Punjab govt to set up Bhagat Singh Chair at Guru Nanak Dev University

PTI, Sep 29, 2022, 8:30 AM IST

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said a chair will be set up at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar after Shaheed Bhagat Singh, asserting that the move will help inspire coming generations to serve the country.

Mann also paid floral tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev at Hussainiwala during which a contingent of Punjab Police gave guard of honour as a mark of respect to the martyrs.

Earlier, he addressed a state level function at Khatkar Kalan to mark Bhagat Singh’s 115th birth anniversary. Khatkar Kalan is the ancestral village of the freedom fighter in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district, which was named after him.

The chair will undertake extensive research on the life and philosophy of Bhagat Singh, Mann said, adding that the move will help inspire the coming generations to serve the country.

Mann also announced the resumption of the ‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh Yuva’ award, which will be given to 46 youths every year for their outstanding contribution across fields, said an official release.

The CM said the award winners will get Rs 51,000 in cash and an appreciation certificate, even as he rued the stopping of the award around seven years ago.

Mann also exhorted the people to take a vow that they will not leave the country in search of good fortunes.

”All of us should take a pledge that we will improve the system by living here rather than fleeing in search of greener pastures,” he said, adding that the government is committed to restore the past glory of Punjab.

Dreams of Bhagat Singh still remain unfulfilled and corruption, nepotism, and poverty are rampant, because those who came into power after the British, plundered the country more mercilessly than them, Mann said.

He said it vexes him when some people say that the rule of Britishers was better than the present system, and this notion needs to be changed.

He urged the people to rise above parochial consideration of caste and creed to make India ”number one”, and said doing so will be a real tribute to Shaheed Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters who died in the struggle to get the country independence.

It is unfortunate that these days some people are questioning the sacrifice of the martyrs, which they don’t have any right to, the CM said.

The state government will install a 5-D statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh near the international airport in Mohali, he said, adding that the hi-tech statue will inspire the younger generations to serve the country in a more spirited manner.

Mann also asked the youth to read more books to update their knowledge and to cope with challenges being faced by the country.

While a 23-year-old youth of today demands a motorcycle from his parents, Bhagat Singh, when he was 23, had sought freedom for the country from the British, he said.

At a separate event in Sangrur district, Mann said the ideology of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh is a panacea of all the ills faced by the country. Addressing a gathering at ‘Ek sham Shaheedan de naam’ event, the CM said that Shaheed Bhagat Singh was votary of equality, communal harmony and brotherhood. He said Bhagat Singh had envisioned a society free from corruption and injustice and said only such ideology can make India a frontrunner country in the world. Slamming the opposition leaders for making undue hue and cry over the name of the Chandigarh airport, the CM said due to efforts of his government, the international airport has been named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He said these leaders must have ”patience as every remaining issue pertaining to airport will be resolved soon”. Notably, the Chandigarh international airport was on Wednesday renamed as Shaheed Bhagat Singh international airport, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement in this regard. Earlier, at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur, Mann called upon the youth to follow the ideals of Bhagat Singh to make Punjab a front-runner state in the country.

Mann said Bhagat Singh was not only an individual but an institution and we must follow his footsteps for the progress of the country.