Avtar Singh Sandhu (1950-1988), pen name “Pash”, was an Indian poet of Punjabi literature. He was one of the leading poets of the Nexalite movement of the 1970s. Pash is known for his poetry collections Loh Katha (A Tale of Steel), Udadian Bazan Magar (Follow the Eagle), Saddey Sameyaan Vich (Our Time) and Khilre Hoye Warke. On March 23, 1988, 37-year-old Pash was assassinated by Khalistan terrorists in the village of Talwandi Salem in the Jalandhar district of Punjab, India.
Wiki/Biography
Pash was born Avtar Singh Sandhu (37 years old) on Saturday, September 9, 1950, in Talwandi Salem village, Nakodar, Jalandhar district, Punjab, India. ; at death). His zodiac sign is Virgo. At the age of 6, Pash entered a public school in the nearby village of Kiva. In 1964, he passed the midterm exam. Pash attended a technical school in Kapurthala, Punjab, where he obtained a vocational diploma. He gave up his vocational diploma and got admitted into a high school in Jalandhar to complete his matriculation course.
family
Pash was born into a Jat Sikh family.
parents and siblings
Pash’s father, Sohan Singh Sandhu, was an Indian Army soldier who fought in the War of Independence. Pash’s father was a poetry lover. Pash has two sisters, Pami and Rajend, and two brothers, Ajit and Sucha.
wife and children
Pash married Rajwinder Kaur Sandhu in 1978. She is a nurse and lives in California, USA. In January 1981, the couple had a daughter, Winkle Sandhu. Winkle Sandhu is an elementary school teacher in California, USA.
Parsh and his daughter Winkle Sandhu
Pash’s daughter Winkle Sandhu with her mother Rajwinder Kaur (right)
Profession
poetry
Pash published his first book “Loh-Katha” (The Iron Story) in 1970. The book emphasizes defiance and Pash’s desire to have a kingdom like Dushyanta (the king in Hindu literature).
Pash’s first book “Loh Katha” (A Tale of Steel)
In 1974, Pash’s second book was published titled “Uddade Bazan Magar” (Following the Eagle). He wrote the book from jail, talking about the Naxalite movement.
Parsh’s second book “Uddade Bazan Magar” (Follow the Flying Eagle)
In 1978, Pash’s last book, Saadey Samiyan Vich (Our Time), was published. This book is a different project because it reflects his ideas as well as proven facts.
Parsh’s third book “Saadey Samiyan Vich” (Our Time)
Parsh’s most influential poem, “Sab Ton Khatarnak” (The Most Dangerous), reflected the unjust and repressive environment of his time. Pash recited the poem for the first time on April 5, 1987, at a Martyrs’ Day commemoration event organized by the British Indian Workers Association at Somerfield Community Center in Smethwick, England.
Parsh’s poem “Sab Ton Khatarnak” (The Most Dangerous)
Pash’s book, Khilre Hoye Varkey, was published posthumously in 1989 by Punjabi writer Amarjit Chandan.
Pash’s writing in Khilre Hoye Varkey (loose pages)
dispute
imprisonment
On May 10, 1970, Pash was sent to prison for allegedly killing the owner of the Nakodar brick kiln. Apparently, he knew the killer, which is why he was arrested. Pash was released after more than a year in prison. In 1972, Pash published a magazine “Siarh”. Pash was detained for disrupting the peace in the state and promoting hatred and violence through his magazine.
die
Pash was assassinated by Khalistani terrorists on March 23, 1988, in his hometown Talwandi Salem in Nakodar, Jalandhar district, Punjab. Pash was a bold critic of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, resulting in Pash receiving death threats. To avoid any attacks, Pash moved to the United States on a tourist visa in 1986, and her sister immigrated to the United States after her marriage. In order to renew his tourist visa, Pash had to return to India and apply for renewal at an embassy in another country. Pash and his friend Hans Raj went to take a bath in a tube well in the village, but they were both shot down by terrorists. Pash was killed just a day before he was supposed to travel to Delhi to catch a flight to Brazil to obtain a tourist visa to return to the United States.
tubewell where pash was assassinated
Favorites
- Poets: Pablo Neruda and Bertolt Brecht
Facts/Trivia
- In 1984, Khalistani terrorists made a list of four people to be killed near Parsh’s village of Talwandi Salem. Pash’s name tops the list.
- In 1985, the Punjab Sahitya Academy approved the literary award to Pash.
- The pen name “Pash” comes from the novel “Mother” by Russian writer Maxim Gorky. Maxim Gorky had a huge impact on Pash’s life.
- Pash owns 10 acres of cultivated and wasteland as his grandfather was a wealthy landowner in the village. However, Pash was never interested in agriculture, he always wanted to write and talk about his ideology.
- Pash is a person with “left” views (ideologies that support social equality).
- In 2005, Parsh’s famous poem “Sab Ton Khatarnaak” was included in the NCERT Class 11 Hindi textbook. The additions to the text were later condemned by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Dinanath Batra, who called for the text to be deleted. Poems in books. However, NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapty rejected the request and issued a statement to keep the poem as part of the curriculum.
- Pash grew up in the Naxal movement (Maoist political sentiment and ideological movement). Consequently, most of Pash’s writings were influenced by the Naxalite movement in Punjab.
- After Pash’s death, the Pash Memorial International Trust was established, PO Box 3215. kamloops, BC, Canada, V2C 6B8.
- To earn a living, Pash worked for a while with the border security force in Jalandhar but quit soon after.
- In 1985, Pash won a scholarship to Punjab College.
- Pash’s works have been translated into various languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali and English.
- Pash was a close friend of Punjabi poet and writer Sujit Patal.
- In 2021, locals in the village of Tarvan de Salem celebrated Pash’s birthday at the tube well where he and his friend Hans Raj were shot.
- Pash’s poem “Main Hun Vida Hunda Haan” was written before he was killed on March 23, 1988.
- Deeply influenced by Marxist ideas, Pash wrote to demonstrate the principles of social change.
- Revolutionary poetry was initiated by Pash of Punjab.
- Pash’s daughter, Winkle Sandhu, was seven years old when he was killed.
- Pash has been called the “Pablo Neruda of the Punjab”.
- Pash wrote letters to prominent figures like Surjit Patar, Amrita Pritam and Shiv Kumar Batalvi from prison Writer, write the story of the era of resistance.
- Pash was the founder of the “Punjabi Forum on Literature and Culture” (“Punjabi Sahit Te Sabhiachar Manch”) in 1973.
- In 1986, Pash founded the American magazine Anti-47 Front, a collective of writers opposing militants in Khalistan, Punjab.
Pash’s writings on the Anti-47 Front
- Pash edited the literary magazine Hemjyoti between 1974 and 1975.
- In 1974, Pash wrote Mirha Singh’s biography “The Flying Sikh 1974”.
Biography of Mirha Singh by Pash
- In the late 90s, Pash worked as a journalist for the magazine “Des Pardes”.
- Pash’s complete work is published by the Pash Memorial International Trust in “Sampooran Pash Kav” (2000).
- In 2013, Pash’s father Sohan Singh Sandhu compiled all of Pash’s works into a book titled “Pash Di Vartak- Talwandi Salem Nu Jaandi Sadak”. This book contains more than 180 poems by Pash.
A collection of poems published by Pash’s father
- In memory of Pash and his friend Hans Raj, a memorial complex was erected in their honor in their hometown.
Complex named after Pash and Hans Raj’s hometown
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education