I joined the Punjab IAS in 1958. In 1960, Prime Minister Nehru signed the World Bank Sponsored Agreement with Prime Minister Liaqat Ali...

She stood there alone like “Ruth amid the alien corn”. Behind her was the vastness of a tropical forest with trees more than a 150 feet...

For The Tribune, Ludhiana | June 11, 2019 In 1985, on return from the World Bank, I became Development Commissioner, Punjab,...

For The Tribune, Chandigarh | April 7, 2019 No hope in sight: Odds seem to be heavily stacked against the people of Punjab. Tribune...

For The Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | June 25, 2017 Kaffeeklatsch: 'Media would not be intimidated', dated June 11, was a good read....

For The Tribune, Chandigarh | November 3, 2016 Jawahar Lal Nehru at the capital site in Chandigarh Partition in 1947 was the greatest...

For The Tribune, Chandigarh | September 19, 2015 Sitting in Zurich on the 50th Anniversary of Corbusier passing away, I read that the...

Let’s tackle it with a steady application of science, says Manohar Singh Gill For The Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | May 23, 2010...

For The Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | June 4, 2006 June 1, 2006 is a happy day for me and all who have some connection with Tarn Taran. In...

For The Tribune, Chandigarh | May 4, 2006 When Punjab was again divided in 1966, I was DC, Ambala. I proposed the creation of Ropar...

For   The Tribune | July 18, 1980 The Orient Express was made famous by Agatha Christie. In the days of the raj the most romantic train on the subcontinent was the Frontier Mail which ran from Bombay to Punjab and the Khyber Pass. Men like John Masters have described the fascinating journey by this train, full of bearded Sikh soldiers and hawk nosed Pathans, from the sultry Bombay coast to the dry uplands of Punjab and the Frontier Province. The Punjab Mail was another such t

For   The Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | July 6, 1980 We were sitting in a group with the conversation drifting from one thing to the other. The bank manager casually mentioned his doctor son, now settled in the U.S.A. "My other two sons have followed him", he said with a tinge of sadness. "Once gone they never come back." The famous Sportsman-turned-Administrator smiled, and said as if in confirmation: “I got a phone call from my son in Vancouver last week. He wanted my permi

For The Sunday Tribune | June 8, 1980 WE were sipping iced nimboo-pani with some friends. The conversation was about life at Chandigarh. “What is there to do in this dull city?" exploded the husband in virile Punjabi, "All you get here are serving or retired bureaucrats, and a duller lot would be hard to find. This city is like Bournemouth, a watering place for the superannuated. There is no cultural life, no political controversy, not even a worthwhile jalsa or riot. All i

For   The Tribune | April 18, 1980 Possibly the most exclusive Indian club is a worldwide group of Punjabis. Since Punjabis are spread over the far corners of the globe, the membership perforce has to be an international one. Of course, it is another matter that when the members, like good Americans, decide to exchange visiting cards, they discover that they all hail from within 20 miles of Nawanshahr Doaba. The membership of this club is hard to come by, but the committee do

For   The Tribune | April 15, 1980 The Punjabi film industry will today receive formal recognition when the State Governor Mr Jaisukhlal Hathi, gives away the first ever State awards. The selections were made by a jury headed by Dr M.S. Randhawa. According to the jury, although State awards could only be given to Punjabi language films, the massive contribution of Punjabis to the national film industry also deserved recognition. It was decided, therefore, that at each annual

For The Tribune | April 10, 1980 Punjab is a dusty plain a thousand miles from the sea. The only water it knows of are the five sluggish meandering rivers that sustain its people. Even these are valued only for their irrigation potential. The Punjabi does not sport with them as do the Europeans with their waterways. Few Punjabis, in fact, care for swimming, fishing and other water sports. One would hardly expect to see Punjabis as sailors. The other day I fell in with two y

For The Tribune, Chandigarh | March 22, 1980 On a mild September day in 1971 I motored to a small fishing village on the east coast of England. I was in search of Shiv Singh Johal, a friend of Udham Singh, who was said to have in his possession Udham Singh's last letters from jail. I managed to find him ensconced in a neat flat by the sea with his Norwegian wife. They were both old though their memories of Udham Singh were young and fresh. As we talked, Shiv Singh's face glow

For   The Tribune | November 12, 1979 Mr Parkash Singh Badal will today lay the foundation stone of the Punjab Arts Council building near the Rose Garden in Chandigarh. This will be an important step in the cultural revival of the State. Ever since 1966, when the miracle wheat seeds came to Punjab, we have all been obsessed with the green revolution phenomenon. Economic progress is undoubtedly an important requirement, and it was necessary for our people to devote their ener

For   The Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | November 4, 1979 Today the Chief Minister of Punjab will unveil in Ludhiana a 10 ft. high bronze statue of Major Bhupinder Singh, M.V.C., of Hodsons Horse, who gave his life for the country in the Sialkot sector in the 1965 war. For me, personally, it is the fulfilment of a long-cherished wish. My memories flow back, over the years, to the time when Bhupinder came to Hodsons Horse as one of the first officers commissioned after Independ

For The Tribune | September 27, 1979 He walked into the plush office of a refrigeration company in New Delhi and asked to see the managing director. His request was simple. Could they please build him a cold store in his native Jullundur? The managing director was surprised. The man who sat opposite him was a small mild-mannered and soft-spoken Sikh. He seemed not the type who could order a cold store just like that. His dress was modest, his speech somewhat diffident. “How