Harbans Singh

His mother, Roop Kaur, belonged to the Sodhi family and traced her ancestry to the Hari Singh Nalwa clan.

[1] His daughter, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, is Crawford Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College in Maine, USA.

Though extremely busy with the administrative demands of the growing University, he kept up with his scholarship, writing important books, including Guru Gobind Singh (which was translated into 14 Indian languages)[4] and The Heritage of the Sikhs (one of the most popular of his titles, which went to several editions with significant additions and revisions).

[5] Upon his return to the Punjabi University, he played a vital role in the establishment of a full-fledged department of the academic study of religion.

He was an active member of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and he also joined the International Consultation in Search of Non-Violent Alternatives in Derry, Northern Ireland.

[6] All through he kept up with his scholarship in Sikh history and literature by writing books, contributing articles to journals and newspapers, translating Punjabi authors like Bhai Vir Singh, Amrita Pritam, and Ajeet Cour into English, and editing collections of short-stories, essays, and conference papers.

Harbans Singh wrote an autobiographical essay in Punjabi after losing his beloved wife Kailash Kaur.

[9] Though Harbans Singh suffered a paralytic stroke, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Guru Nanak Dev University, and continued working on his project until his death on 30 May 1998.

The Punjabi University honored him by prefixing his name "Professor Harbans Singh" to the Department of the Encyclopedia of Sikhism to which he had totally dedicated himself during the last decades of his life.

[11] Harbans Singh was a sage-like figure who worked away from the limelight, selflessly pursuing his literary and scholarly interests.