Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir (1899-1976), a freedom fighter, a poet, a parliamentarian and a Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) winner, was a multi-dimensional personality.
He is the only leader who had been a Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht, General Secretary of the SGPC, President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, a member of the Congress Working Committee, Chief Minister of Punjab and a member of Parliament.
In his autobiography, Musafir says that he had seen almost all jails of the joint Punjab during the Akali morchas (agitations) and freedom struggle.
As the Jathedar of Akal Takht, he is remembered as a visionary high priest who took certain historic decisions and handled ticklish issues pertaining to Sikhism.
Apart from taking an active part in the Akali agitations, including the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha in 1922, he started evincing keen interest in the freedom struggle.
After Independence, he was actively involved in building Punjab as a model of growth. Musafir took over as the first Chief Minister after the re-organisation of Punjab in 1966.
He never hankered after power. It was Indira Gandhi, who directed I.K. Gujral (who later became Prime Minister) to prevail upon Musafir to accept the post of Chief Minister of Punjab.
At that time Giani Zail Singh was a hot contender for the post and enjoyed close proximity with Mrs Gandhi.
According to Gujral, Musafir reluctantly accepted the offer. He was genial, humble and utterly guileless.
This was the secret of his strength and success. His humanism and sense of humour cut across all barriers of opinion and made him a beloved of all, irrespective of their political commitments.
Musafir, who contested the assembly election in 1967 from Amritsar, was defeated by Satya Pal Dang, a CPI leader, by a margin of more than 10,000 votes. Stakes were high since Musafir contested the election as the Chief Minister.
Recalling the magnanimity of Musafir , Lokesh Kundra , his election in-charge, says that he (Musafir) showed utmost grace and congratulated Mr Dang by embracing him even before counting came to an end. Kundra describes Musafir as markedly handsome with a flowing white beard and a glowing face.
Dang describes Musafir as a great freedom fighter and a pious man. Dang says that his party (CPI) had sent emissaries to Musafir for not contesting from Amritsar, a stronghold of the Leftists who respected him a lot due to his secular approach and for his role in the World Peace Movement. Kundra says that Musafir never nurtured animosity against anybody and he was above malice.
It was an ambition of Musafir to become the Headmaster of the school where he was a teacher. It was a satire by Master Tara Singh, the legendry Akali leader and the then Headmaster, that pushed Musafir into politics.
Musafir lived in a rented house near the famous Ganga building. This building could not be preserved by any heritage lover.
English writer Mulak Raj Anand, who also belonged to Amritsar, says that despite Musafir's political commitments, his first love always remained writing Punjabi poetry and prose. He was a famous Punjabi story writer, a poet and a critic of his times.
His first job as a teacher earned him the epithet of Giani that remained attached to his name even after his death. His inspirational poetry for the jathas which moved from village to village earned him the surname of Musafir
According to the Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Musafir was born on January 15, 1899, at Adhval, in Campbellpore district, now in Pakistan. Mr Prem Singh Prem recalls Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir plunged into the freedom struggle at an early age, stirred by the anguish over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.
He exhorted people to take action through his poems in Punjabi. The Nankana Sahib Saka happened a couple of years after the Jallianwala Bagh incident and it led Musafir to join the Gurdwara Reform Movement launched by the Akali Dal.
In his tribute to Musafir, renowned Punjabi writer Kartar Singh Duggal says that he was one of the most important figures who were instrumental in shaping the way Punjab is today.
He is an enduring symbol of creative energy and contributed to the revival of Punjabi poetry, bringing it closer to realism.
Gurmukh Singh Musafir invested Punjabi poetry with social consciousness. Rather than remaining preoccupied with ultimate problems of life and death, he reacted to the contemporary situation and talked about problems of the ordinary man.
He was arrested during the Akali agitations and the Civil Disobedience Movement launched by the Indian National Congress in 1930 as well. He was first arrested in 1921, being an active member of the Akali Dal, which was banned by the British government and he was handcuffed along with his friend, Darshan Singh Pheruman.
During his first arrest, Musafir's wife garlanded him. During his stint as the Jathedar of Akal Takht from March 12, 1930, to March 5, 1931, he took certain historic decisions. He went to jail again during the Satyagrah (1939-41) and Quit India (1942-45) movements. He became President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee in 1949. He was also a member of the All-lndia Congress Working Committee. He was elected a member of the Sabha in 1952, 1957 and 1962 successively. He did not complete his last term in the Lok Sabha and resigned in 1966 to take over as the Chief Minister of the reorganised state of Punjab.
Musafir died in Delhi on January 18, 1976.
"This is a moment consecrated by history. … my mind travels back to those fateful years when the Congress fought for India's freedom. I think of those giants who made the Indian National Congress. Seldom has the world seen a nobler galaxy of patriots like Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir, so selfless in their devotion to the cause of freedom, so exalted in thought, so brave in action, so pure in spirit" - Rajiv Gandhi, the then Congress President, at the Congress centenary session (December 27-29, 1985, Mumbai)
Before the adoption of Hindi as the national language in India, there was a turmoil in Parliament and members crossed party lines to vote either for Hindi or against it. Southern states along with the eastern ones opposed tooth and nail this Bill and members were evenly divided on the issue. The Bill was passed by one vote margin in favour of Hindi and that vote was of Musafir. Maulana Azad, a Congress minister then, never forgave Musaffir for that.
As Jathedar Shamsher Singh Ashok, a renowned Sikh historian, has said that wearing "keski" was a precondition even for women before they were baptized. Any woman who was not prepared to wear Keski was not baptized. This practice continued even after the end of the gurdwara movement. A relaxation was made only when Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir became the Jathedar of Akal Takht.
As a writer B.S. Rattan says that all along, Musafir remained at the centre of literary and cultural activity. He published nearly 24 volumes that include poetry, short stories and biographies. As a poet he keenly feels the pangs of the common man and wants to make the suffering man aware of the cause of his predicament.
His published works include nine collections of poems— Sabar De Ban, Prem Ban, Jivan Pandh, Musafarian, Tutte Khamb, Kav Sunehe, Sahaj Seti, Vakkhra Vakkra Katra Katra and Dur Nere; eight short stories—Vkkhri Duniya, Ahlane De Bot, Kandhan Bol Paian, Satai Janvari, Allah Vale, Gutar, Sabh Achcha and Sasta Tamasha; and four biographical works— Vekhia Sunia Gandhi, Vekhia Sunya Nehru, Baghi Jarnail and Vihin Sadi de Shahid. He represented Indian writers at international conferences at Stockholm in 1954 and at Tokyo in 1961. He was posthumously decorated with Padma Vibhushan.