LAHORE: Punjabi writer and language activist Surjit Singh Kalra died of pneumonia in Birmingham on Friday.

Kalra was born in Douglaspura, Faisalabad, in 1933. After the Partition, the family moved to India and he received his education at the Khalsa College Jalandhar where he later taught as well as at the Government College Bareilly.

According to Kalra’s daughter-in-law Dr Navtej Purewal, he migrated to the UK in 1962 and worked as a secondary school teacher, a college lecturer, translator, interpreter and head of the Community Language Service for Birmingham Education Authority from which he retired in 1992.

Surjit Kalra remained always active for promotion of Punjabi language despite migrating to the UK. He remained involved in the establishment of GCSE, A-level and founded the Punjabi Language Development Board, a voluntary organisation based in Birmingham and dedicated to the promotion of Punjabi. He knew Farsi, Urdu and Hindi.

Kalra wrote several collections of short stories, including Hauke, Ham Safar, Sharan and Baar Parai. He produced Punjabi learning and teaching materials for the future generations of Punjabi communities and wrote books for learning the language, including Teach Yourself Panjabi. that he wrote in collaboration with his daughter-in-law Dr Navtej.

Last rites for Surjit Kalra will be held on Aug 28 in Birmingham. He is survived by his widow, son Dr Virinder Singh Kalra and a daughter.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2015

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