Padma Shri Jagdish Ahuja, famously known as Langar Man, died of stomach cancer on Monday. Ahuja,85, who had been serving langer to hundreds of people every day near PGIMER for more than two decades, was conferred with the Padma Shri on 26 January 2020.
An official statement from the institute read that the PGIMER salutes Langar Baba’s magnanimity and ‘spirit of giving’.
“PGIMER expresses deepest condolences on the sad demise of Padmashree Jagdish Lal Ahuja, popularly known as Langar Baba, who will be remembered for his exceptional generous gesture of feeding lakhs of people outside PGIMER premises and for his endearing and humane personality,” the official spokesperson said in a statement.
“PGIMER salutes Langar Baba’s magnanimity and ‘spirit of giving’ and prays to Almighty to give peace to this departed noble soul and strength to his family and thousands of his admirers to bear this irreparable loss.”
A resident of Sector 23, Chandigarh, Ahuja had been suffering from stomach cancer.
Sitting at his house, Ahuja once told The Daily Guardian, “I, along with my family, had come here from Peshawar in Pakistan at the time of Partition in 1947. My family came to Mansa and then, I shifted towards Ropar and the place, which is known as Chandigarh today. I merely had a few paisas in my pocket then. I even sold bananas sitting by the road at the old mandi in New Delhi. The idea to start langer outside PGI was my inner voice. I had faced poverty and starvation, and when I thought I am capable of feeding others, I decided to start langer service.”
On winning the Padma Shri, he had said, “I just heard about the Padma Shri award from the media persons. I do not know how who recommended my name and how it was accepted. I just want that the government to rebate me from income tax, so my family can continue the langer service after my death.” Ahuja, who died at home after his brief illness, is survived by his wife, son and daughter and also has an extended family of grandson and granddaughters.