Punjabi University, Patiala, has instituted the ‘Principal Chhabil Das Yadgari Award’ for its young researchers, which will be given every year on the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the great freedom fighter.
According to a statement issued by the University, Mr. Das was a teacher of Bhagat Singh at National College Lahore in 1923, before he jumped into full-time revolutionary activities and joined the Hindustan Revolutionary Association/Army (HRA) in 1924, which later became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association/Army (HSRA) at the initiative of Bhagat Singh in 1928.
“Principal Chhabil Das and his wife Sita Devi were both freedom fighters who had migrated to Jalandhar post 1947. Chhabil Das, a professor of English in college, was himself a prolific Urdu writer of books like Why Socialism. Sita Devi, as a labour leader, remained an MP. The award has been instituted with an endowment fund provided by Chhabil Das’s granddaughter, Saba Dewan, herself a gifted writer of English and Prof. Chaman Lal, a retired Professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University with a long association with Punjabi University, Patiala as a faculty member and Head of the Hindi department,” it said.
The five thousand rupees award along with a certificate of merit will be given to any young researcher of Punjabi University Patiala for writing, presenting, or publishing any book or research paper on the contribution of Bhagat Singh, his revolutionary associates or any aspect of the freedom struggle of India in the Punjabi language, said the statement.
Published – July 29, 2026 07:55 am IST
