SEVĀ SIṄGH, BHĀĪ (1882-1945), journalist and author, was born in 1882 at Sarāi Ālamgīr, in Gujrāt district (now in Pakistan), where his father, Lāl Siṅgh, was a village money-lender. Passing his middle school examination from Jehlum, he trained as a junior vernacular teacher at Rāwalpiṇḍī, and took up service at Khālsā Middle School, Piṇḍī Gheb, in Aṭṭock district. Simultaneously, he started giving sermons in gurdwārās. He also wrote polemical pamphlets in Urdu to propagate Sikh teachings as well as to rebut the critical propaganda of the Ārya Samājists. Some of his titles were Gurū Nānak Sāhib aur Islām, Afzalul Ambīā, Nūr kā Fatūr, Vedik Shādī kī Fazīlat, and Ved Bhagvān.

        Once Bhāī Sevā Siṅgh, accompanied by his wife, visited Amritsar, to participate in a religious debate. The couple were so fascinated by the Golden Temple that they decided to settle in the city for good. Sevā Siṅgh got an appointment in Sant Siṅgh Sukkhā Siṅgh Middle School as a teacher. A regular reader of the Khālsā Samāchār, a Punjabi weekly owned and edited by the Sikh poet and savant Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh, Sevā Siṅgh was deeply impressed by its tone and style. He started contributing articles to the journal. This led to personal acquaintance with Bhāī Vīr Siṅgh who offered him appointment as a sub-editor in March 1914. Sevā Siṅgh rose to be the editor of the paper which he served ably and diligently for over 30 years. Modest and humble-looking, Sevā Siṅgh wielded a sharp pen. His name will go down in Punjabi letters as a formidable editor, revelling in religious discussion and debate. An attack of paralysis towards the end of August 1944 incapacitated him, the end coming on 28 January 1945. Besides his monumental work in the field of Punjabi journalism, Bhāī Sevā Siṅgh was the author of a number of books. These included Mokhsh Mārag, Amrit, Svargi-Jīvan, Aṅhā Chūhā Thothe Dhān, Dayā Nand Charitra, Surme Laī Mamīrā, Qurān dī Kuñjī, Qurān dī Kahāṇī, Qurān Sharīf and Bahādar Siṅghaṇīāṅ.

Shivnaubh Siṅgh