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Adieu Patwant Singh: Liberal
aristocrat of many parts
WSN Network
 NEW
DELHI: Patwant Singh, the liberal aristocrat of many parts who
dabbled in writing about international affairs, was one time known
for bringing out a pathbreaking journal on design and then tried to
find his destiny in identifying himself with Sikh community affairs,
passed away last Saturday. He was 84.
Patwant Singh
was a constant figure alongside late Lt General (retd) Jagjit Singh
Aurora and Justice R S Nirula after the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide and
kept up the initiative with meetings of Sikh Forum at the
Constitution Club in Delhi. In recent months, he was working closely
with lawyer activist H S Phoolka in certain education initiatives
trying to democratise the education delivery system by using
technology to increase the reach and bring in rural children to
schools.
Patwant Singh
suffered a fatal heart attack a week after he had returned from an
American sojourn during which his latest book on Sikh history had
been released at the Library of Congress in Washington.
Son of a major
contractor involved in the construction of
New Delhi,
Patwant's bungalow on Amita Shergil Marg had for decades served as
the hub of his intellectual and cultural pursuits as also his social
activism Delhi was a recurring theme in some of the books he had
written on history, politics and international affairs. His 1989
book "Delhi:
The Deepening
Urband Christies". was a study on the Capital's "descent form a
gracious city which embodied the best in civic grace and elegant
planning to a crowded polluted and unlivable city in which basic
amenities are not available to the almost half its population"
Driven as the
was by his passion for aesthetics and concern about inequities,
Patwant was at the time of his death working on another book on his
beloved city, "Beyond Forgiveness: The Destruction of Delhi’s
Priceless heritage".
He is survived
by his wife Meher, Sister Rasil Basu, nieces Amrita and Rekha and
his adopted son Satjit Singh Chahil.
Patwant Singh's
role in backing Sant Longowal for entering into an accord with Rajiv
Gandhi came in for some sharp criticism. He was often also seen as
somehow remaining a part of the establishment, notwithstanding his
collection of essays in 1985 under the title "Punjab: The Fatal
Miscalculation".
12
August 2009
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