Sita Ram Kohli
First Punjab Historian to research historical documents of Punjab
(1889-1962)

In 1913 the University of the Punjab invited the eminent British historian, Ramsay Muir, from England as a visiting professor. He stayed at Lahore from October 1913 to March 1914. His lectures, discussions, and formal addresses created great interest in the study and research of Punjab history. This led to the establishment of Punjab Historical Society to serve as a forum for students and researchers of history, and of a journal for publication of such papers. A scholarship of the value of Rs. 100 per month named Alexandra Research Scholarship was also instituted. As Sita Ram had shown an early talent for historical research, He was the first scholar to be awarded this scholarship in 1915.

Sita Ram read closely the huge mass of material of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's time lying tied up in red cloth bundles in the tomb of Anarkali at Lahore. It fell to Kohli's lot to resurrect the dead documents to tell their tale of past glory. These records were in Persian often in the fast running hand, called shikasta. Sita Ram displayed remarkable perseverance and industry in dealing with more than three lakh folios covering the period of Lahore Darbar from 1811 to 1849 and in preparing a catalogue of these documents giving the name of the department, date and a brief reference to the subject matter in each case. This was later on published by the Punjab Government in two volumes entitled Catalogue of Khalsa Darbar Records.

In appreciation of his outstanding talent, the Punjab Government gave him appointment as a lecturer in History at Government College, Lahore, in the Punjab Educational Service in 1919. He stayed in that College for 14 years. During this period he not only lectured to undergraduate and postgraduate classes, but also retained his connection with the Punjab Government Record Office of which he held the additional charge as the Deputy Keeper of Records. There he spent most of his time after college hours in guiding M.A. students for writing dissertations and monographs which was a compulsory academic requirement in those days.

In 1933, he was transferred to Ludhiana where he was the Vice-Principal under Principal Harvey. There he lived in a portion of the same house as was occupied a hundred years earlier by the ex-rulers of Afghanistan, Shah Zaman and Shah Shuja. In 1940 Professor Kohli was appointed Principal at Government College, Hoshiarpur. In 1944 he was transferred to Government College, Rohtak, which then was the only Government College in present-day Haryana. After his retirement from Punjab Government service in 1946, he was offered appointment as Principal, Ranbir College, Sangrur, and was given the additional charge as Superintendent, Education Department, find state, and a little later that of Secretary, Education Department of the state. With the creation of PEPSU in 1948, he ceased to be Secretary, Education, but retained the post of the Principal up to November 1951, when he finally retired and settled at Rohtak in his newly-built house named Retreat (Gosha-i-Afiyat). Towards the end of his life he fell victim to the pernicious disease of Asthma, which ultimately carried him off in July 1962.

Among his historical works, the earliest, Catalogue of Khalsa Darbar Records in two volumes is most famous. The first volume was published is 1919. It gives a summary of records of the military department (Daftar-i-Fauj). Based on these records he published a series of articles on the Army of Ranjit Singh tracing its origin, growth and organization in the Journal of Indian History, Madras.

The second volume came out in 1927. It mainly deals with revenue records. The manuscript of Diwan Amar Nath's Zafar Namah-i-Ranjit Singh was edited by him and published in 1928. In 1932 he published a monograph, entitled Trial of Diwan Mul Raj, the Sikh governor of Multan province, held responsible by the British Government for his soldiers mutiny leading to the second Sikh war in 1848-49. In 1933 Professor Kohli brought out a short volume on Ranjit Singh in Urdu for the Hindustani Academy, Allahabad. Its material was drawn from original records, in particular from Sohan Lal's Diary called `Umdat ut-Twarikh. Another original source of Ranjit Singh's period was Guru Khaki ji ka Fatah Namah by Ganesh Das published in Hindi. In 1956 he brought out Shah Muhammad's kissa in Punjabi on the first Anglo-Sikh war. He prepared a volume entitled The Last Phase, 1839-1849, which was edited and published by Khushwant Singh after the death of the author under the new title, Sunset of the Sikh Empire.

Professor Kohli's main field of historical research was the history of the Sikh empire, 1799 to 1849. All his writings betray maturity of judgement and balance. He has a simple and forceful style of writing. He possessed a highly analytical mind. He was a pioneer in the field of historical research in the Punjab. Professor Kohli served on a number of historical organizations such as Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian History Congress and Punjab History Conference. Punjabi University, Patiala, instituted an annual lecture series in his honour.

Professor Sita Ram Kohli was a handsome and impressive man to look at. He was married to the daughter of an eminent Professor of Chemistry of Government College, Lahore, Professor Ruchi Ram Sahni. He lived well and was fond of good food and good company. He rarely missed his club and was an extremely good host. He drove his own car and maintained a lavish table-spread. He spent his summers at Gulmarg, an attractive hill city. He would inspire his pupils to read more and more and write with exactness and brevity.

Source: Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Harbans Singh