirtan days at Taiping (Malaysia).
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