In MemoriamDr. Karnail Singh ThindApril 12, 1929 – December 25, 2021 |
With great sadness we learned of the death of Dr. Karnail Singh Thind at the age of 93 in Brampton, Ontario on December 25.
Dr. Thind was a prominent Punjabi scholar, teacher and educator. He was a professor at Khalsa College and at Guru Nanak Dev University, a registrar of this university at the time he retired. He was also a director of Punjab Text Book Board and a member of the syndicate at various universities.
The author of 18 books and 60 research papers on the Punjabi language, literature, folklore and culture, he was also one of the scholars who devoted his life to overcoming the division of Punjab in 1947 between east and west in a manner that impeded a common understanding of the rich millenia-old culture of the Punjabi nation and the value of Punjabi Darshan.
Along with his teacher Dr. Prem Prakash Singh Dhaliwal, Dr. Thind made an indelible contribution to educating the youth with their own thought material. They attended the World Punjabi Conferences organized by South Asian Review in Prince George, B.C. in 2001, 2003 and in Jalandhar, Punjab in 2007. Dr. Thind was the president of the World Punjabi Conferences where ground-breaking discussion took place on Punjabi philosophy, nation, language, culture and the significance of the affirmation of the right to be. He showed that his greatest joy was to assist and encourage those who uphold the dignity of their own people. His modesty and hard work were exemplary as he joined the younger generation by imbuing them with the confidence, dignity and sense of honour which comes from those who fight for the right to be.
The Hardial Bains Resource Centre expresses its deepest condolences to the family of Dr. Thind, his dear wife and life-long companion Balwant Kaur, his son Rajdeep Singh and through them to the rest of his family.
We have lost a most worthy son of the Punjabi nation. His loss will be mourned across Punjab and the diaspora all over the world. Many of us in Canada had the honour of working with him on Punjabi language and Darshan at the Punjabi Conferences and on projects to publish the writings of Hardial Bains on Indian philosophy. We were welcomed by him at his home in Amritsar and shared memorable moments exchanging views and learning from his valuable insights.
Dr. Thind enriched our lives. His work will forever hold a place of honour at the Hardial Bains Resource Centre.
