To commemorate the 127th birth anniversary of Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir (former Chief Minister of Punjab), his bronze bust made by sculptor Jaspal Singh Dugal was unveiled at the Musafir Memorial Central State Library in Patiala yesterday.
The guest of honour on the occasion were Tarlochan Singh, former Member of Parliament and Chairman, National Commission of Minorities, and Jaswant Singh Zafar, Director, Languages Department, Patiala.
On the occasion, various stories of Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir were narrated by speakers. From being the only Sikh in the history of India to be the Jathedar of the Akal Takht and the Chief Minister of Punjab, Musafir’s lifetime achievements were rewarded by honours including Padma Vibhushan for his service to the nation and the Sahitya Academy Award for his literary acumen.
Speaking on the occasion, Tarlochan Singh urged the government to make a memorial of all the past and future Chief Ministers of Punjab in recognition of their contributions towards building the state. Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir’s daughter Joginder Sant and grandson Inder Dev Singh Musafir and Charanjit Singh Grover, convenor, Punjabi Vijas Munch Punjab, who donated the bust, were also present at the function along with other family members.
Established on the famous Rigvedic notion “let noble thoughts come to us from all sides”, the library is named after the former CM and is known as Musafir Memorial Central State Library, popularly called the Patiala Central State Library. It is one of the oldest libraries of the state with over 1.5 lakh books of which many are rare.