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Ludhiana’s Malwa School turns 100
Gagandeep
Kaur files this report after visiting the college and speaking to
the Principal, students and other functionaries.
 Abdul Hayee after studying at the school grew up as an Urdu poet.
He describes his alma mater, the Malwa School and the Ludhiana of
yore thus:
Mere bachpan ki
dost, ye galian
Jin mein ruswa hua shabab ka naam
Mere aidad ka watan ye shehar
Meri taalim ka jahan ye maqam
Yaad aate hein in fizaon mein
Kitne nazdeek aur door ke naam
Not many would know
that Abdul Hayee transformed into Sahir Ludhianvi when he joined the
film industry, in the same way as Yusuf Khan became Dilip Kumar. It
is a matter of pride for Ludhiana and more so for the Malwa
Foundation that Sahir wrote
sensitive
lyrics over the declining values of society, the senselessness of
war and politics, and the domination of materialism over love. He
could be called the underdog's bard; close to his heart were the
farmer crushed by debt, the soldier gone to fight someone else's
war, the woman forced to sell her body, the youth frustrated by
unemployment, the family living on the street and other victims of
society. He would pick on the self-appointed custodian of religion,
the self-serving politician, the exploitative capitalist, and the
war-mongering super-powers.
This year in history
has a special significance for the proud management of Khalsa Dewan
as it celebrates the 100 years of its existence. Way back in 1907
with an effort to bring the rural masses of Malwa region in the fold
of education and stress on the cause of women education, Khalsa
Dewan carved the map of first of its institutes which now boasts of
five institutes fulfilling the educational needs of urban and rural
Ludhiana.
The college has
recently celebrated a century of success. The town of Ludhiana was
founded in 1480 by the Lodi kings and built from the prehistoric
bricks of Sunet. In the year 1907, when the forefathers decided to
set up a school with 20 students, that too girls, it was a leap
jump, perhaps unparalled in Malwa. The portion of Malwa under the
tutelage of the Maharaja of Patiala was almost devoid of education.
Any panchayat or far-sighted individual dared to set up an
educational set-up had to face the ire of the king’s men, resulting
in total destruction of home and hearth.
In this scenario,
stalwarts like Bhai Arduman Singh Bagrian, Sant Phuman Singh, Albel
SIngh Risaldar, Gurnam Singh Bar-at-law, Punjab Minister Bakhtawar
Singh Gill, Dr. Waryam Singh and Dr. Sham Singh took the commendable
step to set up and nurture the Khalsa Dewan under whose aegis the
school was built.
With the turn of the
century, the social, cultural and educational swing had pushed many
such socio-religious organizations into establishing schools of
learning. The others in the fray were Arya Samaj, the Brahmo Samaj,
Dev Samaj, Ahmidiyahas and Christian missionaries, but what
distinguished the Khalsa Dewan from the others was the focus on the
rural masses and the cause of women education.
The first kick-off
was a primary school for girls, which was started near Division No.
1 in Ludhiana. The institution had just 20 students. As time rolled
and the need and importance of girls education was felt in all
strata of society, the need for the upgradation brought the campus
to Civil Lines. The school took another progressive leap in 1955 by
upgrading into a Senior Secondary School and now offers science,
commerce and humanities Streams. The school also houses a well
equipped hostel for the students belonging to far flung areas.
In the later years,
the foundation stone of the enlarged campus and its environs was
laid by Sant Attar Singh of Mastuana and the entire cost of the
school building, hostel building and the hall was borne by the then
Maharaja of Nabha, Ripudaman Singh, who had the foresight to
emphasize the importance of education.
The school has
produced many stalwarts like Baba Bhagat Singh of Ghadar party,
industrialist Indermohan Singh Grewal, its former president, Pritpal
Singh Grewal and former national hockey coach, Baldev Singh.
From school to
colleges, the management of the Khalsa Dewan set up the Khalsa
College for Women in 1958. Furthermore, in recent times, the
tremendous success of Khalsa College for Women and the need for
focus on technical education resulted in the Khalsa Institute of
Management and Technology.
Not only love and
romance but agitation and revolt were also part of the Sahir
Ludhianvi repertoire. In the present political climate, it would be
anybody’s guess whether the teachers and managers of the institution
are urging their students to read and follow the following lines
when Panjab faces attack from neo-imperialists:
This is the land of
Gautam and Nanak
Never again shall we allow
Imperialist behaviour on this hallowed ground
Our blood is the heritage of the new generation
12 December, 2007
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