The Punjabi University Act, 1961 (PUNJAB ACT No. 35 of 1961) envisaged

This Act made it amply clear that the main objective of Punjabi University was to ensure all-round development of Punjabi language & literature.

The Punjabi University came into being on April 30,1962. It started as a campus university for furtherance of research and knowledge and for introduction of the mother tongue into the system of instruction. The idea of universities imparting instruction through the media of regional languages began with our independence. In a resolution dated August 14,1948, the Govt. of India stated that the mother tongue was the best medium of instruction.

The establishment of Punjabi University was acclaimed as a major landmark in the cultural rejuvenation & progress of the Punjabi speaking people. The very first task it undertook was to promote Punjabi studies, to provide for research in Punjabi literature, to undertake measures for the development of Punjabi language to progressively adopt it as the medium of instruction and examination for as many subjects as possible.

The crusade for the development of Punjabi started right with the setting up the university. The Post-graduate Department of Punjabi was the first among the six departments which started functioning from admissions of 1963. Other departments were those of English. Economics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. The Punjabi Department was located in the postgraduate wing of Local Mahendra College with Prof. Prem Parkash Singh as its Head. He was a reknowned scholar of Sanskrit, Hindi and Punajbi. Besides this, immediately Department of translation was set up in June 1963 to take up Punjabi translations of classics and standard works relating to different disciplines of study. The department headed by Prof. Piar Singh immediately started translating into Punjabi standard works relating to different disciplines of study. In the first instance those subjects were chosen for which Punjabi had been or was likely to be adopted as medium of instruction in near future. The university was immediately recognised by the Ministry of Education, Govt of India, as the sole agency for rendering into Punjabi books under then scheme of translation standard works into modern Indian languages.

The Ministry of Education assigned the following five titles to us :

1. A Short History of British Commonwealth By Ramsay Muir

As a preliminary step towards the introduction of Punjabi into the system of instruction the University Senate passed an ordinance in 1964 prescribing Punjabi as the medium of teaching for four subjects i.e. History, Economics, Political Science and Civics at the first degree level. This set into motion the process of translation of text books and that of writing original text books in Punjabi on these subjects. Sardar Gurmukh Nihal Singh's book on political science was the first in this direction and many more followed. More subjects were taken up for being taught through Punjabi as textbooks and supporting literature became available.

In the first instance, the Translation Department undertook translation from English into Punjabi of standard educational works relating to subjects for which Punjabi was or was likely, in the near future, to be adopted as the medium of instruction. Original publications in Punjabi on these subjects were also sponsored. Initially books were got printed outside, but eventually the University set up a printing press of its own to ensure better and efficient work.

As the University was recognised by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, as the sole agency for rendering into Punjabi books under their scheme of translating standard works into modern Indian languages, the Government bore the expenses for the translation and production of volumes under this project. However several difficulties came in the way at translation work. The chief one related to the procurement of translation rights from the copy right holders. There were also number of procedural hitches. All these made the university realise soon that the university should take up the preparation of original scholarly works in Punjabi in various fields of knowledge and pursue in this direction with all the vigour at its disposal to keep in pace with the rapid growth of knowledge.

In spite of all the odds, the university continued the translation of classic texts relating to subjects such as History, Economics, Political Science and Civics for which Punjabi had been immediately adopted as the medium of instruction by the university.

In 1965 the university made available the postgraduate teaching of Punjabi in the evening classes for those who worked during the day, This helped to attract more enthusiasts to higher studies in Punjabi and bridged the gap between the university and the community.

In 1965 the university made Punjabi a compulsory subject of study in the degree examinations in the faculty of Arts and social Sciences, Science, Commerce and education. Again from 1966 onwards Punjabi was made medium of instruction up to the first degree level in Philosophy, Geography, Public Administration, Psychology, Sociology and Home sciences. To cater to the growing needs of translators in Punjabi the university started a diploma course in translation in 1965.

