By Vishav Bharti

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, January 28 2012

Punjabi lost one of the founders of modern Punjabi literature on Thursday [26 Jan], when prominent Punjabi writer Kartar Singh Duggal passed away in Delhi in All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to old age related illness. He was 94 and is survived by his wife Ayesha, a doctor, and a son.

Duggal laid the foundation of modern Punjabi literature with other writers like Amrita Pritam, Sant Singh Sekhon and Gurbakhsh Singh of Preetlari. Duggal was always known for his commitment to the promotion of Punjabi.

Writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana, who also authored a book of conversations with Duggal, says: “Despite having knowledge of many languages, he chose Punjabi. His commitment is evident from the fact that when he was an MP, he used his funds to establish four Punjabi Bhawans.”

A prolific writer, Duggal, who wrote in Punjabi, English and Urdu has written in all most every genre of the literature including poetry, drama, short story and novel. He penned 24 collections of short stories and ten novels touching various aspects of Punjabi life from Partition to complex human relationships in recent times. He wrote in Pothohar dialect of Punjabi language.

Duggal also translated Guru Granth Sahib into English and penning A History of Punjabi Literature along with Sant Singh Sekhon.

UK-based poet Amarjit Chandan feels Duggal was fortunate to have lived life to its fullest.

“He belonged to the pre-1947 writers’ generation mostly dominated by upper class Sikh Khatri Pothoharis. They had all the opportunities and flourished even more after Partition. Most of his work was mediocre, but his short story Karamaat is one of the top ten Punjabi short stories,” he says. 

Chandan has his reservations: “Since he was a Delhi Sikh who got ‘wounded psychologically’ during 1984 riots, he was nominated to Rajya Sabha. I wonder if he ever uttered a word there on the riots.”

Duggal, born and brought up in Dhamial village of Rawalpindi, West Punjab, obtained MA in English from FC College, Lahore, and started his career with All India Radio. He also served as director, All India Radio, and was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1997 and he also served as the director of National Book Trust. Duggal was honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1988. In 2007, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour given by the Akademi.