Prem Singh Hoti

Bawa Prem Singh Hoti (2 November 1882 – 10 January 1954) was a Sikh writer and historian active during the Singh Sabha movement. He is noted for his biographical works covering historical Sikh military and political figures. He focused his research primarily on the Sarkar-e-Khalsa (Sikh Empire), documenting the lives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, his family, and his generals. He was also known by the appellation Mithe Baba Ji ("Sweet Baba Ji"). At-least a dozen works authored by him are known and he served as president of the Sikh Historical Society.

Early life and family background Prem Singh was born on 2 November 1882 to parents Bawa Ganda Singh and Bibi Kushalia in Hoti Mardan, North-West Frontier Province to a Bhalla family that traced their ancestry to Guru Amar Das and Goindwal. Prem Singh's ancestor Kahn Singh had moved to the western frontier region during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The family had been awarded a jagir in the region. The British confiscated the jagir after their annexation of the empire in 1849 but the Muslim chieftain (Nawab) of Hoti, Buland Khan, restored the jagir to the family and acted as their patrons, with the chieftain giving the patriarch of the family the Kar-Mukhtar (Chief Manager) position. Prem Singh was educated in Sikh theology and folklore growing-up and had an interest in Sikh heroism. He learnt Gurmukhi and Santhiya (gurbani elocution) at home and at the gurdwara. He additionally studied Urdu and Persian at a madrasa. Due to being raised in a Pashtun-area, Prem Singh acquired Pashto as his native-language. Prem Singh also had some ability in English, Hindi, and Sanskrit. Career Prem Singh became influenced by the on-going religious, marriage, and educational reforms of the Singh Sabha movement, especially by the Chief Khalsa Diwan. Prem Singh began authoring poems that were published in the Khalsa Samachar. ), Ranjit Singh (1918), Nau Nihal Singh (1927), Hari Singh Nalwa (1937), Sher Singh (1951), Nawab Kapur Singh (1952). He started but never completed his works covering Bhai Gurdas, Sukha Singh, and Duleep Singh. Prem Singh was also a contemporary of Giani Gian Singh, another Sikh writer. In 1937, the personal library of Prem Singh contained 1,840 rare books in Punjabi, English, Hindi, Urdu, and Persian languages, 130 manuscripts, 60 coins from various princely states, and a collection of 200 photographs. In 1939, he was appointed as the president of the Sikh Historical Society.

Aside from dedicated biographical works on single personalities, he also authored works containing numerous biographies, such as his Khālsā Rāj de Usrayye ("Builders of the Khalsa Raj", Vol. I in 1942 and Vol. II in 1944), and Khālsā Rāj de Badesī Kārinde ("Foreign employees of the Sikh Kingdom", 1945). In 1948 after the partition of Punjab, his family shifted to Shimla and then to Patiala in 1949.

Later life and death Prem Singh was offered land in Abdulapur, Pinjore by Gian Singh Rarewala to support him but Prem Singh declined the offer. In 1949, he donated 1,500 rare books to Panjab University due to a request by Vice-Chancellor Diwan Anand Kumar and Bodh Raj Malhotra. Prem Singh was honoured by the Punjabi Department of PEPSU in 1952. Prem Singh died in Patiala on 10 January 1954. His remaining collection was donated all to Panjab University by his family after his death. A work of his was post-humously published in 1979.