To make out plans for the development of the Punjabi language and studies and to implement schemes in this direction a separate cell was created in the University which started functioning on the assumption of charge by the Development Officer on May 1,1965. A committee was, in the first instance, set up to formulate a comprehensive and all-embracing Five-Year plan. This committee consisted of Sardar Sant Singh Sekhon, Prof. Pritam Singh, Prof. Prem Parkash Singh, Dr Jit Singh Sital and the Development Officer. The committee, after a series of meetings, drew up a detailed plan for consideration by the Senate which approved the plan embracing the following projects :

To implement these schemes, the Senate recommended the strengthening of the Department of Development of Punjabi and the establishment of a separtee Department to give special attention to Punjabi literature and issues related to it. The new department of Literary Studies came into being in April 1967 with Prof. Attar Singh as its head. While this new department concentrated on various schemes related to Punjabi literature, the Department of Development of Punjabi was developed as the Directorate for the planning and development of Punjabi with experts in various fields of knowledge. The directorate took rapid strides in various fields under the dynamic and far sighted leadership of Dr. Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia who was a scholar- administrator with a futuristic vision. His team of experts was not limited only to Punjabi language, literature and culture but included Economics, Geography, Sociology, Education, Science, Engineering and Medicine even. These experts were committed to develop the language in such a manner as to enable it to become a dependable vehicle of knowledge in diverse fields and serve as a viable medium of instruction at all levels in Punjab. The university planned to achieve this target in a phased manner. Preparation of standard textbooks in various disciplines was the first step. Standard Texts could be written only on the basis of standard technical terminology in different subjects. So the university took up the project of preparation of Technical Terminology in a scientific manner.

University experts in Science, Medicine, Engineering and Humanities started coming new terminology with the help of established Punjabi scholars with expert knowledge of classical languages like Persian and Sanskrit. Though Language Department Punjab had already taken up this project but Punjabi University targeted its efforts at coining the terminology for teaching & research at post graduate level in general and the professional disciplines in particular. The university started the stupendous task of rendering technical terms into Punjabi covering all subjects including Pure sciences, Engineering & Medicine. To lay down the principles for coining of new mechanical terminology a two day seminar was held in the university in June 1966. It debated and decided principles and norms for technical terminology in Punjabi.

For the purpose of bringing Punjabi studies closer to the modern sensibility and idiom as reflected in the contemporary art and literature the Directorate under took preparation of new anthrologics in various genrea of Punjabi literature for courses at all levels of college and university teaching. These anthologies paved the ground for modernization of the syllabi for various examinations in different universities of the state.

The Directorate chalked out a comprehensive programme of preparing original and translated texts in all the subjects at the undergraduate level so that the entire system of instruction could be switched over to Punjabi in a phased manner. Starting from pre-university class in 1969 all the classes up to B.A., B.Sc., B.P.E. and B.Com were covered under it. It was planned that at least one original text in each subject along must be made available to the students with the translations of classically accepted texts in the field. The university successfully completed all the phases of its scheduled medium switch over programme by 1974. The teachers and students in Punjab can now easily use Punjabi as the medium of instruction or studies if they wish to avail of it. The directorate took a revolutionary step and launched Journals in Punjabi on subjects such as Law, Science, Medicine, Engineering, Linguistics, Social Sciences and Education. These journals provided a forum for intellectual exchange between the Punjabi reader and the universal world of ideas and to promote understanding and commerce between Punjabi and other languages at the national and international levels.

Over the years, these journals have made available to the Punjabi University readers the latest researches and developments in various subjects, the world over. Projects were also undertaken by the directorate for making available research workers and teachers the basic reference material in Punjabi in the form of subject dictionaries in various disciplines.

The Department of Literary studies of the University started work on companions to and Punjabi Literature and Punjabi literatures. The whole range of Punjabi writing has now been surveyed by experts in different branches and reference books giving significant and precise information about all the books written in Punjabi, their authors, literary trends, movements, mythical religious and historical allusions therein have been prepared and published. Our efforts have provided the basic material for definitive histories of various genres. The department has put in to the hands of Punjabi readers compendiums of theories of literary creations of the East and West. Men of letters series by the department has covered almost all important writers of Punjabi. Translation of world classics into Punjabi by this department has served Punjabi genius's windows on the wider perspective of literary production and brought a breath of fresh air and life into it.

