INCEPTION:

»  Col. Cheema’s most enduring achievement in promoting the cause of education in Sri Ganganagar is the Guru Harkrishan Public School. Dissatisfaction with the quality of the limited education facilities that were available was widespread, even amongst those inhabitants of this area who were completely illiterate. He had realized early that without a good working knowledge of the English language the youth of Ganganagar would not be able to fulfill their aspirations beyond the regional level. To acquire this knowledge they had to have their school education through the medium of English. Unfortunately, till 1985, there was not a single English medium school within Ganganagar or in its vicinity. He had noticed that the more affluent farmers in the absence of a good English medium school sent their children to study in far off residential schools. Having spent their formative years away from Ganganagar, these youngsters lost their sense of being rooted in Ganganagar and when they returned to their hometown after completing their education there was no feeling of a happy home-coming. Instead, there was a feeling of being fettered and a strong desire to escape. A good English medium school in Ganganagar would take care of this problem too. He wanted to set up a school which would not only be strong in academics but would concentrate on developing the all round personalities of the students the way good residential schools do.   
»Before this dream could became a reality he discussed his idea with eminent personalities of Ganganagar. Everywhere he found wholehearted and enthusiastic endorsement of his view that one of the things that the region required most of all in the field of education was a private, English medium school of truly national standards. 
»The first step was the procurement of land. The management of Khalsa College, Sri Ganganagar readily donated over twelve acres from the Khalsa College pool for this noble endeavor. The next step was to raise adequate funds to start construction of the building. For this he enlisted seventy-four founder members who donated Rs.11,000/- each and thirty-four life members who donated Rs.5,500/- each. The money was raised, though a generous amount by the standards of those years, was still insufficient to build a first rate school. 
All the prominent citizens of Sri Ganganagar helped for fund raising drive. Wherever they went they were welcomed with not only open arms but also open hearts. The whole town rose, like a great wave, to give concrete expression to the dreams of an English medium school.

LAYING OF FOUNDATION STONE:

»The foundation stone of the school was laid on 13 January 1986 by the then District Collector, Ram Lubaiya. The occasion was marked by a simple ceremony. Col. Autar Singh Cheema in his capacity as the Chairman of the Board announced: ‘The school will begin to function with the new academic session which starts in April.’ Not a brick had been laid and April was just two and a half months away. But those who knew him recognized the quiet conviction in his voice. They were sure that he would keep his promise. 
»Work was started on a war footing. All the members of the management committee also rose to the occasion and willingly pitched in to contribute their part. Construction began in full swing. Col. Cheema worked tirelessly to give shape to his dreams. Though the building was being built at such tremendous speed, and under the circumstances, there were bound to be mistakes that had later to be corrected, there was no confusion in Col. Cheema’s mind about certain basic concepts. For instance he was clear from the beginning that as far as possible the teachers should be from Ganganagar and its vicinity. Not only would this provide an employment avenue to the educated, unemployed youngsters of the area, of whom there were many, but it would also make for a far greater stability as far as the school was concerned. 
»The project was completed by April 1986. Enough of the building was ready to accommodate the first set of students by that date. ]

INAUGURATION:

»The school was inaugurated on 16th March, 1986 by Lieutenant General Jagjeet Singh Aurora, the famous hero of the 1971 Bangladesh war. On 10 April 1986, the School became functional with 250 students from classes nursery to class seven. The founder principal was Maharaj Singh Dulat who was then heading a school in Bangkok. All the other teachers, as had been Cheema’s hope, belonged to Ganganagar itself. Two years later Maharaj Singh Dulat was replaced by Gurdev Singh, who had a long stint of teaching at The Lawrence School, Sanawar. Subsequently he was replaced by Manpreet Singh Wig, who had also taught at Sanawar. Manpreet Singh Wig continues to head the school even today. It is a measure of the success of the school that in twenty-five years there have been very few changes at the top. 

