Placing culture at the centre of Punjab’s identity and continuity, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to preserving the state’s rich civilisational heritage for future generations, while addressing the Mahinder Singh Randhawa Literature and Arts Festival in Chandigarh.
Paying tribute to Dr Mahinder Singh Randhawa’s role in shaping modern Punjab after Partition and leading the Green Revolution that saved India from famine by keeping the farmer and grain at the centre, the Chief Minister emphasised that promoting the Punjabi mother tongue, literature and culture is a shared societal duty and not a political act.
Addressing the festival,CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated, “Punjab, since its inception, has been a cradle of civilization. It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that we have inherited a glorious cultural heritage along with an unmatched spirit of hard work and resilience.” He said that preserving and celebrating this legacy was essential to ensure that the coming generations remain rooted in their cultural ethos.
Expressing gratitude to the officials of the Punjab Arts Council for organising the festival, the Chief Minister said, “Such endeavours are the need of the hour to keep our younger generations aware of and connected with our rich culture.” He said that platforms like this festival play a crucial role in sustaining Punjab’s literary, artistic and cultural traditions.
Recalling the life and legacy of Dr Mahinder Singh Randhawa, the CM Bhagwant Singh Mann noted that the event had been organised to honour a personality who had sown seeds of hope in the fields of Punjab. “Remembering Dr Mahinder Singh Randhawa from the depths of my heart, I consider him the architect of modern Punjab’s destiny after the 1947 Partition,” he said.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann noted that hailing from a village in Hoshiarpur district, Dr Randhawa was not only a capable administrator but also a profound philosopher.
Highlighting Dr Mahinder Singh Randhawa’s vision, the Chief Minister said, “He was blessed with rare qualities of both head and heart. He believed that if a nation’s stomach is empty, it cannot fight, but if its soul is empty, it cannot live.” the CM said that guided by this understanding, Dr Randhawa established the Punjab Agricultural University on one hand, while on the other he set up the Chandigarh Art Gallery and cultural centres across Punjab.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “Whenever we recall the Punjab Agricultural University, our farmers, our litterateurs, and the people displaced during the 1947 Partition, one name that comes to mind, holding their hands, is Dr Randhawa.”
He described Dr Mahinder Singh Randhawa as the pioneer of the Green Revolution in Punjab and said that due to his farsighted vision, Punjab saved India from famine during a critical period. “Thanks to Dr Randhawa, the focal point of the Green Revolution was always ‘grain’ and ‘farmer’,” he added.
Stressing that the programme was not a political gathering, the Chief Minister said, “Today’s event is a celebration of the development of the Punjabi mother tongue and language.” He asserted that every individual must promote their mother tongue through every possible medium and said that the state government is duty bound to work tirelessly for this noble cause.
Recalling the influence of literature and culture on his own life, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that poetry, literature, art and culture had played a profound role in shaping his thinking and journey. He also recalled eminent literary and cultural figures including Sant Ram Udasi, Devinder Satyarthi, Rasool Hamzatoz, Narinder Kapoor, Keats, Shiv Batalvi and others, acknowledging their immense contribution to the fields of literature, art and culture.
