Bhagat Puran Singh - Sikhs The Supreme

Bhai Puran Singh (4 June 1904 – 5 August 1992) was born in Rajewal (Rohno) Ludhiana district, Punjab. Born into a Hindu family, he was given the name Ramji Das as a child. Later, while still a child, he chose to become a Sikh. Though he never finished his basic schooling, he became a writer, a (self) publisher, an environmentalist, and a philanthropist. He is perhaps best remembered for the home he founded in Amritsar, India, named Pingalwara, a home which long after his death, is still tending to the castaways of society: the sick, disabled and abandoned forlorn people.

As a young man he decided to dedicate his life to the 'selfless service of humanity'. He founded Pingalwara in 1947 with only a few patients, the neglected and rejected of the streets of Amritsar. An early advocate of what we today refer to as the 'Green Revolution', Bhagat Puran Singh was spreading awareness about environmental pollution, and increasing soil erosion long before such ideas became popular. Pamphlets with his writings on various subjects, such as environmental awareness, were printed on re-used paper and freely distributed.

He was honoured in 1981 by the Government of India with the Padma Shri award, given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field. (See List of Padma Shri award recipients (1980–89)) He was among the citizens of India who returned their awards and medals after the Indian army's attack on the Golden Temple in 1984. He died on 5 August 1992 in Amritsar. After the death of his father, his mother encouraged him to finish the matric level of education, which would allow him to fill a Government job. His mother worked as a domestic help in the house of a doctor at Montgomery (Sahiwal), in part to earn the money for her son's education. Later, she moved to Lahore where she cleaned utensils in households. Puran Singh was sent to a hostel where he was sent ten rupees every month by his mother.

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