Punjabi University has instituted the Principal Chhabil Das Yadgari Award for young researchers, which will be given every year on the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh.Chhabil was a teacher and principal of Bhagat Singh at National College, Lahore, where he completed his FA studies in 1923 before jumping into full-time revolutionary activities and joining the Hindustan Revolutionary Association/Army (HRA) in 1924. The organisation later became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association/Army (HSRA) at the initiative of Bhagat Singh in 1928.Chhabil, along with Bhagat Singh and fellow revolutionaries, like Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Ramchand, was also associated with the founding of Naujwan Bharat Sabha (NBS) at National College, Lahore.Chhabil and his wife, Sita Devi, were both freedom fighters who had migrated to Jalandhar after 1947. Chhabil, an English professor and Urdu writer, authored books, like “Why Socialism”. Sita, as a labour leader, remained a Member of Parliament. Their daughter, Manorma Dewan, wrote a few books in Hindi on the Indian freedom struggle.The award has been instituted with an endowment fund provided by Chhabil’s granddaughter, Saba Dewan, a writer and Professor Chaman Lal, former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and former Head of the Hindi Department at Punjabi University.Carrying a cash prize of Rs 5,000 along with a certificate of merit, the award will be given to a young researcher of Punjabi University for writing/presenting/publishing any book/research paper in Punjabi on Bhagat Singh, his revolutionary associates or any aspect of India’s freedom struggle. Entries would be assessed by the university’s academic evaluation procedure.The first award is likely to be given on or around Bhagat Singh’s anniversary on September 28 this year. The award amount may increase as the endowment fund increases through further contributions.The endowment for the award was first proposed by both contributors in 2020. While it was welcomed by the then Vice-Chancellor, it has now been matured under the present Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jagdip Singh and his academic team. Both donors have expressed gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor and his academic team for facilitating the establishment of the award.