| Names |
BHAGAT PURAN SINGH (Birth
name: Ramji Das) |
| Date of Birth |
June 04, 1904 – Rajewal, Ludhiana District,
Punjab, India |
| Date of
Death |
August 05, 1992 |
|
Profession / Traits / Activities |
Social Service |
| Special Achievements
/ Events |
- Many prefer to designate him as Bearded Mother
Teresa of Punjab.
- While still a child, he adopted Sikhism.
- Though he never finished his basic schooling, he became
a writer and a publisher.
- Pingalwara is a house for
destitutes in Amritsar which was founded informally
in year 1924 by him when he was just 19 years young boy.
- As a young man he decided to dedicate his life
to the 'selfless service of humanity'.
- He formally founded Pingalwara in 1947
with only a few patients, the neglected and rejected on the
streets of Amritsar.
- Literal meaning of Pingalwara is "a home for the
handicapped".
- However, this institution caters to the needs of the
crippled, the insane and the terminally sick.
- It is primarily a rescue-home for the
poor, helpless and maimed.
- In a way, he was a predecessor to Mother Teresa,
the difference being that while Mother Teresa had no
national boundaries for her selfless service to the
humanity, Puran Singh's services were limited to the local
area of Amritsar and its surroundings.
- In his young age he used to spread awareness about
environmental pollution, and increasing soil erosion,
etc. For spreading such messages he was making use of
used and discarded paper sheets.
|
| Awards &
Accolades |
- Padma Shri - 1979
- But he was one of those who returned their
awards and medals after the Indian army's Operation
Bluestar in 1984.
|
|
Commemorations |
According to the noted Indian writer Khushwant Singh:
"Bhagat Puran Singh was no ordinary mortal but
undoubtedly the most loved and revered man in the world. I once
described him as the bearded Mother Teresa of Punjab.
Mother Teresa had the backing of the powerful Roman Catholic
Church, the English press and innumerable foundations to give
her money. Bhagat Ji had nothing except his
single-minded dedication to serve the poor and the
needy. And yet he was able to help thousands of lepers, mentally
and physically handicapped and the dying. His name will be
written in letters of gold in the history of the world". |
|
