Advisory Committee

Zubair Ahmad grew up in an old neighborhood of Mohalla Krishan Nagar in Lahore. His ancestors originate from pre-partition Batala, District Gurdaspur, Punjab. In 1984 he completed an MA in English from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in English Language Teaching in 1991. He retired in 2018 as an Associate Professor of English Literature from the Old Islamia College. He has been an enthusiastic proponent for Punjabi language, literature, and culture in Pakistan.

He has authored three fine short story collections – Meenh Boohay te Barrian, Kabootar Banarey Te Galian and Panni Di Kandh; a book of poetry Dumm Yaad Na Keeta; and a book of literary criticism Sahitak Alochana Vichar Lekh. In 2014 Kabootar Banerey Te Galian received the best Punjabi fiction award of the year in Pakistan by the Khardarposh Trust. The same book received the inaugural Dhahan Prize in the Shahmukhi script. Pani Di Kandh garnered the 2020 Dhahan Prize Finalist Award. 

A selection of Ahmad’s Punjabi stories translated by Anne Murphy and published in 2022 by Athabasca University Press, Canada titled ‘Grieving for Pigeons: Twelve Stories of Lahore.‘ Pakistani edition was published by Readings, Lahore, one of the largest online resources in Pakistan. 

In 1997 he founded Kitab Trinjan, the first exclusive non-commercial, non-profit Punjabi bookshop in Lahore and operated it until 2009. Ten years later Kitab Trinjan was re-opened. He was instrumental in starting the first Punjabi school in Lahore in 1984. He now publishes and edits an annual magazine Baran Maah with England based writer Amarjit Chandan. His literary journey is profoundly rooted in his childhood experiences. He says, “Listening daily to my mother’s pre-partition stories, I was subconsciously born a writer. I dug that writer, found it, and started authoring stories that covered my life, the people, the surroundings, and the city of Lahore. Lahore is in me, and I am in Lahore.”

Sadhu Binning, a retired UBC language instructor, has authored and co-authored more than nineteen books of poetry, fiction, plays, translations, and research. His works have been included in more than fifty anthologies both in Punjabi and English. He edited a literary monthly Watno Dur and co-edits a quarterly, Watan. He is a founding member of Vancouver Sath, a theatre collective and Ankur. He served on the BC Arts Board from 1993 to 1995. He has been an active member of several literary and cultural organizations including the Punjabi Writers’ Forum and the Writers Union of Canada.

He was named one of the prominent 100 South Asians making a difference in British Columbia. Sadhu has received several awards that include Sharomani Sahitkar (Videshi) for the year 2015 and honorary degree, Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) from the University of British Columbia in 2019. As the Vice President of Punjabi Language Education Association, for decades he has been promoting Punjabi in the public education institutions in British Columbia, Canada.

Shahzad Nazir Khan was born in Dera Ghazi Khan, a southern district of Punjab province of Pakistan, which is situated on the western bank of the Indus River. A well-know peace and social justice activist of South Asian community who immigrated to Canada back in 2006 from Pakistan. He and his group of Progressive Pakistani Canadians did numerous initiatives to raise awareness about the peace and issues related with South Asian diaspora and help build a narrative for the promulgation of a peaceful, tolerant and non-violet society where harmonious co-existence could become a livable reality. He and the like-minded people of South Asian descent had seen a great value in bringing the folks on one platform of ‘Peace’ irrespective of their national origin, religion, caste, gender, and class differences. Through his multifarious activities in South Asian diaspora in Canada. He celebrates ‘unity in diversity’ and sends this message of peace to those living in their native countries back.

He did his master’s in Business Administration as well as Agriculture (Agronomy) from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Lyallpur), Pakistan. He is in Agricultural sales & marketing industry for over fifteen years now yet his main interest and passions are poetry, literature and music.

Born and raised in Leamington Spa, England, Gurinder grew up surrounded by UK Bhangra Bands, which further fueled his innate passion for Punjabi culture. He completed his Bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia, where he later returned to earn a Master’s degree in Asian Studies. He has a vast interest in romantic folktales (qisse) written in poetic form. He is particularly fascinated with the story of Heer Ranjha, on which he completed his thesis. Besides his excellence in Punjabi language, literature, and culture, Gurinder is highly knowledgeable in Hindi-Urdu language as well as South Asian Film and has taught courses in those areas at the University of British Columbia. In 2020 he earned the Lecturer of the Year Award in the Department of Asian Studies. 

Gurinder also possesses a Master’s degree in Applied Legal Studies and is an expert in the fields of justice, law, and crime prevention. In addition to serving as executive director for a community justice organization, he spent six years in the field of intelligence for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC (CFSEU-BC), formerly known as the Organized Crime Agency of BC. His professional accolades led to instructing aspiring law enforcement officers at the Justice Institute of British Columbia and Douglas College. He regularly appears on Punjabi radio shows and news, educating the Punjabi community on justice and law enforcement. 

A poet himself, Gurinder has been writing for many years, and hopes to publish his book soon.

