The permission to establish the Eternal University received from Himachal Pradesh Government was a huge landmark in the history of Baru Sahib. A vision has become a reality. Sant Attar Singh, the greatest saint of the Twentieth Century had envisioned in 1906 that a centre of higher learning would be established in this Tapo Bhoomi, where students from all over the world would flock to gather extensive knowledge. . The concept is now being adopted by some of the premier institutions of higher learning in the West as well as in India. The graduates of this unique educational system will not only be outstanding in academics but also will have high moral values. They will have a love for humanity, compassion for the weak and commitment to selfless service for the community. In a way, the
graduates will work towards establishing permanent amity in the world and will act as Ambassadors of Peace wherever they go.
With this vision in mind, Sant Attar Singh sent his devotee, Sant Teja Singh {M.A., LL.B (Punjab), A.M. (Harvard)} abroad in 1906 to get the best possible modern education. He was then the Principal of Khalsa College, Amritsar, a premier institute of higher education in Punjab. He was considered as a highly accomplished educationist of his time, even before going abroad. Sant Teja Singh first studied at Cambridge University (U.K) and then at the world-famous Teachers’ College, Columbia University (USA) and finally went to Harvard University and completed his A.M. Degree. On his return, Sant Attar Singh gave Sant Teja Singh a “good grounding” in Braham Vidya and trained him to carry forward
his mission of creating a special breed of Akal Scholars with high moral values. Sant Attar Singh also directed Sant Teja Singh to reveal a hitherto unknown ‘Tapo Bhoomi’ in the Himalayan Mountains where sages, saints and holy men had meditated from time immemorial. He gave a visual description of the place resembling Baru Sahib to Sant Teja Singh. On finding this place, now called Baru Sahib, Sant Teja Singh established The Kalgidhar Trust in 1956 to carry out the mission of Sant Attar Singh’s vision. Sant Teja Singh also established a small Gurdwara at Baru Village and performed Ardas to God Almighty –
Waheguru’ that an institution of higher learning may be granted here as per the vision and wishes of Sant Attar Singh. Thus the conceptual and spiritual foundation of Eternal University was laid at Baru Sahib that day Before leaving this world Sant Teja Singh passed on the baton to Baba Iqbal Singh to carry forward the mission. Baba Iqbal Singh started Akal Academy at Baru Sahib, the prelude to Eternal
University, in 1987 with 5 students. This has now grown to a formidable strength of 1534 students, 200 of whom hail from 16 countries with 100 students from the U.S.A.
Akal Academy, Baru Sahib has 21 sister Academies, spread over four States (Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh). All these academies are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The strength of these Academies is more than 22,000 and 40% of these students are girls. One-fifth of the students are provided freeships. These students are either orphans or belong to poor rural families. All these Academies are located in rural areas. These academies have established an outstanding academic standards. 150 such academies are planned for the future, all for the rural areas with a future estimated enrolment of more than 1,50,000 students.
The architecture of Eternal University will mix the old (Nalanda/Taxila) architecture with Gothic and the contemporary styles
On July 3, 2006, Baba Iqbal Singh, President, The Kalgidhar Trust, performed Ardas to Waheguru for granting Eternal University at Baru Sahib, which in a way paved the way for laying the Foundation Stone. This event commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the first school for girls at Village Mastuana in 1906 by Sant Attar Singh, 50th Anniversary of establishing The Kalgidhar Trust at Baru
Sahib in 1956 by Sant Teja Singh; and 20th Anniversary of the opening of the first Akal Academy at Baru Sahib in 1987 by Baba Iqbal Singh. This, in nutshell, is the historical development of the “Educational Mission”of Sant Attar Singh, which spans over a century. With this meritorious background for education and also because of the popular demand from the masses, The Kalgidhar Trust decided to take the Mission of Education to the next level and approached the State of Himachal Pradesh to grant it the Charter of a Private University (Eternal University at Baru Sahib, District Sirmour, H.P).
Last year, the State of Himachal Pradesh passed “the Himachal Pradesh Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Act, inviting Private Sector sponsors to establish institutions of Higher Learning. The Kalgidhar Trust (the parent body of Eternal University) in response to this, proposes to establish Eternal University with eleven colleges in Phase I, including Colleges of Engineering, Health Sciences, Arts & Sciences, Teachers’ Training, Business Administration, Public Health, Naturopathy & Alternative Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Divine Music & Spiritualism, Medicine, and Distance Learning. It will offer more than 125 academic programs; a significant number of these will focus on improving
the lot of women, farmers, and the minorities. Additionally, more than thirty courses would be offered on internet under the College of Distance Learning.
Eternal University will be a world class Multi-Faculty facility located in the rural and backward area of the State of Himachal Pradesh (Baru Sahib, District Sirmour), where no higher education facilities exist. Academic collaborative arrangements are being worked out with a number of foreign Universities
including John Hopkins University, Columbia University, University of Virginia, Wayne Sate University in the fields of Engineering, Teachers’ Training, Nursing & other para- medical specialities, Public Health, and Business Administration towards ensuring international acceptance of the students turned out and ingraining into them the academic processes the best practices and state of the art innovations.
In fact, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has already been signed for Akal College of Engineering & Technology with Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. and such arrangements for other specialities are in the pipeline. Twenty first century expertise and technology would be
introduced at Eternal University through visiting faculty from abroad. Major courses in different faculties would be developed in collaboration with these resource persons. No effort would be spared towards building academic standards of Eternal University, as good as (if not better than) institutions of high
repute around the world. Exchange of students and mutual transfer of course credits mechanism would also be established between Eternal University and its partners abroad. This will encourage children of several million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) settled abroad to return and get high quality education at
highly competitive costs. This will generate (in a way) a reverse migration of talent, benefitting both Himachal Pradesh and India.
Eternal University will be established and operated as non-profit institution of higher learning. Its sole purpose, therefore, would be to impart high quality education and training to the people and preparing them for the present and future job markets. The main campus of Eternal University will be designed by
world famous Architects, who have already designed more than one hundred campuses around the world including big names in academics. The campus once completed will be a big tourist attraction. The architecture of Eternal University will mix the old (Nalanda/Taxila) architecture with Gothic and the contemporary styles.
Eternal University will be a world class international institute of higher learning, benefitting truly in the image of India becoming “The Education Hub of the World”. The Letter of Intent (LoI) has been recently granted by the Himachal Pradesh Government, under the Private Universities Establishment & Maintenance Act, which is a prelude to the establishment of this University. Final approval in this regard will be obtained during the next few months. This will then be the official beginning of the ETERNAL UNIVERSITY.
