The day’s lineup included tours of two of Amritsar’s finest institutions of higher learning, Khalsa College and Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU). Established in 1892 and 1969 respectfully, these schools represent a long tradition of Western education in Punjab. Our own Gurinder Singh Mann was in GNDU’s first graduating class – attending one of its affiliated colleges, Baring Union Christian College in Batala.
Khalsa College, Amritsar
We began with a tour of GNDU’s printing press. Walking through a number of rooms, we learned how journals and books are printed, arranged, and prepared for the reader; as well as the number of people required for each chore. The press uses a number of different printing methods including, and don’t quote me here: lining up typeface, transferring images from negatives to aluminum plates, and computer image transfers.
Next up was a series of meetings with faculty of the History department and the Department of Guru Nanak Studies. The latter was accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the department’s staff and research projects. A large grant was recently received from the University Grants Commission, accompanying the University’s desire for more focus in the social sciences. This grant is of some importance as most funding goes to the sciences.
Following the presentation, the dean spoke to us and emphasized the importance of participation among scholars of different backgrounds. He implored us to meet and mingle with graduate students present, learning about their research and discovering what we had in common. I met Harminder, a young man in his early twenties doing his post-graduate work in Sikh Studies. He was striking in his lavender turban, a perfect match to the lavender in his striped shirt. The first in his family to go to university, his brothers work with their father as farmers in a village near Gurdaspur. He commented that more students are interested in sciences, business, and IT studies. Religious Studies is not seen as a subject of study as graduates don’t earn the money found in other disciplines. Harminder was keen on my interest in Sikh Studies and how I came to be a Sikh. It was exciting meeting someone interested in my field of studies but I didn’t expect how excited he was to meet a gora (white) Sikh face-to-face. We bonded in our Sikhi (Sikh identity) by showing our kirpans to one another.
Our group then met with the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Jai Rup Singh. It was a meeting of lots of ‘big’ people in large bright turbans.
We also spoke with the Punjabi language program director. Similar to the language segment of the Punjab Summer Studies Program, the university’s program is tailored to the individual participant – combining language studies with a cultural segment to put learning into context. Presented as a supplement to academia, the program is meant for students interested in studying a foreign language or learning a second language.
From there, we had a brief stopover at Khalsa College, wandering the grounds and taking in the architecture.
Forgive me if you were hoping for a description of Khalsa College, but you’ll just have to wait for my dissertation.
I did however spend a lovely few hours there the next day engrossed in study at the research library.
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