Jaswant Neki Family Tree

Personal Details

• 🎂 Date of Birth
• 27 August 1925
• 📍 Place of Birth
• Murid, Jhelum district, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family
• Father: S. Hari Gulab Singh
• Mother: Smt. Sita Wanti
• Spouse: Kanwerjit Neki
• Relatives: Lt. Col. Dr. Gurbaksh Singh (Father-in-law)

Early Career

• Jaswant Neki embarked on his creative journey with a deep exploration of philosophical and spiritual themes primarily expressed through poetry. This initial exploration laid the groundwork for his later impactful works and established him as a voice with a unique perspective.
• 👶 Early Life
• Jaswant Singh Neki was born in the village of Murid, District of Jhelum (in present-day Pakistan), to S. Hari Gulab Singh and Smt. Sita Wanti. When he was still an infant, his parents moved to Quetta in Balochistan (present-day Pakistan).
• 🎓 Education
• In Quetta, he joined Khalsa High School and matriculated in 1941, securing the highest marks in Baluchistan and setting a new record. He then enrolled at Forman Christian College, Lahore, for his premedical studies, where he received two merit scholarships—one from the University and another from the college. In his FSc (Medical) examination, he stood second in the university.
• For his graduate studies in medicine and surgery, he attended King Edward Medical College, Lahore, where he was also awarded a merit scholarship by the Government of Baluchistan. After the Partition of India in 1947, he moved to the Government Medical College, Amritsar, and completed his medical degree in 1949. Following this, he worked as a House Physician, Assistant Registrar, and Demonstrator at the Medical College, Amritsar, with a brief stint as a Demonstrator at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana.
• While teaching, he pursued an M.A. in Psychology from Aligarh Muslim University as a teacher candidate, securing First Division and the first position in the University. He further qualified as a psychiatrist by passing the DPM examination from the All India Institute of Mental Health, Bangalore, and Mysore University in 1958 with double distinction, setting a new record.

Career Journey

• A profound poet-philosopher, Jaswant Neki enriched Punjabi literature with spiritually infused verses and psychoanalytic insights.
• 💼 Professional Career
• Jaswant Singh Neki had a distinguished career as a psychiatrist. He rose through the ranks to become Professor and Head of the Psychiatry Department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, a position he held for about a decade from 1968 to 1978. He was subsequently appointed Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), Chandigarh, where he served from 1978 to 1981.
• Following this, he was invited by the World Health Organization, Geneva, as a consultant for a project in Africa, where he served for over four years (1981–1985). After returning to India in 1985, he engaged in private practice. During this period, he also had short engagements with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse in South-East Asia.
• Dr. Neki also served as Chairman of the Board of Consultants constituted by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee for setting up an Institute of Medical Sciences. In 1974, he was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, and in 1989, he received the Kohli Memorial Award for being the Best Professional of the Year.
• 📚 Literary Activities
• Dr. Neki was a well-recognized metaphysical poet in Punjabi, contributing ten volumes of original verse. His masterpiece is his autobiography in verse. He also wrote inspiring prose, including works such as Achetan di Leela, Meri Sahitak Swaijeevani, and Ardas. He received numerous prestigious literary awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, Asan Memorial Award, Shiromani Sahitkar Award, Sarvotam Sahitkar Award (2009) for Sada Vigaas, Bhai Vir Singh Award, KS Dhaliwal Award, and Puran Singh Memorial Award.
• Guru Nanak Dev University conferred upon him a Ph.D. honoris causa for his contributions to literature. He served as a member of the Punjabi jury for Sahitya Akademi Awards and as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Jnan Peeth Award. He was also one of the past Chairmen of the Punjabi Academy, Chandigarh, and served as Honorary General Secretary of Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi.
• 🕊️ Religious Activities
• Coming from a devout Sikh family, Dr. Neki maintained a keen interest in religion while observing liberal, unbigoted views. During his student life, he became President of the All India Sikh Students Federation, organizing training camps for Sikh youth. He authored two important religious works: Ardas – Darshan, Roop te Abhias, regarded as an “all-time classic,” and Vishva Ardas, a collection of over 300 prayers from diverse religious groups translated into Punjabi verse, considered a landmark achievement.
• Commissioned by Guru Nanak Dev University, he wrote The Spiritual Heritage of Punjab, tracing the evolution of spiritual thought from pre-Aryan times to Guru Gobind Singh. He also produced Pilgrimage to Hemkunt, a high-standard spiritual travelogue.
• Dr. Neki served for several years as a member of the Dharam Prachar Committee of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, which administers Sikh shrines. He was honored with the Order of the Khalsa Award on the 300th Anniversary of the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib on 13 April 2000. He represented the Sikh community at international forums, including the Parliament of World Religions (1993), the UNESCO Conference on Religion and World Peace (1998), the UNESCO Center Catalunya Conference on Universal Ethics (1998), and the World Thanksgiving Conference (1999).
• In 2001, he received the Giani Lal Singh Memorial Award for his contributions to poetry.

Achievements and Milestones

• Here's a list of awards received by Jaswant Neki:
• Sahitya Akademi Award – 1979
• Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) – 1974
• Kohli Memorial Award – 1989
• Sarvotam Sahitkar Award (Punjabi Academy, Delhi) – 2009
• Order of the Khalsa Award – 13 April 2000
• Giani Lal Singh Memorial Award – 2001
• Asan Memorial Award
• Shiromani Sahitkar Award
• Bhai Vir Singh Award
• KS Dhaliwal Award
• Puran Singh Memorial Award
• Ph.D. honoris causa from Guru Nanak Dev University