Poet Pash’s Birth Anniversary Celebrated After 40 Years

September

2026

‘Sab toh khatarnak hunda hai supneyan da marr jaana—the death of dreams’ was considered the ‘most dangerous’ by Panjabi poet Pash—real name Avtar Singh Sandhu (1950–1988). The words have traveled far beyond Talwandi Salem, his birthplace and place of assassination in Jalandhar district. Four decades after he was killed by Khalistani militants at the peak of militancy in Panjab—his poetry continues to surface wherever people gather around democratic rights and resistance—during farmers’ protests, workers’ meetings, student gatherings, and literary forums. For generations of readers, Pash was not merely a poet who wrote about struggle; he was a poet who participated in it and his assassination is proof of that. For his 76^th birth anniversary on 9 Sep, hundreds of people arrived eager to mark their presence at the tube well where he was assassinated. Event organizer Amolak Singh said more than 4K people attended the commemoration, including retired Indian Police Service officer and former Punjabi Tribune editor and writer Dr. Swarajbir, farmer union leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan, and nephew of Shahid (martyr) Bhagat Singh, Prof Jagmohan Singh. Recalling Pash’s enduring relevance, Prof Jagmohan Singh said, ‘Jadon main Bhagat Singh nu samajhna hunda, te main Pash nu samajhda (when I want to understand Bhagat Singh, I try to understand Pash).’ Bhagat Singh considered Lenin as his role model, and Pash considered Bhagat Singh as his. Both were born in September (1907, 1950) and died on 23 Mar (1931, 1988). There have been controversies over Pash’s statements and assassination, with justifications ranging from him verbally—not in his writing—supporting the Indian Army attack on Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) in June 1984, abusively condemning Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (1947–1984, the leader of the Khalistan movement), and declaring that Left organizations will finish the Khalistan movement. The last one was fairly common ‘heat of the moment’ rhetoric by both sides during the militancy phase in Panjab. These allegations are denied by the Left. No one has been convicted of Pash’s assassination. Pash’s legacy has also become the center of a dispute in his native village. Tension erupted after the village panchayat (council) stopped members of the Paash-Hans Raj Memorial Committee from erecting a pandal (tent) for the celebrations and refused to part with the land already earmarked for the memorial. The local administration deployed police to prevent a confrontation (earlier coverage).