Bhai Vir Singh (December 5, 1872 - June 10, 1957) was a Sikh poet, scholar, and theologist of the Sikh revival movement, playing an important part in the renewal of Punjabi literary traditions. With his versatile pen, he extolled Sikh courage, philosophy, and ideas gathering respect for the Punjabi language as a literary vehicle. The core of his philosophy is that man must overcome his pride and ego before he can realize God. He began taking interest in the affairs of the Singh Sabha Movement. To promote its aims and objects, he launched the Khalsa tract Society in 1894. In November 1889, he started a Punjabi weekly, the Khalsa Samachar. Vir Singh was one of the founders of the Punjab and Sind Bank. He was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955 and the Padma Bhushan Award in 1956.
Bhai Vir Singh born in 1872, in Amritsar and he was the eldest son of Dr. Charan Singh’s three sons. Vir Singh’s family could trace its ancestry as far back as to Diwan Kaura Mal, a vice-governor (Maharaja Bahadur) of the city Multan. At seventeen, Vir Singh married Chatur Kaur and had two daughters with her. He had the benefit of both the traditional indigenous learning and modern English education. He learnt Sikh scripture as well as Persian, Urdu, and Sanskrit. He then joined the Church Mission School, Amritsar and took his matriculation examination in 1891 and stood first all over in the district. Using the skills and techniques of the modern literary form that he learned through his English courses, he produced stories, poems, and epics and also recorded the history and philosophical ideas of Sikhism. He wrote at a time when Sikh religion, politics, and Punjabi language were under such strong attack by the English and others.
Image Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vir_Singh_%28writer%29
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