Sardar Harpal Singh Ghagga was born on 14, November 1930 in a very backward village Ghagga of erstwhile Patiala princely state. He could get education up to 4th class only. After abandoning education in the early years of life, he plunged into society to do something positive for the people. He was elected Sarpanch of his village & retained this post for 25 years. He founded Truck Union, Patran when it was inaugurated & remained its President for 43 years still his demise. He was the Management trustee of the “NAWA ZAMANA” daily newspaper from Jalandhar. He maintained the publication of this newspaper continuously in terrorism era in Punjab. He was also elected President of “Punjab Truck Union”. He contested “Lok Sabha” elections of the Indian Parliament from Patiala constituency twice.
Sr. Harpal Singh Ghagga is more known as a social servant than a politician. People do remember his social works in Patran & the surrounding area. He was known as the founder & architect of many projects like schools, hospitals, colleges, Truck Union, freedom fighter memorials, medical camps,& social agitations. He was deeply disturbed by the fact that their was no facility for education especially for girls in this poor, backward & border belt of Punjab torn by floods in the Ghaggar river. He vowed to provide this facility & started creating infrastructure at ground level. After great struggle & labor he gradually & successfully established schools in Patran, Hamjheri, Ghagga & Kakrala.Public Girls Sen Sec School & College, Patran is only for girls & has grown into a group of institutions where 1450 girls students are taking education in arts, commerce & BCA, MCA classes.
Sr. Harpal Singh Ghagga devoted his last years & days of life completely to the development, qualitative growth & up-gradation of “Public Girls S . S. S. (Trust) Institute”, Patran. He was a visionary. He opened a computer education Institute for girls, sensing the need for higher, technical & job-oriented courses in 2007. He cherished a dream to start a special school for handicap & parentless students. He bid farewell to this materialistic world on 14, May 2010 after a brief illness of around a month, however, his soul is still alive and immoral. His ideology will continue to inspire us for social service for generations.
He was a great missionary and left a message for the people of this area.
Santosh Kumar Singla,
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