Short biography of Bhai Vir Singh JI.

2. Introduction:
Vir Singh or Veer Singh (5 December
1872 in Amritsar – 10 June 1957 in
Amritsar) was a poet, scholar, and
theologian of the Sikh revival movement,
playing an important part in the renewal
of Punjabi literary tradition. Singh’s
contributions were so important and
influential that he became canonized as Bhai, an honorific often
given to those whom could be considered a saint of the Sikh faith.

3. Family and personal life
Born in 1872, in Amritsar, Bhai Veer Singh was the eldest of Dr. Charan
Singh's three sons. Vir Singh’s family could trace its ancestry as far back as
to Diwan Kaura Mal, a vice-governor (Maharaja Bahadur) of the city Multan.
His grandfather, Kahn Singh (1788-1878), spent a great deal of his youth
training and learning traditional Sikh lessons in monasteries. Fluent in
Sanskrit and Braj, as well as in the oriental systems of medicine (such as
Ayurveda, Siddha and Yunani), Kahn Singh influenced his only son, Dr.
Charan Singh, who later fathered Vir Singh, to become an active member of
the Sikh community, often producing poetry, music, and writings in hopes of
restoring the Sikh community. At seventeen, Bhai Vir Singh himself married
Chatar Kaur and had two daughters with her. He died in Amritsar on 10 June
1957.

4. Education
Singh had the benefit of both the traditional indigenous learning as well as of
modern English education. He learnt Sikh scripture as well as Persian, Urdu and
Sanskrit. He then joined the Church Mission School, Amritsar and took his
matriculation examination in 1891 and stood first all over in the district. Singh
received his secondary education at Church Mission High School, and it was
while attending school that the conversion of some of his classmates from
Sikhism to Christianity that Singh's own religious convictions toward Sikhism
were fortified. Influenced by the Christian missionaries' use of and reference to
literary sources, Singh got the idea to teach others the main dogmas of Sikhism
through his own written resources. Using the skills and techniques in modern
literary forms that he learned through his English courses, Singh produced
stories, poems, and epics and recorded the history and philosophical ideas of
Sikhism.

6. Beginnings
Singh chose to become a writer. After passing his matriculation
examination, he worked with a friend of his father’s, Wazir Singh, and set
up a lithography press. His first commission to write and print were
geography textbooks for some schools.

7. Language politics
Singh argued that Sikhism was a unique religion which could be nourished and
sustained by creating an awakening amongst the Sikhs of the awareness of
their distinct theological and cultural identity. He aimed at reorienting the Sikhs'
understanding of their faith in such a manner as to help them assimilate the
different modernising influences to their historical memory and cultural heritage.
At the time, Sikhs were often persecuted by the British and Hindus, often being
pressured or threatened into assimilating into mainstream culture. Acts such as
publicly shaving off the heads and beards of religious Sikh officials were
performed to humiliate and demean the Sikh religion. Amidst all this political
discontent, Singh sought to revitilize the Sikh culture and religion through
peaceful means, by writing a myriad of novels, epics, and poems. With the fall of
the Sikh Empire and the modernization of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu
movements of proselytism, the Sikh faith began to wane until scholars and
theologians of the religions, Singh being a leading one, began revitalizing life
into Sikhism through their works of literature.

8. Works
Bhai Vir Singh began taking an active interest in the affairs of the Singh
sabha movement. To promote its aims and objects, he launched the
Khalsa Tract Society in 1894. The tracts produced by the Khalsa Tract
Society introduced a new style of literary Punjabi.

9. Role of women in writings
Unlike most of the popular religions, Sikhism stresses the equality between men and
women and that it is even sinful to consider either sex above the other. Singh
reflected this belief in his novels, and featured them in a number of strong female
characters. In fact, his very first novel was Sundari, which featured Sunder Kaur, a
woman who converted from Hinduism to Sikhism and then proceeded to lead a life of
adventure in the jungles with a band of Sikh warriors.It was the first novel penned in
the Punjabi language.Through Sundari, Singh hoped to embody all the ideals of Guru
Nanak’s lessons. The book was well received by the Sikh community and gained
popularity almost immediately. Other important female characters he wrote were Rani
Raj Kaur, Satvant Kaur, Subhagji and Sushil Kaur. Even by today's modern standards,
these female characters are still considered to be well rounded and an inspiration to
both male and female Sikhs alike. Bhai Vir Singh went even as far as often portraying
the women in his novels as more prone to spiritual enlightenment than her male
counterpart.

10. Punjab & Sind Bank
Bhai Vir Singh was one of the founders of The Punjab & Sind Bank.

11. Awards
He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1955 and the
Padma Bhushan Award in 1956.