Punjab's Sixth River: Mohinder Singh Randhawa, The Dreamer Who Greened Chandigarh

by Kanwaljit Kaur

Chandigarh: Amidst the chaos and disordeliness of Indian cities, Chandigarh has stood as an exception for decades. And who doesn't know of Le Corbusier, the Swiss-French architect behind its “body” — the planned layout and magnificent architecture. But did you know that behind its “soul” — the sylvan, tree-lined avenues, spaces for art and culture — was Mohinder Singh Randhawa (M S Randhawa), also called "Punjab da chhewan dariya" (The sixth river of Punjab)?

The Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer was not just an administrator, but also an outstanding botanist, art historian, writer, social reformer and agricultural scientist. On his death anniversary, March 3, 1986, ETV Bharat recalls the achievements and contributions of one of the less celebrated personalities who laid the foundations of what India is today.

A Foundation In Discipline, Hard Work And Nature-Love

In his autobiography Aap Beeti, Randhawa recounts his life all through. He was born on February 2, 1909 in Zira, Ferozepur district in undivided India, in an educated family. His Tehsildar father, Sher Singh taught him discipline, hard work and a deep interest in education from childhood, which was spent in rural Punjab.

It instilled in him an immense love for nature, trees and plants. When he went for higher education to Lahore — one of the biggest centres of academic and cultural excellence in undivided North India — he enrolled as a science student and completed an MSc in Botany from the prestigious Government College, Lahore.

But his knowledge of science was not limited to books. Much later, when given the opportunity, he transformed the barren land of Chandigarh with this knowledge into a lush green paradise.

Randhawa's grandsons Ranjit Singh and Satinder Singh say "he never gave priority to his family. He was very busy with his research and administrative work. Till his last days, he spent most of the time in a room in his house, dedicated to his research.

Recalling his childhood, Ranjit said he grew up under his grandmother's watchful eyes, as his grandfather was always busy. Nevertheless, he feels proud of his grandfather's achievements. Satinder Singh said M S Randhawa's "ancestral home in village Bodla, district Hoshiarpur has now collapsed. Now, Sufi singer Satinder Sartaj has approached the family to revive this house with the help of his Sartaj Foundation.

The Civil Services Years

In the 1930s, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was called the 'Steel Frame of India'. Getting into it was the dream of every youth, but it was very difficult. Randhawa successfully passed the ICS examination in 1934 and was appointed as a British administrative officer, initially posted in many districts of Uttar Pradesh, beginning with Rae Bareli.

Ravidit Singh, the author of his biography A Legend Unfolded: Dr M S Randhawa, recalls that his greatet contribution during his posting in Rae Bareli was establishing libraries across the district, often in Panchayat houses

The biographer mentions in his book that when India got Independence in 1947, Randhawa was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi. As Partition wreaked havoc across the country, Randhawa got posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi, and later, the capital's first Chief Commissioner.

As refugees flooded Delhi, he demonstrated extraordinary administrative skills, stopping any riots from taking place. One of his signal moves was as a Sikh. He banned the kirpan — a sacred weapon Sikhs carry all the time — along with trishul, gandasa and other sharp objects.

Soon, he became involved in the task of resettling lakhs of displaced Punjabis, first as the Commissioner of Delhi, then as the Director-General of Rehabilitation in Punjab.

Allotting land to refugees in Punjab was a very complex task. Randhawa devised a logical way of allotting plots and successfully implemented the process of 'Murabbabandi', which paved the way for the use of tractors and modern agriculture in Punjab later on.

Garden Colony To Chandigarh

Meanwhile, he introduced the concept of 'Garden Colony', in the belief that refugees who had lost everything should not just get bricks and mortar houses, but a beautiful, green and peaceful environment to heal their psychological wounds. Accordingly, Garden Colonies were established across Punjab, Delhi and North India. This philosophy later infused Randhawa's conceptualisation of Chandigarh's Zakir Hussain Rose Garden and Art Museum.

In the early 1950s, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's dream was taking shape in Chandigarh. Le Corbusier had already prepared the city's master plan. But Corbusier's focus on geometric buildings and grid system of roads had erected a lifeless, concrete city.

In 1966, when Punjab was reorganised and Chandigarh made into a Union Territory, Randhawa was appointed its first Chief Commissioner. He immediately plunged himself into landscaping and planting trees to add colour to the cityscape. A botanist, Randhawa had a deep understanding of tree species, seasons and growth. He formed and chaired a 'Landscape Committee' to decide upon which tree to plant along which road, often on the basis of the colour and season of their flowering.

The result: Today, when you drive through Chandigarh in the early summer months of April-May, while one road is covered in yellow amla blossoms, the next is ablaze with red gulmohar, and a third is adorned with purple jacaranda.

There was another, less-visible logic behind this planning. On east-west roads, he had trees planted that provide dense shade in the scorching summer, but which shed leaves in winter to allow mellow sunlight to reach the ground. On north-south roads, he had trees planted that were tall and evergreen.

Also under consideration was the height of trees and the spread of their roots, so that they would neither come in the way of the city's power and telephone cables, nor damage the underground sewage system.

Randhawa believed Chandigarh's denizens should have a place away from concrete buildings, where they could enjoy the beauty of nature, the fragrance of flowers and peace. His love for art led to the commissioning of the city's iconic Rock Garden. The connoisseur and patron of the arts went on to establish the Government Museum and Art Gallery.

Green Revolution, Arts, Culture

He even played a role in Punjab's Green Revolution. As Randhawa recalls in Aap Beeti, India was facing a severe food crisis in the 1960s. Then Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, he quickly directed research being carried out in the university's laboratories to the fields and farmers. Along with Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug and M S Swaminathan, he motivated farmers to adopt the high yield wheat seeds from Mexico that suited Punjab's environment.

He also introduced farmers to new technologies, chemical fertilisers and modern irrigation, working behind the scenes to make the Green Revolution an immediate success, making Punjab India's 'bread bowl', while India emerged as self-reliant in wheat.

But that's not where it all ended with Randhawa. The administrator by day was a poet, writer and art critic by night. He wrote more than 50 books in English, Hindi and Punjabi, while introducing the world to Kangra and Basohli paintings, which flourished in the Himalayan foothills through books like Kangra Valley Paintings.

He was also involved in the preservation of Punjab's folk song tradition. Punjab Kala Parishad member Pritam Singh Rupal says, "M S Randhawa also has a big contribution in saving Punjab's artforms. He realised that the rural folk songs of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were in danger of disappearing in the storm of modernity, and went from village to village to compile folk songs which he then published in books." Rupal said Chandigarh's Kala Bhawan was also Randhawa's gift.

In his attempt to spread art among the masses, he organised an exhibition of Sardar Sobha Singh's paintings, and helped writers like Amrita Pritam, Surjit Patar, Mohan Singh and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.

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