THE GHPS:

»At a time when the concepts of teacher renewal and teacher development were only subjects of desire, he had, in his own way, put them into practice for his school. He encouraged his teachers to visit other schools and educational institutions in order to interact with other teachers and pick up new and innovative ideas and methods which would further enrich their teaching methodology. He invited guest speakers to come and address both the students and the teachers so that they kept their minds open to what was happening in the world around them and did not fall into the rut of mindless habit. 
»In those earlier years finance was always a constraint. Unlike most of the new schools today that function on business ventures earning huge profits for those who set them up, Guru Harkrishan Public School was set up with no profit motive in mind. The day the idea for a school was first floated that any surpluses that were generated would be ploughed back into the school in order to improve and enhance the facilities available for the children. Inspite of this, the early years were extremely difficult financially. Money had been found for the building and other infra structure but in the day to day running of the school, the expense was far in excess of the income. Periodic contributions from the members of the management committee and more often than not, the largest chunk of the money would come from Col. Cheema’s pocket to bear the running experiences.
»This affability stood in good stead in the run-up to the inauguration of the school. Everything was being done with a very strong sense of urgency in fast-forward mode. As a result, there were frequent glitches and fairly often things would not move the way it was expected to move or with the speed with which these were required to move. 
»From day one it was ensured that classroom activities and co-curricular activities must be of a kind that would contribute the utmost to the children’s welfare. Col. Cheema  worked towards establishing a very special ethos of the school which would be in harmony with the policies and culture of the people of Ganganagar. 

VISIT BY SIR EDMUND HILLARY:

»In order to broaden the children’s minds and give them as wide an exposure as possible, Col. Cheema worked to bring eminent people from various fields to come to the school. One of the most memorable of these interactions was provided by the visit of Sir Edmund Hillary and his companion and later wife, June Mulgrew. It proved to be a historic, momentous and truly memorable occasion for everyone concerned. For the town it was a red-letter day. 
The day began with a function at school where the children were addressed Col. by Cheema and Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Edmund Hillary’s speech was quiet inspiring. Then he went on to give specific incidents from his own successful expedition and his interaction with Tenzing while on the expedition. Each of these incidents illustrated the fact that though they were both from such diverse national, social and economic backgrounds, they had still found a much greater closeness and kinship than they had ever known with anyone before, simply because they had shared the same obsession, the same goal. He, too, said that there were lessons to be drawn from this – it was not the accident of birth, of economic wealth, of social background that united people but the pursuit of a common dream, the focus on a common goal. So they must learn to shun all regional, linguistic, social and economic divides and look for the commonality of aspiration and goal which would truly bind them to their fellow men. 

VISIT BY S. BISHAN SINGH BEDI:

»Another historic event in the history of the school occurred in the shape of a visit by the famous Indian cricketer of the time, Bishen Singh Bedi. Being an outdoor man, Col Cheema had ensured that sports formed an integral part of the school curriculum. He knew from his own experience in life that there are many invaluable lessons that children learn through participating in games and sports that no other component of the school curriculum can teach them. As a result, he insisted that games be compulsory for every child who attended Guru Harkrishan Public School. The children began to show a great proficiency and ability in various games. Inevitably, as in most other schools in the country, cricket became the most popular game in the school and the school cricket team began to organize and participate in matches with other teams. Bishen Singh Bedi’s visit to the school proved to be productive beyond the wildest hopes. Not only did he interact with the children, he coached the boys and explained the intricacies of the game to them. He livened up his visit by telling them anecdotes, many of them amusing, about various matches he had participated in, about the behaviour and quirks of other famous cricketers. Children who had the benefit of the interaction and who have now taken their place in life as successful doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc., remember it as one of the most memorable experiences of their school life. 
»Col. Cheema could only do such a herculean task to build a school from scratch and taking it to this height within a short span of time. He took keen interest in inculcating the adventure spirit, moral values and discipline among the children.
»The motto of the school “Come to learn, Go to Serve” clearly reflects the aim of the school in providing complete education to a child, with influence on his personal and intellectual growth. He was of the opinion that each student develops an urge to think critically and become a positive influence on the community.
»The seed sowed by Col. Cheema has grown into a tree over the last 25 years. The torch is now carried forward under the dynamic leadership of Mrs. Ajindar Cheema. With present strength of 1200 students and 60 teachers the school is one of the reputed schools in Ganganagar and has its alumni working in Multinational Companies, Armed forces, Medical and Engineering professions.
»Guru Harkrishan Public School was dream which turned into reality.