* Member (Finance) IOSS, 1801, Sector 33-D, Chandigarh. Punjab.

Sardar Amar Singh Chhatwal who passed away peacefully on 25th January, 2002 at Chandigarh was a legend in his life time, personifying dedication, philanthropy, sholastic panache and a rare gift of friendship - qualities that spawned and nurtured the UK’s popular quarterly, The Sikh Courier International for many decades.

Born into a devoted Sikh family of Sargodha (Pakistan) on 1st October, 1912, he graduated, with honours, in 1932 from Forman Christian College, Lahore. Then he took up management of Chhatwal & Company at Lahore, dealing with export/import of bicycles till Partition in 1947, with a stint at Delhi, before migrating with his family to London in 1962, where he joined British Civil Service, from where he retired in 1977, deciding to live in UK permanently.

The Sikh Courier International, now a leading English magazine published from London was started in 1960 by two young men who later migrated to USA and Canada. Since 1962, Amar Singh Chhatwal remained its Managing Editor. The magazine was started in a small office in his house. He brought out its Silver Jubilee Number in 1985 and Pearl Jubilee Number in 1990. The Journal was primarily meant to educate non-Sikhs about Sikh way of life. He published some 16 pamphlets about different aspects of Sikhism. He consolidated and published a directory of 200 Sikh gurdwaras in Great Britain, and carried on the English service (katha) for 20 years for the English people. He popularized Amrit Parchar for the first time in London on 25th January 1965 (incidentally he died also on 25th January 2002 - 37 years later). To assemble Panj Piare and full-length Kirpans was quite difficult in London. Of those ‘baptised’ on that day, one was an English girl, Ms. Jones (who later became Surinder Kaur), her Sikh husband and all the three daughters of Sardar Amar Singh Chhatwal. He also brought many Christians into Sikh fold by gentle ecumenical love and persuation.

It is extraordinary how he kept the Sikh Courier going with donations from relatives and friends. He used to say he had always carried a begging bowl in his hands. He sold out his house in London and divided the proceeds equally into four parts, three shares for the three daughters, and fourth for the Sikh Courier. Dr. S.S. Kapoor - a happy discovery, continued as the editor. The office was housed in the residence of Harjas Kaur (Bubbli) and her son Jaswinder Singh, his daughter and grandson. Fortunately, he ‘discovered’ Dr. Amarjit Singh Chopra (S/o late Sardar Isher Singh) his eldest son-in-law as secretary. The Sikh Courier International thus carries on gamely. "With Satguru’s abundant grace, I have been able to do a bit of my humble duty to spread the message of our great Gurus throughout every nook and corner of the world" said Amar Singh Chhatwal in The Sikh Review issue of August 1996.

In his home country, India, he contributed liberally to various institutions, like the Institute of Sikh Studies, the Sita Chhatwal Memorial Library, The Sikh Review, Guru Harkrishan Public School, Chandigarh, Darshan Library, Ludhiana (in the memory of his younger brother, Capt. Darshan Singh) and scholarships to deserving students at Amritsar.

So ended the journey of this servant of God and karamyogi on 25th January this year, his enlightened soul merging into the universal spirit, leaving behind a rich legacy - he lives on - for he is Amar!