In a free-wheeling chat with Gomathi K Reddy, Rashpal Singh, an Agripreneur, recounts his trials and tribulations of being a post-partition child, successes, and calling.
The India-Pakistan partition of 1947 killed millions of people and destroyed the lives of innumerable families. Nobody knew what happened to those who moved to India or Pakistan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am Rashpal Singh from Jalandhar, a farmer and an Agripreneur.
I was born 12 years after the India-Pakistan partition. I did not understand the horrors of the partition, but seeing my parents feeling lost and traumatized by it years after migrating to India, didn’t go down well with me.
With nothing in their hands beyond a pair of clothes, the future looked bleak for them. My father, Late Shri Kapoor Singh Ji, was an Ayurvedic medical practitioner. Compared to the others who migrated from what is now Pakistan, our condition was decent. But my father used to suffer in isolation. He used to get irritated quickly. I often saw him brooding alone during nights. I used to feel very bad and helpless. My school became my greatest solace and the most valuable distraction.
Rashpal Singh Childhood
Our Rampur Jagir in Kapurthala district had an elementary school. It was an open-skies school with the peepal, banyan, or mango tree roofing us for the day. With no desks and chairs, I used to carry a gunny bag along with my school bag. It served as my seating pad. Later I moved to a school 9 km away for my 8th and 9th grades. I used to cycle 18 km up and down. My teachers were awesome. They sowed the seeds of curiosity, perseverance, and determination to succeed in anything I attempted.
Prithipal Singh Ji, India’s hockey Olympian who represented our country thrice – 1960, 1964, and 1968 – a top scorer in all three, and his wife, Charanjit Kaur Ji, were close relatives. The childless couple took to me and became my foster parents. I lived in their place for 7 to 8 years. Prithipal Singh Ji was a champion on and off-field. He would never accept defeat, and I learned what a champion mindset is. A man of high integrity and discipline, he set an example to many and motivated young athletes to excel.
I was a natural athlete too and represented my school and later my varsity. I was a record holder for many years as a 400 Mts champion. In 1974 I started my formal training in Agriculture by enrolling at Punjab Agricultural University under Olympian Prithipal Singh Ji. I was groomed to be an Agripreneur at this place. I learned everything here – Right from soft skills to hands-on knowledge about soil and agricultural methods. I completed my MSc and then joined my University as a research associate.
Rashpal Singh Career
During this period, I got to work on many projects funded by the World Bank and Punjab State Government. I traveled to remote parts of Punjab; I understood the socio-economic conditions of our people and the potential of our land. I used those observations to present the cost-benefit analysis to top decision-makers to invest and support our farmers.
In the year 1983, I joined UCO Bank as an agricultural officer. My father said, “Promise me you will never be a corrupt officer. Remain honest and never bring ANYTHING from your bank, home. If at all you need money, come to me. We have enough to support you. When I am not there, you have our land. Use it. But never do anything against our core values”. This advice stuck to me, and I was very conscious of my upbringing at every stage in my life.
The UCO bank allowed me to travel far and wide in India. I was posted in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, and J&K. I was in Srinagar during 2007-2010. Those were the days when almost all bank officers were perceived as corrupt. As soon as I took charge of the branch in Srinagar, I put up a large board. I asked people not to bribe any officer for any service. I clearly warned officers that any adverse report about them from the public would be reported to the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC). It did not go well with my fellow officers.
One day an old man came to see me at the bank. He said he traveled a long distance to see me. After the usual pleasantries and a cup of tea for him, I was puzzled to hear that he didn’t need a loan. He said he came to see me and shared that a young farmer in their agricultural cooperative talked about me. He said that a new officer at UCO was unlike any of the regular corrupt banking officers in Srinagar. The old man said he just came to meet an honest officer in person. It moved me.
All my life, I’ve listened to my heart. I believe the heart guides you to do your part to achieve your purpose in this whole scheme of the Universe. Many of my decisions guided by my heart lead to something greater than me.
During my student days, I started growing musk melon in our fields after some research and a flash of motivation. Nobody had ever grown watermelons or musk melons before in our place. My harvest and profits were so good that they inspired many of my fellow farmers to follow suit. Today our Roopewal village in the Shahkot subdivision of Jalandhar is considered Asia’s largest market for watermelons and musk melons. Traders from across India come to purchase these cucurbit crops for their quality. I believe we all are just sparks in the whole scheme of things.
As a banker, I served in some of the most backward and disturbed areas of India. We need more empathetic banking. We are still a nation that needs to feed a lot of hungry mouths. Supporting small enterprises and farmers to create opportunities is key to closing these gaps in economic indifference.
Himachal Pradesh is a classic example of what empathetic banking can do. Three banks – PNB, SBI, and UCO – supported the people of the State with small loans. In less than 15 years, the economy of the State improved so much. The truth is, the poor man has dignity and fear. He always pays back.
Now, I am an Agripreneur. I’ve retired from UCO – From an Agricultural Officer to Branch Head, Senior Manager, Zonal Head, and then l lead the bank as GM. It was a very satisfying journey.
I made sure my children – a son and daughter – excelled in academics. My son is a Ph.D. in Bio-technologies. He’s a Scientist and Quality Control officer with a large Agritech firm in Australia. My daughter is currently pursuing a course on Leadership, post her master’s, in Australia.
Most of my friends and peers have migrated to Australia or Canada. I can’t think of living anywhere else other than India. This land has given me everything – I need to enrich this land much more. I need to follow the Universe’s command to do my bit.
I can’t help musing about my parents, their angst of losing everything in Pakistan, their faith in India, and my successes in India – Life has come a full circle.
I thank my God, my parents, my wife and children, and my desh ki dharthi.
Mera desh ki dharti sona ugle, ugle hirey mothi – Yes, it is!
Like us on FB, if you find our content interesting: https://www.facebook.com/hatkestoryofficial/
Do you have an interesting incident or experience to share with the world? Write to us, and together we can discuss how to weave your story and present it to the world. Would you mind sending us your story?
Comments are closed.