Chandigarh, November 27:
Sikh Educational Society held the annual Panth Rattan Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra Memorial Award Function at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26,Chandigarh. The award ceremony is held to pay homage to Jathedar Tohra for his meritorious contribution to the cause of education and to provide inspiration to the coming generations from his outstanding egalitarian accomplishments. Prof Amrik Singh Ahluwalia, Pro Vice Chancellor, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Sirmaur (HP) was the Chief Guest for the event. Prof Karamjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor, Jagat Guru Nanak Punjab State Open University was a Special Invitee. Dr Navjot Kaur, Principal, SGGS College welcomed all the dignitaries and gave a brief overview of the constituent institutions of the SES and the dissemination of education in the region undertaken by the Sikh Educational Society. President SES, S Gurdev Singh Brar, IAS (Retd), said that the major aim of the award is to honour two/three prominent persons who have played a distinguished role in furtherance of the cause of Punjab history, culture and Sikh value system. Col (Retd) Jasmer Singh Bala, Secretary, SES, spoke extensively about the life and legacy of Jathedar Tohra. Dr Tejwant Singh Gill, an eminent cultural historian, translator and critic of art and literature from Punjab and Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill, a distinguished Punjabi poet and sports and culture enthusiast were conferred with the award for the year 2020.
The ceremony included the release of the written Souvenir chronicling the life of Jathedar Tohra and three books - ‘Sikh National College Lahore- Sthaapana Te Vikaas’; ‘Guru Teg Bahadur Shabd Kosh Ate Tuk Tatkara’; and ‘The Power of the Plough’ - authored by Faculty members from different institutions under the SES. S Balkar Singh, former Professor, Panjabi University, Patiala presented his analyses of Gurcharan Singh Tohra in his paper “Chettayan wicch arkkiya Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra.” S Amarjit Singh Grewal , prominent Punjabi writer presented a paper on the theme ‘Kisana Tera Ki Banu?’ in which he highlighted the plight of farmers and stressed upon the urgent need to process raw materials at the grassroot level itself. S Kulbir Singh , Chief Engineer (Retd) and Vice President, SES delivered the vote of thanks and encouraged the audience to take inspiration from the noble ideas and actions of Jathedar Tohra.