AdminPATIALA: To disseminate principles and philosophy of the Sikh religion among Urdu-speaking population of the world, including over nine crore Punjabis residing in Pakistan, Guru Granth Sahib will soon be published in Urdu language. The translation of the holy book has been done by nonagenarian Devinder Pal Singh Sidhu, from Rampura Phul town of Bathinda […]
PATIALA: To disseminate principles and philosophy of the Sikh religion among Urdu-speaking population of the world, including over nine crore Punjabis residing in Pakistan, Guru Granth Sahib will soon be published in Urdu language. The translation of the holy book has been done by nonagenarian Devinder Pal Singh Sidhu, from Rampura Phul town of Bathinda district, which is being edited by experts at Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University in Fatehgarh Sahib. The university hopes to publish the Urdu version of Guru Granth Sahib within the next 1-2 years in phases. The translated version of the hold book will also contain footnotes detailing meanings of important and difficult words and also explaining their central idea.
“We have got the voluminous translated draft and got its samples checked from a committee of experts of Sikh theology, including Dr Jaswant Singh Neki, who also has deep understanding of Arabic and Urdu languages. They have given their nod saying that the translated draft can be published with some minor changes. It would take us 1-2 years to publish the Urdu version of Guru Granth Sahib,” said Professor Gurmohan Singh Walia, vice-chancellor of the university. Professor Walia said that the draft submitted by Sidhu spans over 32 registers and 16,000 pages and it was translated by him without help from any agency. “He is around 90 years old and retired as a “kanungo” (revenue record keeper). Having served in the revenue department where Urdu and Persian were widely used in official dealings, he is well-versed in these languages and it took him years to translate Guru Granth Sahib,” Walia said.
~ Amaninder Pal Sharma, TNN