The Award – Scope and Immediate Details

Punjabi University Launches Bhagat Singh Memorial Award: Linking Past Revolution to Young Scholars

Punjabi University, Patiala announced the inauguration of the ‘Principal Chhabil Das Yadgari Award’ on 28 September 2026, coinciding with Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary. The award, worth ₹5,000 and a certificate of merit, will recognise any young researcher from the university who publishes a book or paper in Punjabi on Bhagat Singh, his revolutionary comrades or any facet of India’s freedom struggle.

The university’s statement outlines the award’s purpose, eligibility and financial endowment. It seeks to encourage scholarship in the Punjabi language, a medium often overlooked in academic discourse on the independence movement.

• ▸The prize amount is ₹5,000 plus a certificate of merit.
• ▸It is open to all young researchers enrolled at Punjabi University, Patiala.
• ▸Submissions must focus on Bhagat Singh, his associates, or any aspect of the Indian freedom struggle, and must be written in Punjabi.
• ▸The endowment is funded by Saba Dewan, the granddaughter of Chhabil Das, who is herself a writer and professor.
• ▸The award will be presented annually on Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary.

Historical Ties: Chhabil Das, Bhagat Singh and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Understanding the award’s symbolic weight requires revisiting the mentor‑student relationship that linked Chhabil Das to Bhagat Singh. In 1923, Das taught Singh at National College Lahore, a period that preceded Singh’s plunge into full‑time revolutionary activity.

• ▸In 1924, Das left academia to join the Hindustan Revolutionary Association (HRA).
• ▸The HRA was re‑branded as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928 under Singh’s initiative.
• ▸Both Das and his wife Sita Devi participated in the freedom struggle; they migrated to Jalandhar after the 1947 Partition.
• ▸Sita Devi later served as a labour leader and Member of Parliament.
• ▸Professor Chaman Lal, a retired JNU faculty member, helped design the award and heads the Hindi department at Punjabi University.

Why Recognising Revolutionary Scholarship Matters Today

The award does more than honour a historic figure; it addresses a lacuna in contemporary historiography. Research on the Freedom struggle of India is disproportionately published in English or Hindi, marginalising regional languages like Punjabi.

• ▸Punjabi‑language scholarship can reach grassroots audiences in Punjab, where oral histories of the independence era remain vibrant.
• ▸Encouraging young scholars aligns with the university’s broader mandate to preserve regional heritage while fostering academic rigor.
• ▸The award creates a financial incentive that may attract dissertations, monographs and journal articles otherwise left unpublished.
• ▸By spotlighting the HSRA’s socialist ethos, the award invites renewed debate on the relevance of left‑wing ideology in today’s political discourse.
• ▸The involvement of a former JNU professor underscores a bridge between national‑level academic networks and regional institutions.

Broader Implications for Historical Memory and Public Policy

Instituting such an award signals a state‑supported effort to embed revolutionary narratives within formal education. It may influence curriculum design, museum exhibitions and even cultural policy.

• ▸State universities could replicate the model, establishing similar endowments for other regional languages.
• ▸Policymakers might consider integrating award‑winning research into school textbooks, thereby enriching civic education.
• ▸The focus on the HSRA may prompt archival initiatives to digitise unpublished letters, pamphlets and trial records.
• ▸Recognition of figures like Sita Devi, a female labour leader and MP, highlights the gendered dimensions of the independence movement, encouraging more inclusive historiography.
• ▸The award’s timing—on Bhagat Singh’s birthday—reinforces the symbolic continuity between past sacrifice and present scholarly endeavour.