Dr
Jaswant Singh Neki, an eminent Punjabi poet, Sikh Theologian,
Psychiatrist and former Director of Post Graduate Institute of
Medical Education and Research ("PGI"), Chandigarh, Punjab,
passed away in New Delhi on Friday afternoon, September 11, 2015. He
was 90.
Besides his contribution to medical science, Dr Neki
was a Sikh scholar and an eminent Punjabi poet known for metaphysical
poetry. He had more than 20 books of prose and poetry to his
credit.
He remained director of the PGI from 1978 to 1981 and
is remembered for giving autonomy to the super-specialty
departments.
After doing his MA in Psychology from Aligarh
Muslim University, he qualified as a psychiatrist and became
Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (“AIIMS“), New Delhi.
Then he was appointed Director of the Post Graduate Institute of
Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Punjab, where he spent
three years (1978–1981).
From there, he was picked up
by the World Health Organisation, Geneva, as a consultant for a
project in Africa where he served for over four years
(1981–1985).
Eminent psychiatrist and former head of
psychiatry at Delhi's AIIMS and the PGI Dr NN Wig recalls him as one
of the finest psychiatrists the country has produced. He said he was
one of those who laid the foundation of this discipline in
India.
His long-time associate and General Secretary of
Delhi's Punjab Sahitya Sabha, Gulzar Singh Sandhu, said that in the
Punjabi literary world he would always be remembered for his
metaphysical poetry, especially for his 'Asle to Ohle Tak' (Illusion
and Reality, 1955) and autobiographical, 'Koi Naon Na Jaane Mera'
(2000).
He was also awarded the prestigious Sahitya
Akademi Award for his book Karuna di Chhoh toN MagroN (The
Compassionate Touch) in 1979.
"He was a fine poet and a
man of intellectual integrity," said London-based Punjabi poet
Amarjit Singh Chandan.
Jaswant Singh always had a keen
interest in religion. During his student life, he was close to Master
Tara Singh and became president of the All India Sikh Students
Federation. He was during this period an ardent supporter of a ‘Sikh
Homeland’.
He was born at Murid village in Jhelum, Punjab
(now in Pakistan) and later lived in Quetta in Baluchistan (also in
the present-day Pakistan.) His early studies were at King Edward
Medical College, Lahore, and Government Medical College, Amritsar,
where he also worked later. He also worked at Christian Medical
College, Ludhiana, for a brief time.