Nanak Singh

January 10, 1998

A commemorative postage stamp on the Birth Centenary of Nanak Singh, a Punjabi poet, songwriter & novelist :

Issued by India

Issued on Jan 10, 1998

Issued for : The Department of Posts is pleased to issue a special commemorative stamp on Nanak Singh.

Design Credits :
Stamp : Based on the material supplied by the sponsor.
F.D.C. and Cancellation : Smt. Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Single Colour

Denomination : 200 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.73 Cms.

Printing size : 3.71 x 2.38 Cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un w/m Adhesive Gravure Coated Stamp Paper in reels 47 cms width

Stamps Printed : 0.4 Million

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nasik

Name : Hans Raj

Born on Jul 4, 1897 at Chak Hamid, Jhelum district, Punjab, British India [now in Pakistan]

Died on Dec 28, 1971 at Preet Nagar, Punjab, India

About :

Nanak Singh was a modern punjabi novelist.
Born in a Hindu family, as Hans Raj in village Chak Hamid, Tehsil Dadan Khan, District Jhelum (now in Pakistan) on 4^th of July 1897 young Nanak Singh embraced Sikhism and was carried away by the contemporary patriotic atmosphere and fervour. Nanak Singh‘s colossal pen and gentle personality had a tremendous impact on his vast number of readers, even including those who were not familiar with Punjabi writing as such. Starting his literary career as a poet, Nanak Singh got initiated into the genre of novel by reading Prem Chand. With unparallel zeal to change society, and with his idealistically reformist vision, he wrote novel after novel leading to a sudden spurt in the literary world of Punjab in the decades 1920s to 1960s. Nanak Singh’s intense desire to contribute to society and the country saw him put behind the bars in 1922. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919 spurred him into writing a long poem called “Blood–stained Baisakhi“. The book was banned due to patriotic and revolutionary appeal. Such was his sweep and devotion to the pen that during his life time, no other writer could measure upto his stature nor has anybody else been considered as coming close to him even after.
Nanak Singh‘s writings have been highly lauded by eminent personalities. To quote a few-
Renowned Hindi Scholar, the late Dr. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi hailed Nanak Singh “Not a writer in Punjabi alone but as a great writer of India“.
Nanak Singh wrote 38 novels and dozens of other books in different genres. He was honoured by the Government of Punjab (Department of Language) in the early 1960s, and in 1962 he was the recipient of “National Sahitya Academy Award” from Shri Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the then President of India, for his contribution to the Indian Literature.
Nanak Singh is one of those rare Indian writers who, by sheer vision, breadth and devotion to the cause of humanity, transcends the narrow linguistic boundaries. His versatility, acumen to communicate with the common reader, faith in the might of pen, enabled him to transcend the confines of Punjab and Punjabi readership. He eventually emerged into a towering literary personality of India in the 20^th Century. Almost all of his novels have been translated into Hindi and several other Indian languages as well as in Russian, Tajik and other foreign languages.
Nanak Singh breathed his last on 28^th of December, 1971 at Preet Nagar.
Text : Based on the material supplied by the sponsor.