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Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Tamil by roots, Punjabi by nature: How Jan Sangh's A Vishwanathan, a man with roots to a village near Kaveri river, won elections twice from Ludhiana seats
1 2 3 4 5 6 Ludhiana: The political chorus these days has been assuming a hatred-laced regionalist fervour, but there was a time when Ludhiana West assembly segment was represented by a man who traced his roots to a village in Tamil Nadu, located on the southern bank of Kaveri. A bypoll is scheduled to be held in Ludhiana West on Thursday. When A Vishwanathan was elected MLA on a Bharatiya Jan Sangh (precursor of Bharatiya Janata Party) ticket from Ludhiana South in 1967 and on a Janata Party ticket from Ludhiana West in 1977, the city was almost exclusively inhabited by Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs. His election was not just by chance or through parachuting tricks that parties employ these days. Vishwanathan had chosen to spend all his professional and political life in Ludhiana, where he worked as lawyer and assumed a leading role in the political activities of Bharatiya Jan Sangh (precursor of Bharatiya Janata Party) and served as its president for Ludhiana district. During the emergency, Vishwanathan spent 19 months in jail for opposing the clampdown. He was a fluent Punjabi speaker, who quit professorship of economics and emerged as an eminent lawyer. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "Such was the impact of his personality and socio-political work he had done that when I campaigned in Ludhiana West in 2007, while contesting assembly elections on a SAD-BJP ticket, BJP's old guards would cry while recalling his commitments and contributions. This was long after he died. It shows how deeply people of Ludhiana West respected him," recalled former Ludhiana West MLA Harish Rai Dhanda. In 1967 elections, the first to be held after the reorganisation of Punjab, Vishwanathan won the election from Ludhiana South on the BJS symbol. By 1977, the Ludhiana West seat was carved out following delimitation. That year, he won by trouncing the popular Congress leader Joginder Pal Pandey and secured over 51 % votes. In 1977, he contested elections on the symbol of Janata Party, the conglomerate of major anti-Congress political parties, after emergency was lifted in 1977. But how did a Tamil man, whose family hailed from Palamaneri village of Thanjavur district, came to Ludhiana? The story dates to pre-Partition years. "It all started with my great-grandfather, who, during the British period, moved to Dehradun to serve as headmaster in Col Brown Cambridge School, along with his family. My grandfather was born in Delhi. Later, my grandfather A Vishwanathan and his two sisters shifted to Jalandhar to attain higher education. He studied at DAV, Jalandhar, from 1946 to 1951 and settled in Ludhiana to practise law. One of his sisters became the principal of Kanya Maha Vidyalya, Jalandhar," said Chandigarh-based lawyer R Kartikeya, Vishwanathan's grandson, who still manages the law firm with the same name that was once launched by Vishwanathan in 1950s in Ludhiana. Kartikeya said his grandfather embraced Punjabi culture by heart. "Although he was fluent in several Indian and foreign languages, he felt if one wanted to live and work among Punjabis, they should embrace Punjabi as their mother tongue. That was his commitment towards Punjabis," said Kartikeya. The citation of 'Roll of Honour of the Highest Order', conferred upon Vishwanathan by DAV College, Jalandhar, offered insight into his academic and political achievements. It mentions that after enrolling in the college in 1946, he first studied BSs (non-medical) and then earned MA (Economics). He even served as a professor of economics after his post-graduate degree. "Ever since his early childhood, Prof Vishwanathan had been closely associated with RSS and held many important offices in the organisation. He is an able organizer and founder member of Bharatiya Jan Sangh. He had been the president of the district unit of BJS. He was instrumental in arousing public opinion against the emergency," reads the citation. Vishwanathan passed away at PGIMER, Chandigarh, in 1980 after suffering a heart attack. He was in his 70s at the time.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Use of Hindi on Maharaja Agrasen Memorial plaque sparks major row
PATIALA: A controversy has erupted following the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Maharaja Agrasen Memorial at Aggarwal Park in Nabha, where the plaque bearing information about the ceremony was inscribed in Hindi rather than Punjabi. The event, presided over by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann , drew sharp criticism from several prominent voices within the local Baniya community. Writers, lyricists, and activists from the community strongly condemned the decision to use Hindi on the memorial plaque, arguing that Punjabi is the rightful language of the region and the mother tongue of the local population, including Punjabi Hindus. Veteran social activist Pyarelal Garg expressed his disapproval, alleging ideological influence from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). "Hindi is not the mother tongue of Punjabi Hindus, nor is it the national language of India - it is only the official language," he said. Garg emphasised that Punjabi remains the predominant spoken language in Nabha, even among the Baniya community, and called the move a distortion of local cultural identity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "There is a difference between Hindutva and Hindu," he added, warning against ideological impositions. Garg said that RSS was gaining quite a strong hold in Nabha and this decision taken by a few depicted their intrusion. Punjabi lyricist Suresh Bansal, 66, from Malerkotla, also voiced his disappointment. "This move is completely wrong. Punjabi is our mother tongue and we should not abstain from it. I wrote all my work in Punjabi only as a lyricist," he said. Echoing the sentiment, Hakam Chand Singla, widely known by his pen name Preet Kaaljharani, criticised the decision as "unjustified." A noted Punjabi songwriter since the age of 17, Singla wrote for acclaimed singers such as Mohammed Sadiq and Balkar Sidhu. "We should not turn our face from Punjabi," he asserted. Ashok Bansal, a writer from Mansa who authored two books on pre-Partition Punjabi songwriters, said he writes exclusively in Punjabi and considers it his only language. "It is inappropriate not to display Punjabi on such a significant foundation stone," he said. Responding to the criticism, Om Prakash, president of Patiala District Aggarwal Sabha, clarified that the plaque was part of a personal programme organised by the Sabha, and not the govt. "We have always displayed our boards in Hindi, which we consider our national language, while Punjabi is the state language. Only a few people who are idle keep raising such issues," he said.