University has constantly made efforts to collect unpublished papers and manuscripts of old stalwarts who are no more, from their progeny. In this connection we have collected invaluable literary wealth concerning Prof. Puran Singh, Bhai Kahn Singh of Nabha, Harinder Singh Roop, Bhai Mohan Singh Vaid, Dhani Ram Chatrik, Principal Teja Singh, Sardar Dharmanant Singh, Dr. Balbir Singh, Dr. Ganda Singh and I.C. Nanda to name only a few. Over the years quite a lot of their literature has been made available to the Punjabi reader in print. Complete works of important Punjabi writers and some rare manuscripts have also been edited and published by this department. Histories of Punjabi literature and its different genres have also been prepared by the department. Selected writings of eminent Punjabi writers, their literary biographies, bilingual dictionaries, indexes of medieval texts, annotated and edited literature and all sorts of tools for study of Punjabi literature have been constantly produced by this department. The Department can take legitimate pride in being the pioneer in the production of numerous books of real value adling to the stock of learning in Punjabi in various fields of study. It has fast made up for the absence of such literature with signal success. This general enrichment of Punjabi language has been due largely to the sustained and planned efforts of this department which has added both volume and quality to the world of Punjabi letters.

This Department launched two journals also. These were Bhart-Te-Videshi-Sahit and Khoj Patrika. 'Bhart-Te-Videshi-Sahit' (a bi-annual journal) was started by the Department with a view to introducing Punjabi readers to the best writings in Indian and foreign languages. The journal published original writings in Punjabi covering different aspects of literature (other than Punjabi literature) as well as translation into Punjabi of poems, shorts stories, plays etc. from other literatures. It has enabled Punjabi readers and writers to reach across the barriers of linguistic medium and played a significant role in making them aware of the currents and cross currents of national and international literary trends. Khoj Patrika was the first journal of research in Punjabi. All its issues have been aclaimed far and wide and used by students teachers and researchers as serious and most reliable reference literature.

In fact the Directorate of development and the department of literary studies have been working hand in hand and have steadily produced collected and selected works of a large number of Punjabi writers and thus helped in the promotion of analytical and evaluative studies of both the individual Punjabi writers and the Punjabi literary tradition. The concerted of these two departments in the formative years of Punjabi University made their impact being felt in the wider sphere of Punjabi letters and a strong current was set in motion in the cultural life of the state. Obvious outcome of this was streaming of talent towards the university campus, talent with zeal and enthusiasm to develop the language, literature and culture of Punjab creating opportunities for scholarly inter communication at an unprecedented scale and providing a new ferment for research and creative work in Punjabi in newer and newer directions.

The significant role played by the university in the process of cultural development of Punjab was highlighted on April 13,1968, when the then Chief Minister S. Lachhman Singh Gill laid the foundation stone of Punjabi Bhawan at the Campus. This Bhawan now houses some of the departments engaged in the task of multifaceted development of Punjabi language, literature and culture. A museum of Punjabi culture has also been added as an annexe to it now.

Right from its inception in 1962 University had constantly been promoting, sponsoring and publishing books on various aspects of Punjabi language, literature & culture. Proceedings of seminars on different subjects, dictionaries, glossaries, journals, reports, world classics, books on popular science & general and specialized learning every aspect had been constantly been under the eye of the planners. To streamline the publication and sales of this literature, Publication and Sales Bureau of the University was set up as early as 1967.

The Publication Bureau now has a unique and important place in the academic life of our University. It has published the research works, books and journals produced by different departments. It has competently discharged its added responsibility of bringing out books in Punjabi. It is gratifying to note that it has so far published about than 2000 titles on Punjab's history, language, literature, culture, humanities, science and other subjects many of which have been published in more than five editions. Of these, more than 500 cover the areas of History of Punjab, Punjabi literature and culture. The books published by the Bureau have excelled those produced by the other Universities of northern India and government agencies not only in number but also in the quality of printing, designing and lay out for which it has won the National Awards.

