Khooni Visakhi Punjabi Edition

DETAILS : 

• Author: Nanak Singh 
  
• Editor: Navdeep Singh Suri
  
• Publisher: ‎ Lok Sahit Prakashan
  
• Publication date: ‎ 1 January 2019
  
• Language: ‎ Punjabi
  
• Print length: ‎ 152 pages
  
• ISBN-10: ‎ 8171680992 
  
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8171680993
  
• Weight: 250 g

ABOUT THE BOOK

Khooni Vaisakhi (Bloody Vaisakhi), written by the legendary father of the Punjabi novel Nanak Singh, is a monumental and searing masterpiece of protest poetry. Originally published in May 1920 and subsequently banned by the British Raj for its "seditious" content, the Punjabi edition has been preserved and kept alive over the decades by prestigious vernacular imprints like Lok Sahit Prakashan. The core philosophy of this epic poem is to serve as an unyielding, first-person historical witness to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of April 13, 1919. A twenty-two-year-old Nanak Singh was physically present in the crowded enclosure during the peaceful protest against the draconian Rowlatt Act. When British troops under General Reginald Dyer opened fire on the unarmed assembly without warning, Singh witnessed his close friends being gunned down before he was knocked unconscious, surviving only because his body was buried beneath a pile of corpses.

The narrative is structured as a passionate, long-form ballad in Punjabi that masterfully blends historical recording with intense human grief. Rather than just focusing on the single day of the slaughter, the verses trace the escalating political tension across Punjab during the first fortnight of April 1919, documenting the initial spark of the Rowlatt Act and the unifying resilience of the public. Nanak Singh’s composition completely exposes the ruthlessness of the colonial regime and condemns the quislings who assisted the rulers, while concurrently singing praises of the profound communal amity that bound Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims together in their shared resistance. The text transitions from an agonizing lamentation over the hundreds who died to a fierce nationalist rallying cry, creating a timeless historical artifact that honors political martyrdom and ensures that the sacrifice of the Amritsar protesters is never erased from India's collective memory.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nanak Singh (1897–1971) was an elite Punjabi poet, scriptwriter, and activist who is universally revered as the father of the modern Punjabi novel. Despite receiving minimal formal schooling beyond the fourth grade, his incredible literary output spans an astounding fifty-nine books—including thirty-eight landmark novels, plays, short story collections, and essays. He was honored with India's prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962 for his novel Ik Mian Do Talwaraan.

Singh’s writing style is intensely realistic, emotionally resonant, and deeply driven by a commitment to social reform and political justice. He rejected elitist, detached prose in favor of the raw, colloquial cadence of the Punjabi masses, weaponizing his writing to attack communalism, feudal exploitation, and colonial tyranny. His monumental works, such as Pavitra Paapi (The Watchmaker) and Chitta Lahu (White Blood), established him as a premier literary force who laid the foundational stones for modern prose and progressive storytelling within Punjabi literature.