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'''Bhagat Puran Singh''' (4 June 1904 – 5 August 1992) was an Indian writer, environmentalist, and [[philanthropy|philanthropist]]. As a young man he decided to dedicate his life to humanitarian work, and in 1947, he established [[Pingalwara]], a home for the sick and disabled in [[Amritsar]]. He was also an environmental campaigner, raising awareness of pollution and [[soil erosion]] and writing many books about environmental topics.

==Early life==
Bhagat Puran Singh was born in Rajewal ([[Rohno]]) [[Ludhiana]] district, [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]. Born into a [[Hindu]] family, he was given the name Ramji Das as a child, but later in his childhood converted to [[Sikhism]], taking the name Bhagat Puran Singh. After the death of his father, his mother encouraged him to finish the matric level of education, which would allow him to obtain a government job. His mother worked as a domestic help in the house of a doctor at Montgomery ([[Sahiwal]]), in part to pay for her son's education. Later, she moved to [[Lahore]], where she cleaned utensils in households, sending ten rupees per month to Puran Singh, who was living in a hostel.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

He failed his tenth class examination, and was called back to [[Lahore]] to attend a local school. Though uninterested in his school education, he spent much time reading in the Dyal Singh Library.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

==Humanitarian work==
While in [[Lahore]], he began visiting the [[Gurdwara]] Dehra Sahib, providing water for visitors to wash before entering, helping manage the Gurdwara's cattle, cleaning, and working in the kitchen..{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} While working at the Gurdwara, he decided to dedicate himself to humanitarian work.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In 1934, Bhagat Puran Singh took into his care a four-year-old child with leprosy who had been left at the door of Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, who he named Piara Singh.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

After the partition of India in 1947, Bhagat Puran Singh worked as a medic in a refugee camp in [[Amritsar]], home to over 25,000 refugees.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

From 1947 till 1958, Bhagat Puran Singh had no permanent home, but walked the streets collecting donations for the poor. During this time he met Des Raj Bindra, with whom he founded a charitable organisation, the All India Pingalwara Charitable Society. This institution still provides charity care for the poor and handicapped at Tehsilpura, [[Grand Trunk road]], [[Amritsar]].{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

==Environmentalism==
Puran Singh also worked for the care of the environment, organising tree planting drives, organised talks and lectures on environment topics, and writing books, such as ''Education of man'', ''Righteousness alone exalts a nation'', ''Plant or Perish'', ''The Way'', and ''The Increasing Population''. He distributed free pamphlets and books about environmental issues through the Pingalwara Society.

==Later life and honours==
He was honoured in 1981 by the [[Government of India]] with the [[Padma Shri]] award, given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field. He was among the citizens of India who returned their awards and medals after the [[Operation Blue Star|Indian army's attack]] on the [[Harmandir Sahib|Golden Temple]] in 1984. He was nominated for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1991 for his humanitarian work.

Bhagat Puran Singh died on 5 August 1992 in [[Amritsar]].

==Legacy==
[[File:Bhagat Puran Singh 2004 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Bhagat Puran Singh on a 2004 stamp of India]]
The Bhagat Puran Singh Chair for Studies in Selfless Service to Humanity was established at [[Guru Nanak Dev University]], [[Amritsar]] in 2005.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070522/edu.htm The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Education Tribune]. Tribuneindia.com (22 May 2007). Retrieved on 2018-11-14.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060719124659/http://www.pingalwaraonline.org/endeavours/chair.htm Bhagat Puran Singh Chair at GNDU]. pingalwaraonline.or</ref>

Commemorative postage stamps of Bhagat Puran Singh were released by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology in 2004.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041217140015/http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=5505 COMMEMORATIVE POSTAGE STAMP ON BHAGAT PURAN SINGH]. pib.nic.in (9 December 2004)</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120609115926/http://pib.nic.in/release/rel_print_page.asp?relid=5582 COMMEMORATIVE STAMP ON BHAGAT PURAN SINGH RELEASED]. pib.nic.in (10 December 2004)</ref> The stamp is in the denomination of Rs five.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041212/nation.htm The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Nation]. Tribuneindia.com (12 December 2004). Retrieved on 2018-11-14.</ref>

==Media depictions==
Bhagat Puran Singh was depicted in the movie ''[[Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe]]'', with [[Pavan Malhotra]] in the leading role. The movie was released on 30 January 2015.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/punjabi/movies/news/Eh-Janam-Tumhare-Lekhe-based-on-the-life-of-Bhagat-Puran-Singh/articleshow/45144843.cms | title=Eh Janam Tumhare Lekhe based on the life of Bhagat Puran Singh | publisher=Times of India |date=10 January 2017|access-date=16 November 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Pingalwara]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://pingalwara.org Pingalwara]
* [http://www.centralsikhmuseum.com/gallery/sikh-personalities/bhagat-puran-singh-ji-pingalwara/ Gallery on Bhagat Puran Singh Jee]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060810172506/http://www.pingalwara.ca/bhagatpuran.cfm Biography on Pingalwara.ca]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090805165513/http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/bhagat-puran-singh/23661-bhagat-puran-singh.html Biography on Sikhphilosophy.net]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726141832/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sewadars/puransingh.html Biography on Sikh-History.com]
* [http://simransewa.blogspot.com/2006/06/epitome-of-sewa-bhagat-puran-singh.html Epitome of Sewa, Bhagat Puran Singh]

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}
{{Sikhism}}
{{Modern Sikh writers}}
{{Portal bar|Religion|India}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Bhagat Puran}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Indian environmentalists]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Sikh writers]]
[[Category:People from Ludhiana district]]
[[Category:Writers from Amritsar]]
[[Category:Converts to Sikhism]]
[[Category:Converts to Sikhism from Hinduism]]
[[Category:Indian former Hindus]]
[[Category:Social workers]]
[[Category:Social workers from Punjab, India]]

Bhagat Puran Singh - Revision history

imported>AnomieBOT at 20:48, 12 August 2021