Renowned Punjabi poet Surjit Patar, aged 79 and a Padma Shri awardee, passed away in Ludhiana, Punjab, on Saturday. Political figures, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, expressed condolences.

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan lamented Patar’s demise, acknowledging his significant role in promoting the Punjabi language worldwide.

Patar, hailing from Patar Kalan village in Jalandhar, achieved notable milestones such as the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award for his contributions to regional literature.

A retired professor of Punjabi from Punjab Agricultural University, he was recognized with the Padma Shri in 2012 and held the presidency of the Punjab Arts Council.

Former Union Minister of Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar, said

“The passing away of Dr. Surjit Patar, the eminent and acclaimed Punjabi poet, has left a deep void in the world of Punjabi literature.

As a ‘philosopher of the heart’, Dr. Patar kept alive in his writings, our deepest yearnings, ensuring that private and social realities were not kept outside the language of our heart. It can be said of him that the poet and his poetry were revealed in each other,” he said.