Jaswant: a documented Punjabi adjective and literary name

A complete headword and its adjective sense

Nabha’s Mahan Kosh has a short, complete entry for Jaswant. It labels the word as an adjective and explains it through fame or renown. That is evidence for the whole headword: the lexical association is documented without manufacturing a meaning by splitting a Roman spelling into familiar-looking elements.[1]

The entry’s brevity also sets a limit. It gives a lexical gloss, without narrating a family’s choice of name. Its favourable description cannot establish a bearer’s character. The Gurmukhi form displayed here is the checked dictionary headword, rather than evidence of how a particular writer preferred to spell or interpret a personal name.[1]

Jaswant Singh Kanwal in a university biography

Parmeet Kaur’s Punjabi University biography presents Jaswant Singh Kanwal as a Punjabi fiction writer. It traces an early prose book to 1941–42 and a first novel to 1944, then discusses a larger body of novels and other writing. Its critical account emphasises rural Malwa as a setting and the use of Malwai language. This gives the full public name a literary and regional context more specific than a bare list of well-known bearers. Before these publications, the biography describes time in Malaya and, after returning, work in Amritsar. These details document movement within one author’s life, rather than an origin for the name. The university profile is a biographical account of the writer, so its account of his early movements should be distinguished from the original documents of those years.[2]

Two full names in the award register

Sahitya Akademi lists Jaswant Singh Neki’s Karuna Di Chho Ton Magron for 1979 and Jaswant Singh Kanwal’s Taushali Di Hanso for 1997.[3]

The university biography gives 1993 for Kanwal’s award, whereas the Akademi’s own award row gives 1997. For the award date, the administering institution’s register is the stronger record. The discrepancy does not change the documented author credit.[2][3]