Born in Pakistan and now residing in USA for 30 years, Safir H. Rammah is a respected Punjabi language activist, writer, literary critic, and editor. He is a founding member and Coordinator of the Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA). In 2000 he created the APNA web portal making it the largest on-line depositary of books and articles on Punjabi history, culture, and language.  His research papers and articles have been published in major Pakistani newspapers and US publications.  Between 2007 and 2016 he was the Chief Editor of the Punjabi magazine ‘Sanjh’ published in Gurmukhi script from Ludhiana and Shahmukhi script from Lahore. 

Safir H. Rammah has Masters’ degrees in English Literature, Economics, Business and Information Management from Pakistan and US universities. He has more than 25 years of executive work experience in large US Corporations, including working for AT&T for many years as Director Federal Regulatory Affairs.

Dr. Jaspal Kaur holds a MA in Punjabi from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi. In 1997 she completed a Ph.D from the University of Delhi with a ground-breaking thesis titled ‘Canada di Punjabi Kavita da Theme – Vigyanak Adhiyan’. She has been an outstanding scholar, educator, and administrator. Her research interests have a wide range in modern Punjabi poetry and fiction, Parvasi Punjabi literature, comparative study of classical theories, comparative world literature and Western theories of literature. To her credit are five major publications, numerous works of translation and countless articles. 

Dr. Jaspal Kaur has been a leader in advancing Punjabi language and literature globally. She has helped to organize and participate in major Punjabi conferences in Delhi, Lahore, Toronto, Patiala, Wolverhampton, and Chandigarh. She is an active member of the Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana, and Delhi Public Library. Since 2018 she has served as the Head of the Department of Punjabi, University of Delhi while teaching and supervising scores of MA and Ph. D students in Punjabi literature and language.

Born in the year 1939 in a village in Ludhiana district of Punjab, Dr. Raghbir Singh is an eminent literary critic and scholar of Punjabi language. He has worked as a teacher at Panjab University Chandigarh for thirty years, and was also Professor and Head of the Department of Punjabi at Punjabi University, Patiala. Since 1965, he has edited a literary quarterly entitled Sirjana, a journal that has contributed to shaping new trends and introducing young talent in Punjabi literature. He has penned, edited, translated, and transcribed about a dozen books, Yathaarthi being the foremost book of literary criticism. He was General Secretary of the Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha, the representative organization of Punjabi writers. He has also been the main functionary of the Punjab Sahitya Academy and Punjab Arts Council, set up by the Punjab Government.

Dr. Raghbir Singh has received several awards and honours, which include a fellowship with the Punjabi Sahit Sabha, New Delhi and the Shiromani Sahitak Patarkar Award of the Punjab Government

Dr. Harbhajan Singh Bhatia is a renowned figure in the Punjabi academic community. He is currently a professor, and the former Head, of the School of Punjabi Studies at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India. In addition to having his Ph.D. in Punjabi Studies, he holds diplomas in Persian and Urdu. His scholarly research specializes in Literary Theory, Literary History, Literary Criticism, and Meta Study. He has published countless books and research papers and has dedicated his time to the Jnanpith Award Committee, the Sarswati Advisory Committee, and the Sahitya Academy Advisory Board. He has received numerous prestigious awards at the national and international level.

Khola Cheema currently serves as Chairperson and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pakistan Studies at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, in Bahawalnagar, Pakistan. Since 2010, she has worked as a researcher, lecturer and instructor.

Cheema completed her PhD in History at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, in 2021. She received two master’s degrees at University of the Punjab in Lahore, in 2009 and 2012.

Her research career has included positions at University of British Columbia, Canada, De Montfort University, England and a Fellow at SOAS University of London, England. As a student and researcher, she wrote, transliterated and edited academic papers on topics relating to Punjabi society, history and religion.

Cheema serves as the President & Founder of the Lyallpur Young Historians Club (LYHC). She is a member of the Editorial Board for the Punjabi magazine, ‘Kuknas.’ She is an advisor to the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) Performing Arts Society (at the Bahawalnagar campus) and a co-organizer of the ‘Lyallpur Punjabi Sulaikh Mela’ (‘Lyallpur Punjabi Literary Festival’).

Cheema was the 2021 Central Jury Chair of the Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature.

Born in historic Jaitu, Punjab, India, Jung Bahadur Goyal is a retired civil servant as well as a writer and translator of Punjabi. In addition to his Shahmukhi magazine articles, he also writes in Hindi and English, having completed 22 books.

His novel, “Vishav Sahit de Shahakar” comes in five volumes and is considered his seminal work. He has translated several books into Punjabi, and has had his own works translated to Hindi and Urdu, as well as and transliterated into Shahmukhi.

Goyal is the recipient of a Sahitya Kala Parishad award, “Punjab Gaurav.” His honours have come from Punjabi University (in Patiala), Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, Punjabi Sahit Academy (in Ludhiana), World Punjabi Conference and Punjab Sahit Sabha (in New Delhi).

Goyal completed postgraduate studies in English at Government College Ludhiana in 1969. As a civil servant, he acted as the founding Deputy Commissioner of the newly formed District Nawanshahr, Punjab in 1995.