In 1968 the Department of Linguistics undertook the linguistic survey of Punjab. It aimed at the study of dialects of Punjab at synchronic level and produced detailed maps of speech variations and delineated linguistic isoglosses. This brought into light dialectical information about Punjabi language which was unknown to the scholarly world earlier. The project made in-depth studies of linguistic interaction between individuals of different communities and speakers of various age-groups which can form the basis of any diachronic analysis of Punjabi language.

The University also introduced the idea of writers workshop in Punjab. A writers workshop was held in 1968 at Paonta Sahib. Since then the University has been occasionally organising such workshops in which writers from all cottermporary schools and trends in Punjabi participate. Similarly seminars on Methodologies of criticism have been held from time to time.

In fact the University has made unique and unparalleled contribution in the field of generation and dissemination of original and fresh ideas in Punjab by constantly organising literary seminars, symposia, conclaves and conferences. By seventies the university had acquired a distinctive character and a prominent place as a centre for the all round development of Punjabi language, literature and culture. There has been a steady increase in the number of books produced by the university on various aspects of the language and literature of Punjab. In 1973 the established its Book Club for provision of books in Punjabi at subsidised rates to subscribers.

The Department of Speech drama and music was established in 1970 to encourage theatre activists to promote professional Punjabi theatre in Punjab, as also to train young punjabees to communicate effectively and appreciate the delicacies of music in Punjab. The department has now sprung up as an independent department of Theatre and T.V. and has produced eminent Theatre and T.V. men who man the media not only in Punjab but across the whole country. Music and Dance have also proliferated as separate full fledged departments as we cross the last decade of the century and these are playing their significant role in enriching the cultural life of the region.

The year 1971 also saw the university taking a concerted and energetic step to strengthen and diversify the courses in this language by instituting a Honours School Course in Punjabi language and literature. The Department of Punjabi was now all set to admit highly talented and select undergraduate students to undergo higher studies in Punjabi. M. A. Honours in Punjabi was a corollary and extension of the B.A. Honours School Course in Punjabi in 1973. Considering the need for strengthening the base of Punjabi Scholarship and teaching at the University level, a number of brilliant students were taken on scholarships to pursue an intensive course in Punjabi literature, comprising the study of some of the social sciences and philosophy along with English literature and the classics. These students blazed a trail which has brought to the study of Panjabi, generations of brilliant and dedicated youths, who are enriching and setting high critical criteria comparable to those prevalent in the more developed languages. M.A. Honours Course is carrying forward the idea underlying the B.A. Honours School course and turning out scholars who are bringing altogether a new and higher conception of critical values and accomplishment into the field of Punjabi Studies which so far had an imperfect grounding. This is another of the valuable pioneering efforts of this University in the field of higher studies in the Punjabi language.

The university's drive to use Punjabi as the medium of instruction and examination at all levels compulsorly had to be given a new perspective in view of the supreme court verdict on the question of medium of instruction in 1971. The university which was at set for enforcing Panjabi as the medium of instruction and examination at Degree level, now allowed its students to receive instruction in the language of their choice. But this in no way affected its declared objective and policy of making Panjabi a dynamic, apt and modern instrument capable of rendering the highest flights of fancy the most recondite and involved thought and the fullest reaches of scientific knowledge.

In 1972, the university published a linguistic Atlas of Punjab which contains a phonetic reader of twenty five dialects from Rawalpindi to Rohtak including the speech variations of Dogri and Pahari. Besides 101 maps of present state of Punjab it contains 21 maps of the land spread between Rohtak and Rawalpindi. Detailed glossaries, descriptions of phonological structures and studies in semiological patterns in folk literature and folk culture, make this atlas a rare contribution in the field of Punjabi scholarship.

