Pash

2021-08-21T11:13:40Z

2409:4055:4E12:CE54:0:0:E60A:6E08:

{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Avtar Singh Sandhu
| image = Avtar singh sandhu.jpg
| alt = Pash
| caption =
| honorific_prefix =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1950|09|09}} 
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1988|03|23|1950|09|09}}
| death_place =
| death_cause = [[Pash#Assassination|Assassination]]
| citizenship = [[India]]
| nationality = [[Indian nationality|Indian]]
| other_names = Pash

| occupation = Poet
| organization = [[Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist)]]
| spouse =
}}

'''Pash''' (9 September 1950 – 23 March 1988) was the [[pen name]] of '''Avtar Singh Sandhu''',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1UJCSa8Uq54C&q=pash+sandhu&pg=PA1|title=Pash|author=Tejawanta Siṅgha Gill|page=1|year=1999|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788126007769}}</ref> one of the major poets in the Punjabi literature of the 1970s. He was killed by [[Khalistan movement|Khalistani]] extremists on 23 March 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Chandigarh/Pash-s-father-passes-away-in-California/Article1-1098247.aspx|title=Pash's father passes away in California|date=25 July 2013|newspaper=Hindustan Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114161705/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Chandigarh/Pash-s-father-passes-away-in-California/Article1-1098247.aspx|archive-date=14 November 2013|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> His strongly [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] views were reflected in his poetry.

==Early life and activism==
Pash was born as Avtar Singh Sandhu in 1950 in a small village called ''Talwandi Salem'' in [[Jalandhar]] district of [[Punjab]], in a middle-class farmers family. His father Sohan Singh Sandhu was a soldier in the Indian army who also composed poetry as a hobby. Pash grew up in the midst of the [[Naxalite]] movement, a [[revolutionary]] movement waged in Punjab against the landlords, industrialists, traders, etc. who control the means of production. This was in the midst of the [[Green revolution]] which had addressed India's problem of [[famine]] using high yield crops, but had also unconsciously led to other forms of inequities in Punjab.<ref name="Kavita">{{cite web|url=https://www.sahapedia.org/avtar-singh-sandhu-pash-life-and-works-revolutionary-poet|title=Avtar Singh Sandhu (Pash): Life and Works of a Revolutionary Poet|website=Sahapedia|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

In 1970, he published his first book of revolutionary poems, ''Loh-Katha'' (''Iron Tale''), at the age of 18. His militant and provocative tone raised the ire of the establishment and a murder charge was brought against him. He spent nearly two years in jail, before being finally acquitted.
In 1972, the 22-year-old started a
On acquittal, he became involved in Punjab's [[Maoism|Maoist]] front, editing a literary magazine, ''Siarh'' (''The Plow Line''). He became a popular political figure on the left during this period and was awarded a fellowship at the Punjabi Academy of Letters in 1985. He toured the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] the following year; while in the U.S., he became involved with the Anti-47 Front, opposing [[Sikh nationalism|Sikh extremist]] violence. His words had a great influence on the minds of the people.

==Assassination ==
At the beginning of 1988 Pash was in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] for the renewal of his visa from the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=200531|title=BJP's rant against Paash earns it intellectual ridicule|author=Amrita Chaudhry|date=9 September 2006|publisher=Indian Express|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112160633/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=200531|archive-date=12 November 2013|author-link=Amrita Chaudhry}}</ref> A day before leaving for Delhi, however, he was gunned down by Khalistani Militants along with his friend Hans Raj on the well in his village on 23 March 1988.<ref name="ie">{{cite news |last1=Subramanian |first1=Nirupama |title=Revolution is a Poem: Why a Punjabi poet killed by Khalistanis is ruffling feathers in contemporary India? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/avtar-singh-sandhu-pash-pash-was-assassinated-in-1988-because-he-spoke-up-against-khalistani-militants-significant-in-resistance-politics-4879677/ |access-date=12 October 2018 |publisher=The Indian Express |date=8 October 2017}} Pash deserves all the audience that can come his way. He has paved the way for revolutionaries with his poems finding spaces in protests and marches till date.
</ref> Pash was assassinated by the [[Khalistan movement|Khalistanis]].<ref name="ThePrint 2018">{{cite web | title=On Pash's birthday, remembering the fiery poet killed so young by terrorists | website=ThePrint | date=9 September 2018 | url=https://theprint.in/features/on-pashs-birthday-remembering-the-fiery-poet-killed-so-young-by-terrorists/114775/ | access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>

==Literary works==
[[File:Cci21112014 0099.jpg|thumb|The original transcript of the poem Zindagi - by Parsh (a pseudonym of the poet Avataar Singh)]]
[[File:Poetry by Parsh.jpg|thumb|Original Transcript of a poem by Parsh (Avatar Singh) - a revolutionary poet of Punjab, India. Reproduced here under creative commons - original copyright remains with the author and his family.]]
[[File:Hakumat.jpg|thumb|Original transcript of Hakumat (By Parsh)]]
*''Loh-katha'' (''Iron-Tale'') (1970),
*''Uddian Bazan Magar'' (''Following The Flying Hawks'') (1973),
*''Saadey Samiyaan Vich'' (''In Our Times'') (1978), and
*''Khilre Hoye Varkey'' (''Scattered pages'') (1989)

''Khilre Hoey Varkey'' was posthumously published in 1989 after his death, followed by his journals and letters. A selection of his poems in [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], ''Inkar'', was published in [[Lahore]] in 1997. His poems have been translated in many languages including other [[Languages of India|Indian languages]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] and [[English language|English]]. Poems written by Paarsh are popular in India, especially in Punjab and North India. Recitations of his poems are often carried out, especially on the weekends close to his death anniversary.

===Sab Ton Khatarnaak ===
One of Pash's most popular and often cited poems is titled ਸਬ ਤੋਂ ਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕ ਹੁੰਦਾ ਹੈ ਸਾਡੇ ਸੁਪਨਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਮਰ ਜਾਣਾ। सबसे ख़तरनाक होता है हमारे सपनों का मर जाना (Sabse Khatarnak hota hai hamare sapnon ka mar jaana - meaning: ''The most dangerous thing is the demise of our dreams'').<ref>{{cite web |first1=Paash|last1=Avataar Singh|title=Lyrics - Sabse Khatarnak |url=https://www.amarujala.com/kavya/irshaad/paash-poetry-sabse-khatarnak-hota-hai-sapnon-ka-mar-jana |website=www.amarujala.com |access-date=12 October 2018}}</ref>

In 2005, this poem was included in NCERT's Hindi book for 11th standard.<ref name="Lal 2017">{{cite web | last=Lal | first=Chaman | title=Why Is the RSS Afraid of the Revolutionary Punjabi Poet Pash? | website=The Wire | date=14 September 2017 | url=https://m.thewire.in/article/politics/rss-afraid-revolutionary-punjabi-poet-pash | access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/pash/ Pash's Poetry]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=1UJCSa8Uq54C&pg=PA1 ''Pash'' by Tejwant Singh Gill]

==See also==
*[[Arjan Singh Mastana]]
*[[Baldev Singh Mann]]
*Chanan Singh Dhoot
*[[Darshan Singh Canadian]]
*[[Deepak Dhawan]]
*[[Gursharan Singh (theatre director)]]
*[[Jaimal Singh Padda]]
*[[Nidhan Singh Gudhan]]
*Professor Ravinder Singh Ravi
*Sarvan Singh Cheema
*Sumeet Preetlari
*[[Punjab insurgency]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Indian male poets]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language poets]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

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