Shiromani Ragi Prof. Kartar Singh was awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of his services to the Sikh sect. Professor Kartar Singh, who lives in the Shastri Nagar area of Ludhiana, came here after Partition and got training in singing the words of Gurbani in prescribed ragas of Gurbani with traditional musical instruments and then after giving training to the youth and fulfilling his responsibility towards Gurbani.
Pro. The Ragi Jatha trained by Kartar Singh is serving the Sikh Panth today. For almost 12 years (1991-2002), Prof. Kartar Singh trained the ragis in Tanti Rangs at Jawaddi Taksal, So the best center of Gurmat music on Gurbani ragas in Punjab. It is noteworthy that in Sikhism the words of Gurbani were sung only in Tanti ragas and the professor has a great contribution in keeping this tradition alive.
One of the leading singers of Gurbani, Kartar Singh made his career in Gurbani music and also started teaching at Malwa Central College for Education. He then joined Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana as the head of the music department. Presently he is the Instructor of Sangeet Academy located at Anandpur Sahib. He has also trained a large number of students and made them successful.
For his services towards Gurbani, he has been conferred with many awards by different organizations. These include Tagore Ratan Award from Sangeet Natak Akademi, Pratibha Devi Singh Patil Award by President, He also got Sikh Life Time Achievement Award in London. Sikh Life Time Achievement Award from Punjabi Cultural Society, Gurmat Sangeet Senior Fellowship from Punjabi University, and SGPC. Also Shiromani Ragi Award is the head of the Punjab Government.