The Tribune Chandigarh 16 Aug 2009

Taufique Kitchlew, the only surviving son of Dr Saifudin Kitchlew (known as the “hero of Jallianwala Bagh”) who had returned to Delhi as a disillusioned man when no one had offered him accommodation here, has now decided to settle down in Amritsar, his birthplace.

Taufique Kitchlew

After arriving here yesterday evening by road, he stayed at a privately run hotel with his room arranged by a local friend. He is expected to steal the limelight at the Independence Day celebrations tomorrow and will be honoured by the district administration for his father’s significant contribution to the country’s freedom struggle.

Reminiscing on the days he spent as a youth in the city, Kitchlew, now 78, said his family resided at a house No. 98A on the Mall, Amritsar’s principal thoroughfare.

Indian Postage Stamp
in honour of Kitchlew Snr

He said he would soon bring out his biography in Urdu as well as English, on which he had already started working. He hoped after moving to the city he would be able to complete his memoirs that would touch upon his family’s inseparable bonds with Amritsar where both his father and grandfather were also born.

Deputy Commissioner Kahn Singh Pannu stated the administration had identified certain locations in the city for Kitchlew’s permanent stay, adding that a house in New Amritsar, situated away from the noise and crowds of the city, would most probably be offered to him. Besides free accommodation, the Punjab government had also decided “in principle” to provide him a monthly pension.

Visibly pleased to have returned to his native city, expressing gratitude to the state government for “recognising the contribution of his father”, Kitchlew said he would shift to Amritsar, “bag and baggage,” after he was allotted accommodation here.

Earlier reports on Kitchlew’s plight and the fact that he was denied accommodation by city residents prompted Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to instruct government officials to search for a suitable house for him.

Kitchlew said he as well as his four brothers had opted not to marry. “I decided to return to Delhi since most of my childhood friends here had refused to meet me. I had wanted to have a feel of Amritsar after decades of staying away. I enjoyed speaking Punjabi during my brief stay here,” he added, referring to his visit to the city last month.