Dr Harpal Singh Pannu

Dr Harpal Singh Pannu is a Sikh scholar and teacher of Punjabi and religious studies. The People’s Archive of Rural India says he was born in Ghagga village in Patiala district, took an MA in Punjabi and Religious Education, and later earned an MPhil and a PhD. He taught as an assistant professor at Khalsa College, Patiala, and as a professor at Punjabi University, Patiala.

The Global Institute for Sikh Studies welcomed his appointment to the Guru Gobind Singh Chair at the Central University of Punjab (CUPB), Bathinda. The Tribune called him chair professor of that chair in November 2019, when it reported on a seminar he addressed there.

Key moments

• 14 November 2019: at a one-day seminar at CUPB on Guru Nanak’s life, philosophy and teachings, held for the 550th birth anniversary, he was a resource person with Kuldip Singh, chair professor of the Satguru Ram Singh Chair. Vice-Chancellor RK Kohli presided.
• At that seminar he cited the Puratan Janamsakhi, the Bhai Bala Janamsakhi (the Tribune prints "Baba Bala") and other main janamsakhis for the accounts of Guru Nanak’s birth. He said the Guru’s mission was to remove discrimination in society, spoke against the caste system and gender bias, and named kirat karo (earn an honest living), naam japo (remember God) and vand chhako (share with others) as the basis of a peaceful life.

What he is known for: teaching Sikh studies in Punjab’s universities and holding a named chair in the subject. As a speaker he draws on the janamsakhi literature when he talks about Guru Nanak, and he ties the Guru’s teaching to the end of caste and gender discrimination. The sources we could open say little more about his career, and this profile does not go beyond them.