Dr. Bhim Inder Singh donates 10 of his books to Wikisource —announcement made during Punjabi Wikipedia Workshop
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 29,2026
Eminent scholar and Director of the World Punjabi Centre at Punjabi University, Dr. Bhim Inder Singh, has announced the donation of ten of his original books to Punjabi Wikisource, the online library project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Presiding over the valedictory session of a two-day Wikipedia training workshop organized by the Punjabi Wikimedians User Group, he graciously consented to release these works from copyright restrictions—a gesture widely hailed as a momentous stride toward the digital enrichment of the Punjabi language.
Providing further details, the group’s volunteer media advisor, Aman Arora, informed that the workshop had been conducted under the stewardship of senior Wikimedians Nitesh Gill, Satdeep Gill, and group coordinator Kuldeep Burj Bhalaike, in collaboration with the World Punjabi Centre, Punjabi University, Patiala.
In his address, Dr. Bhim Inder Singh observed with characteristic eloquence that in this age of artificial intelligence, the hoarding of knowledge is an anachronism; rather, the imperative of our times is to democratize access and render knowledge universally available. For flourishing the Punjabi language, he emphasized, it is essential that an ever-expanding corpus of literature and intellectual material be disseminated in digital form to the general public. He underscored that initiatives such as Wikisource serve as invaluable custodians of Punjab’s literary and historical patrimony, ensuring its transmission to posterity. He further pledged to inspire fellow authors to contribute their works to Wikisource, thereby augmenting the digital treasury of Punjabi and fortifying its global presence.
On this occasion, senior Wikimedian and distinguished translator Charan Gill, while conveying gratitude on behalf of the group, remarked that this noble contribution would stand as an inspiring exemplar for other authors to emulate. He elaborated that Punjabi Wikisource is a free online library project of the Wikimedia Foundation, through which copyright-free books, articles, and other written materials are made digitally accessible to all. Such an initiative, he noted, affords students, researchers, and general readers unfettered access to Punjabi literature and knowledge, thereby significantly advancing the language’s development.
During the workshop, participants received comprehensive training in creating new Wikipedia articles, incorporating references, and refining existing entries. The event witnessed the participation of students, researchers, and Wikipedia enthusiasts, including Gurmel Kaur, Rajdeep Kaur, Amritpal Kaur, Tamanpreet Kaur, Taran Goswami, Mandeep Kaur Tambuwala, Gurdeep Kafar, Keshav Balram, Elis, Jalseerat Aman, Gill Jassu, Harpreet Dugaal, Balwinder Bagga, Gurtej Chauhan, Ashwinder Kaur, Sonia Atwal and Harmanjeet Singh among others.
