Langar Baba

At the time of the Partition in 1947, the 12-year-old boy accompanied his parents from Peshawar in Pakistan to India. The refugees first sheltered in a Patiala camp, and were later shifted to Amritsar and Mansa.

To survive, Jagdish Lal Ahuja joined his parents selling candies, bananas and moong dal sprouts on buses and on pavements. They would purchase two kilos of moong dal for one rupee and make packets of the snack to sell. Due to this, he could not go to school.

With a meagre savings of Rs 415, Jagdish and his parents moved to Chandigarh. With hard work and God’s blessings, Jagdish became a successful businessman there.

One day, while celebrating his son’s birthday, Jagdish realised that there were many who did not have food to eat. So he served food to underprivileged children on that day. That gesture gave him a special joy. Remembering his starving and miserable childhood days, the businessman decided to help others.

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