Articles by Chaman Lal

The first three Indian universities—at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras—were set up in 1857, inaugurating the Indian higher education system. The University of the Punjab was the fourth Indian university, which was set up at Lahore, the capital of undivided Punjab, in 1882. After India’s partition in 1947, this was the only Indian university that was split up into two. One part continued at Lahore while the other shifted to a new campus in Chandigarh. The story of this journey of the university through the tumultuous years of partition is both fascinating and painful.

Ajmer Singh Aulakh, the notable Punjabi playwright, passed away on 15 June. He left behind a legacy of revolutionary plays that stand testament to his progressive ideals. His funeral, much like his life, was a celebration of literature, music, and progressive values. He is survived by his wife and three daughters who continue the work he had begun.

A biographer of Bhagat Singh and a chronicler of his works, writes about the publication history of Bhagat Singh’s “Jail Notebook”. This article is being published, when reports have talked about the possible release of the Notebook “for the first time” by the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. 

Ever since the death sentence for Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in the Lahore conspiracy case-II was pronounced on 7 October 1930 by a controversial three-member special tribunal established by British colonial government, the imperative to save their lives became a national issue. The general perception was that Mahatma Gandhi, who was thought to be the tallest national leader of India at that time, could have achieved this imperative. But it was not to be. 

Bhagat Singh's life (September 28, 1907-March 23, 1931), work and thought were marked by an uncompromising struggle against colonialism and imperialism, together with radical opposition to capitalism, communalism and the caste system. This article is a spirited account of his life, his revolutionary activity, his ideals, his opinions and his legacy. It was on April 8, 1929 that Bhagat Singh and B K Dutt threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Assembly with a view "to make the deaf hear", and raised the slogans "Inquilab Zindabad" and "Down with Imperialism", which caught the imagination of the Indian people. Perhaps at no other point in the life of India since 1947 has the reference to these two slogans become more important than today, as the country marks the hundredth birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh.