Memorial to come up at site where poet Pash fell to bullets

A memorial to revolutionary Punjabi poet Avtar Singh Sandhu, famously known as Pash, will be built  on the site where he was gunned down by militants in Talwandi Salem village of Jalandhar’s Nakodar.

The idea was mooted by the poet’s family. The poet was assassinated on March 23, 1988. The site has a tubewell and a mango tree.

The poet’s family has dedicated two acres of the ancestral land to preserve the legacy of the poet.

The foundation stone will be laid on his birth anniversary, September 9.

Amolak Singh, trustee of the Avtar Singh Pash Memorial Trust, said, “There is a fully grown mango tree under which Pash fell to bullets. It was just a sapling at that time.”

The tubewell, where the tragic incident took place, was much more than a physical space. It was Pash’s retreat — a place where he would bathe, write and engage in thoughtful conversations with friends.

Pash had returned from the United States and was spending time with his friend Hansraj at the tubewell when both were shot dead.

The upcoming memorial will not be a conventional structure. According to Harsharan Singh Gill, a close friend and relative, it would be a creative and educational space adorned with Pash’s writings, featuring a library, seminar room, theatre hall and a learning centre. The space will be used to host discussions and seminars on contemporary issues such as climate change and global challenges, continuing the poet’s legacy of critical thought and activism.

The memorial has received support from many prominent literary and intellectual figures, including Waryam Singh Sandhu, Gurbachan Bhullar, Swarajbir, Jatinder Mauhar, etc. Parminder Gill, Pash’s sister, is serving as the chairperson of the trust.

An annual fair will also be held on Pash’s birth anniversary to commemorate his contributions and engage the public with his writings and revolutionary spirit.

Punjab