Sohan Singh Josh
{{Short description|Indian freedom fighter and communist activist (1898–1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sohan Singh Josh
| image =Amarjit Chandan (3rd from left) with Sohan Singh Josh and others. 13 Jul 1974. Amritsar.jpg
| caption = Sohan Singh Josh with young Punjabi writers, 1974
| birth_date = {{birth date|1898|11|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = Amritsar, Punjab, British India
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|07|29|1898|11|12|df=y}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060511/aplus.htm#1|title = The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Amritsar PLUS}}
| death_place = Amritsar, Punjab, India
|party = Communist Party of India
| occupation = {{hlist|Independence activist|politician}}
}}
Sohan Singh Josh (1898–1982) was an Indian communist activist and freedom fighter.
Life
File:Meerut prisoners outside the jail.jpg prisoners taken outside the jail. Back row (left to right): K. N. Sehgal, S. S. Josh, H. L. Hutchinson, Shaukat Usmani, B. F. Bradley, A. Prasad, P. Spratt, G. Adhikari. Middle row: R. R. Mitra, Gopen Chakravarti, Kishori Lal Ghosh, L. R. Kadam, D. R. Thengdi, Goura Shanker, S. Bannerjee, K. N. Joglekar, P. C. Joshi, Muzaffar Ahmad. Front row: M. G. Desai, D. Goswami, R. S. Nimbkar, S. S. Mirajkar, S. A. Dange, S. V. Ghate, Gopal Basak.]]
Josh was born on 12 November 1898 at village Chetanpura in Amritsar district, Punjab Province, British India. His father, Lal Singh, wished for his son to be educated but there was no school nearby, so Sohan Singh entered school rather late. He passed the Middle standard examination from Church Mission School, Majitha, and the Matriculation examination from D. A. V. School, Amritsar. For his tertiary education, Josh joined the Khalsa College, Amritsar, but had to leave soon after owing to financial difficulties.{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060511/aplus.htm#1|title=Sohan Singh Josh: A forgotten hero|date=11 May 2006|agency=Tribune India|accessdate=8 May 2016|author=Varinder Walia}}
Following his short tenure at Khalsa College, Josh went to Hubli in Bengal Presidency and later to Bombay where he worked up to 1918 in the Censor's office. He returned to Amritsar later to pursue a career as a school teacher.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
In 1921, Josh took an active interest in the Akali movement for the liberation of gurdwaras from mahants. Josh zealously opposed the British Raj in India, and as a result of his anti-British activities was arrested. He was tried and sentenced to three years imprisonment. At that time he became the member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee and the Shiromani Akali Dal. Josh was a prolific writer. In 1925 he helped to bring out a revolutionary paper, Kirti, which was main vehicle for Bhagat Singh to propagate his ideas.[https://books.google.com/books?id=NfZHAAAAMAAJ&q=kirti+bhagat My tryst with secularism: an autobiograph-Sohan Singh Josh,Page 134]
Josh was a leader both of the Kirti Kisan Party and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, being one of several people who were prominent in both organizations simultaneously. He was imprisoned for his role in the Meerut Conspiracy Case, was released in November 1933 and thereafter aligned himself with the Communist Party of India.{{cite book |title=Peasants in India's Non-Violent Revolution: Practice and Theory |first=Mridula |last=Mukherjee |publisher=SAGE Publications India |year=2004 |isbn=978-8-13210-289-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8iGAwAAQBAJ |pages=45, 116}}
In 1943, he became the editor of a newly founded communist paper, Jang-i-Azadi.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josh, Sohan Singh}}
Category:Indian independence activists from Punjab Province (British India)
Category:People from Amritsar district
Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence
Category:Indian revolutionaries
Category:Communist Party of India politicians from Punjab, India