The University set up department of Punjabi journalism in 1974 to produce trained journalists in Punjabi. The department has now grown to act as a nursery for journalists in English as well to cater to the growing media needs of the state. Journalism Department has constantly been prompting its students to contribute articles and features to Punjabi Newspapers viz. Ajit, Akali Patrika, Panjabi Tribune, Desh Sevak etc. after training them with the help of a departmental laboratory Journal. An interaction of our students with the working journalists has often been arranged in more ways them one. This includes work-shop of working Journalists, seminars, visits to the various newspapers and Media centres, guest lectures by eminent Indian Journalists, and Reorientation courses for working journalists.

In 1975 the university undertook the preparation of a trilingual dictionary on behalf of the Hindi directorate of Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.

In 1976 an M.Phil course in Punjabi was started to train the students in research methodology and provide them with necessary grounding for higher research.

On December 16, 1978, the university syndicate took a bold decision and decided that all the work in the university should be carried out in Punjabi only. Agenda and proceedings of various bodies of the university were also included in it. To encourage the use of Punjabi in administration, not only in the day to day university work but also in the state administration the university held a seminar on the use of Punjabi in Administration in 1980.

The year 1980 also saw the setting up of Punjabi Reference Library on the campus. This library aims at providing all the books in Punjabi under one roof for ready reference. Over the years this library has grown to be the most dependable reference centre for the Punjabi scholars.

In 1981-82 the university allowed the use of Punjabi as medium of examination in six subjects at postgraduate level. These were Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Public Administration, History and Education. Next tear this facility was extended to Library Science, Defence Studies, Law, Philosophy and Linguistics as well. At presents students can submit their M.Phil and Ph.D. dissertations in a large number of subjects in Punjabi.

Right from the beginning university has been holding seminars, conferences and conclaves on different aspects of Punjabi language, literature & culture. In 1982, university floated the idea of holding annual Punjabi development conference. Since then Punjabi Development Conference has been an annual feature of the Department of Development of Punjabi Language. The department has organized 17 National & International conferences from 1982 onwards. The dates and the main theme of the conferences are listed below :

In 1984 Postgraduate classes in Punjabi were started at Regional Centre Bhatinda also. This provided further fillip to the teaching of Punjabi in Punjab. M. Phil course in Punjabi was also introduced there in 1987.

University's Department of Punjabi has been recognised as the Department of special assistance, by U.G.C. It is the only Department of its kind in the whole of India. The Department has been working on various projects for the development of Punjabi language, literature and culture under this scheme. Comparative literature, Source material, Literary theory, Indigenous literary Genres, are some of the thrust areas in which the department is active. The activities and the research work being carried out by the department has been path breaking in respect of opening new vistas of research in Punjabi.

At present the university has taken up, since 1999; some new initiatives which deserve to be mentioned here.

The university is working to produce a consolidated but integrated history of Punjabi literature to take note of the literature being produced in the East Punjab and the West Punjab. So far no such history of Punjabi literature is available. Scholars well versed in Punjabi and Urdu have specially been commissioned to complete this task. Similarly a consolidated history of Punjabi culture is being produced encompassing both the East and the West Punjab.

To facilitate interaction between Urdu and Punjabi, the university is developing a software for conversion of texts in Gurmukhi script into Shahmukhi script and vice-versa. The University has taken initiative to make available to the Hindi, English and Urdu knowing people the best literature in Punjabi. Similarly representative literary productions in different genres are being translated in Hindi, Urdu, Persian and English for their wider impact and introduction world over.

Being correlative to the Punjabi studies, particularly in the domain of languages the co-development of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu & Persian is also under active focus of the Universities, with a number of continuing & new projects in these languages. We have made special efforts to lead the universities of Punjab in upto dateing the syllabi in various courses of Punjabi. In this respect we have been innovative and forward looking, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

To sum up all along our aim has been five fold :

1. Making available to the layman diversified literature of knowledge in Punjabi with a view to broadening the horizons of awareness of the world around.
2. Making textbooks and basic material available to enable Punjabi to be made the medium of instruction and examination.
3. Making reference literature available in Punjabi to the common man and to the writer with a view to encouraging pursuit of knowledge through the medium of Punjabi.
4. Promoting research in the literary and historical heritage of Punjab.
5. Contributing to the mainstream of ideas by organising literary seminars, symposia, conferences and conclaves.