A highly progressive, confident, upright and ethical veteran journalist, who had carved a niche for himself in those days when there were hardly any journalists in the country, it was Kashmir Singh Chawla.
He belonged to my peer group as we both sought admission to Ludhiana-based Colleges, located opposite to each other, in 1957. He got admission in Khalsa College, Ghumar Mandi, Ludhiana, whereas I got admission in Agriculture College, Ghuman Mandi, Ludhiana. Kashmir was inspired by his teacher, Professor Prithipal Singh Kapoor, a renowned Sikh scholar and historian.
After completing his degree, he decided to adopt journalism as his profession as his elder brother Gurcharan Singh Chawla (a staff correspondent of leading English newspaper) had already made great strides in journalism in New Delhi.
After working hard day and night, Kashmir was selected as a Staff Correspondent with ‘The Tribune’ – a highly-sought after newspaper and the first choice of North Indians.
This was a big achievement as this newspaper was the ‘Shingaar’ (all in all) of well-educated readers’ households. Kashmir’s unwavering dedication to journalism made him a reputed journalist, especially, in those days when journalism was very tough and technology never existed. He worked with The Tribune for almost four decades.
Although we had been meeting each other during the college days but my close affinity with him developed in 1965 when I met him for the first time as a student of M.Sc Agriculture at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. Kashmir would often come to meet Urdu writer Krishan Adeeb, who was working in the Communication Centre, PAU, regarding news.
Having a strong flair for writing with marvelous speed on typewriter, Kashmir only met PAU Vice-Chancellor and visited no other department in the University. He established himself so well in journalism that he had become a guiding light for the future journalists. I was close to Krishan Adeeb for two reasons – writing poetry and interest in literature. I enjoyed listening to his nazam (poetry).
Slowly and slowly, my meetings with Kashmir in Adeeb’s room turned into a close friendship and we moved from ‘Tusi’ to ‘Tu’ while conversing with each other. Having completed my post-graduation, I got a job in the Communication Centre, PAU.
With full josh (enthusiasm), I started new programmes, would prepare the news report and hand over it to Kashmir, who would edit it and get it published in The Tribune main edition. Following in the footsteps of two elder brothers, his younger brother Tarnjit Singh Chawla also ventured into journalism and started working with Akashvani.
With this, PAU news got space in radio also. Going back to the origin of PAU, myself and Kashmir covered the inaugural function of Punjab Agricultural University on July 8, 1963. Whenever we would meet, our talks centered around the reminiscence of PAU’s inception, tireless efforts of the then Punjab Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon and landmark achievements of the University.
Being the Staff reporter of The Tribune, Kashmir gained an immense recognition at the local, state and the national level. In Ludhiana, he was the first journalist to be allocated a government house at Rakh Bagh, Civil Lines.
Both the brothers Kashmir and Tarnjit stayed together forever; Kashmir never became a party with any journalists, but always kept an old journalist of Ajit newspaper Karam Singh (popularly called ‘Musaffar Ji’) with him, whom he respected from the core of heart.
Meanwhile, his brother started his own journal ‘Barricade’ which gained momentum in those days and its lead story was also contributed by Kashmir.
Every week, we would meet in the University where there were regular protests, and false allegations against the University. Some media reports impacted PAU badly, but Kashmir neither indulged in any false reporting, nor blackmailed anyone, rather was the most trusted journalist of The Tribune.
Public as well as Editors and seniors of The Tribune reposed full confidence in the authentic reporting of Kashmir who became the highly respectable figure of the Punjab with his unflinching commitment to the newspaper and the journalism. In good old days, it was the duty of DPRO (District Public Relation Officer) to take Kashmir to the press conference; Kashmir was at the peak of his career as a journalist.
If any public figure wanted to meet him, they would have to visit his house to see him. All ministers, businessmen, educationists, academicians and other well-known figures would often have conversations at Kashmir’s home where they would be served very well by his sister-in-law, who also retired as Principal of a renowned Ludhiana-based College.
Kashmir and his elder brother Gurchanan Singh Chawla never married; both were married to journalism; they never thought ill of others but always worked for the welfare of the humanity.
After retirement, Kashmir and his brother Tarnjit vacated the government bungalow and shifted to their own house at Rajguru Nagar, Ludhiana.
He started contributing from home and his writings were published in Ajit also. He would go regularly for a morning walk and would visit Gurdawara at Sarabha Nagar in the evening. At Rajguru Nagar, Ludhiana, he constituted a Senior Citizen Committee and established a Senior Citizen Bhawan with government’s allocated funds.
He penned three books: “Resurrecting Punjab: A Journo’s Journey” in 2018, “Punjab: Victim of Factional Power Politics” (2024) and “Leaderless Punjab” (2025). With a rock-solid foundation as an eminent and credible journalist of Punjab, Kashmir covered seven districts of the state, including the entire militancy period. After a brief period of illness, Kashmir passed away on June 25 and was cremated on June 26 with full respect.
Recalling their deep bonhomie of more than 60 years with Kashmir, a World Food Prize Laureate, popularly known as ‘Paddy Daddy,’ Dr Gurdev Singh Khush, and a former PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Kirpal Singh Aulakh called him a “wonderful reporter who will be missed greatly.”
(Dr Ranjit Singh, former Dean, College of Agriculture, PAU and Additional Director Communication, PAU)
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