His life had elements of a Greek tragedy. Endowed with the intellect of a genius, while his admires were legion, few seemed to heed his counsel through the crisis decades since the Indian independence in 1947.

Born in a moderately affluent farming family in rural Lyallpur in erstwhile Punjab on March 2,1909 young Kapur Singh demonstrated uncommon precocity at school and in Lahore’s prestigious Government College where he secured Master’s degree in philosophy in 1931, The high distinction propelled him to England for a two year stint at Cam bridge University which not only earned him a Tripos but also an entry into the heaven born India Civil Service the fruit of a tough competitive examination in 1934. He acquired a rare mastery over Philosophy and classical languages as diverse as Sanskrit, Latin, Arabic and Persian.

It is a moot point, in retrospect, whether his serving in the ICS for the full term, up to the age of 60, would have been more beneficial to the Sikh cause than his unceremonious exit, which had been aided and abetted by a coterie of politicians and civil servants, who could not tolerate his persistent expose’ of their nefarious antiSikh policies and who could not stomach his pre-independence liberalism, Imagine a member of the British steel-frame going to Wardha, in March 1942, 10 see of all people Mahatma Gandhi, Worse still, he dared to entertain Master Tara Singh at the Deputy Commissioner’s bungalow at Dharmashala in 1948. A sample of Government’s bias against the Sikhs is available in Sardar Patel’s secret letter dated October 10,1947 circulated to Deputy Commissioners, insinuating that the Sikhs as a community were lawless people and were a menace to the law-abiding Hindus in Punjab Province,” and exhorting D.Cs. “to take special measures against them, The lone protest by S. Kapur Singh only brought him the warth of the Governor, Sir Chandulal Trivedi who had been equally-at home with his British masters as with top brass of the Congress. Once the Center made up its mind to get rid of Kapur Singh, stormy petrel of the Punjab ICS, considerations of principles of natural justice and due process of law could scarcely brother the authorities. Even the Constitutional provisions were changed by a Presidential order (No.SRO-507 dated September 2,1950) with a view to serve as a sop for the enquiring judge who was eventually elevated to the Supreme Court, all because he had facilitated Kapur Singh’s dismissal.

Such major misfortune would have broken the spirit of a lesser man. But disillusionment and despair with the country’s leadership and administration did not deter Kapur Singh from the pursuit of truth, and the bedrock of his faith in Gurmat philosophy remained unshaken, So out of evil cometh good:”dukh daru sukh rog bheya.” He turned his boundless energies to a profound study of Sikh lore, history and moral tradition. The period of 1950’s and 60’s was the most prolific in terms of his writings, “Sachi Sakhi” is part autobiographical, part contemporary history and, on the whole, a commentary on the communal award as well as the sad bungling by the self-seeking Sikh leadership during the crucial years preceding the partition of India,

  1. Kapur Singh’s prolificacy during this period greatly benefitted The Sikh Review which has been privileged, over the years, to publish some of his most evocative scholarly contributions on the history, philosophy and culture of the Sikhs. To the last, he remained an honored name in our Editorial Advisory Board. His books: Parasharprasna, Pundarik and Bahu Vistar are remarkably profound essays on comparative religion, the Sikh Theology, Philosophy and tradition, Along with other eminent scholars like Dr. Tirlochan Singh and Khushwant Singh, he also contributed to the landmark UNESCO publication: Sacred Writings of The Sikhs. He was at his best in the exposition of abuse and exegetical study of the Aryan and Semetic religions, reveling in his extraordinary familiarity with the classical languages and the doctrinal idiom.

One aspect of S. Kapur Singh’s legacy to Sikhism is the uncanny sense of prophecy. What he said 20 or 30 years ago rings true today. He cautioned the Sikhs against complacency times without number, having witnessed the double dealing and deviousness of those in authority. Sinister attempts to undermine the distinctive sprint and identity of the Khalsa are not a recent, or post-Bluestar, development. Subtle moves to ridicule the Sikh culture distort their history, underplay their valuer and their contribution to the freedom movement and to destroy their faith in the main sources of inspiration seem lo have gained strength with every passing decade. In his stirring address at the Chandigarh Session of All India Sikh Students Federation on August 23,1968 he made a plea to the youth for “salvaging their honor and identity.” He declared “At the back of the Sikh society, behind their energy and productive capacity at the root of their death-dafying courage and undying loyalty to high causes, there, is something as powerful as it is intangible, This power is a set of ideas, attitudes and convictions.”

He was a philosopher in the classical mould and a poet with words. His five-year term as Member of Parliament, from 1962 to 1967, seems almost an aberration, notwithstanding his scintillating wit and scholarship that shone brightly on more than one occasion, Justas he had longed to be liberated from bureaucratic stranglehold, he could not stomach the political skullduggery burdened with chicanery and hypocrisy. All his life he sought and spiritual values. Behind Kapur Singh’s quest for truth was an immensely complicated and delicate search for understanding and peace, through the Sikh doctrine of Halemi Raj Which underlines the need for archival research and a reconstruction of his luminous personality, through a study of his writings.

A deeply committed Sikh, S .Kapur Singh up to the end 1986 scorned the rewards of office, pomp and power. Now, as he lies in peace at the Lord’s Lotus feet, the Sikh people are waging a struggle for survival. It is imperative that every intelligent man and woman study his exposition of the Gurmat faith and philosophy and join the quest for life of piety, dignity and spiritual emancipation. A selection of his writings on some of the key issues follows.

Courtesy Sikh Review

Article extracted from this publication >> October 9, 1992