Introduction-

• The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is a Punjabi.
• Two former Indian Prime Ministers include I K Gujral and Gulzarilal Nanda both of whom were also Punjabis.
• Another Punjabi to occupy the topmost post in India was the former President of India Giani Zail Singh.
• Professor Har Gobind Khorana, famous Nobel laureate is a Punjabi.
• The first Indian in Outer space is a Punjabi - Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma.
• World Wrestling Entertainment Super Star and former world, Dalip Singh (The Great Khali) is a native Punjabi.

1. Bhai Maharaj Singh-

• Birth- 1780 in Rabbon village of Ludhiana district of Punjab
• Earlier name- Nihal Singh
• Death- 5th July 1856, Singapore

Events associated-

1. Prema Conspiracy case,
2. Battles of Chelianvala and Gujarat

• He was a saintly person turned revolutionary who led an anti-British movement in the Punjab after the first Anglo-Sikh war
• He had a religious bent of mind and came under the influence of Bhai Bir Singh of Naurangabad.
• After the latter's death in 1844, he succeeded him as head of the Naurangabad dera and was held in high esteem by a vast following, including most of the Sikh chiefs and courtiers.
• Maharaj Singh's revolutionary career started with the Prema conspiracy case involving him in a plot to murder the British resident, Henry Lawrence, and other pro-British officers of the Lahore Darbar.
• Maharaj Singh, whose movements were restricted to Naurangabad by the British, went underground.
• The government confiscated his property at Amritsar and announced a reward for his arrest.
• Bhai Maharaj Singh intensified his activities against the British when he came to know that Diwan Mul Raj had in April 1848 raised a standard of revolt against them at Multan.
• He left for Multan with 400 horsemen to join hands with Mul Raj. But soon differences arose between the two leaders, and Maharaj Singh left Multan for Hazara in June 1848 to seek Chatar Singh Atarivala's assistance in his plans to dislodge the British.
• In November 1848, he joined Raja Sher Singh's forces at Ramnagar and was seen in the battlefield riding his black mare and exhorting the Sikh soldiers to lay down their lives for the sake of their country.
• Thereafter he took part in the battles of Chelianvala and Gujrat, but, when Raja Sher Singh surrendered to the British at Rawalpindi on 14 March 1849, he resolved to carry on the fight single-handed.
• He escaped to Jammu and made Dev Batala his secret headquarters.
• In December 1849, he went to Hoshiarpur and visited the Sikh regiments to enlist their support.
• Bhai Maharaj Singh, who carried on his head a price of 10,000 rupees, was arrested on 28 December 1849 at Adampur.
• He was imprisoned in Outram Jail Singapore where he died on 5th July 1856.

2. Sardar Ajit Singh

• Birth- 2nd February 1881; Khatkar Kalan district Jalandhar (now Nawanshahr District)
• Death- 15th August 1947; Dalhousie

Events associated-

1. Pagdi Sambhal Jatta" movement
2. Ghadar Party

• He was the man in the Punjab who resented the high-handedness of the British rule and openly criticized the British government.
• He was declared a political rebel and had to spend many years of his life in jails or in exile from India.
• He was the uncle of Shahid-i-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh.
• He plunged into the freedom movement and left his law studies.
• He was the hero of "Pagdi Sambhal Jatta" movement. The "Pagdi Sambhal Jatta" movement had spread far beyond the peasants to engulf the army.
• In 1907, he was deported to Mandalay Jail in Burma along with Lala Lajpat Rai. After his release, he escaped to Iran.
• From there, he travelled to Rome, Geneva, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.
• In 1918, he came in close contact with the Ghadar Party in San Francisco. In 1939, he returned to Europe and later on helped Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in his mission in Italy.
• In 1946, he came back to India at the invitation of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. After spending some time in Delhi, he went to Dalhousie.
• He breathed his last on August 15, 1947, after India got its Independence.
• His last words were, "Thank God, my mission is fulfilled."
• A samadhi in his memory is at Panjpula, a popular and scenic picnic spot in Dalhousie

3. Lala Lajpat Rai

• Birth- 28th January, 1865; Dhudike village
• Death- November 17, 1928

Events associated-

1. Indian National Congress,
2. Arya Samaj,
3. Foundation of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi National Bank,
4. Establishment of Dayananda Anglo-Vedic School,
5. Simon Commission

• Publications- The Story of My Deportation (1908), Arya Samaj (1915), The United States of America: A Hindu's impressions (1916), Young India (1916), England's Debt to India: India (1917)
• Title - Punjab Kesari
• He was one of the chief leaders of the Indian Independence Movement, was an author and a politician
• While studying Law at Lahore, Rai also helped to establish the Dayananda Anglo-Vedic School
• He was heavily influenced by Hinduism and reformed many Indian policies
• Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal formed a triumvirate and fought for independence of India and promoted the Swadeshi movement
• In 1928, the British government set up Simon Commission and no Indian was named in the list.
• Lala Lajpat Rai led the silent march in protests and in return, British police declared a lathi charge, where Rai was assaulted and injured
• Even after such injuries, Rai said, "I declare that the blows struck at me today will be the last nails in the coffin of British rule in India.”
• Popularly known as Punjab Kesari
• He died on November 17, 1928 due to his serious injuries
• Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Hissar, Haryana is named after Lala Lajpat Rai
• His death is celebrated as Martyrs' Day in Odisha.

4. Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna

• Birth- January, 1870; Khutrai Khurd near Amritsar, British India
• Death- 1968; Amritsar, India

Events associated-

1. Indian independence movement,
2. 1907 Punjab unrest,
3. Communism, Pacific Coast Hindi Association (later came to be known as the Ghadar Party),
4. Komagatamaru incident,  
5. Lahore Conspiracy Case;
6. Communist Party of India
7. Kisan Sabha

• He was an Indian revolutionary and the founding president of the Ghadar Party.
• Sohan Singh migrated to California in 1907 in the wake of political troubles in Punjab.
• In the United States, Bhakna, along with Lala Hardyal, Pandit Kanshi Ram and a few others were instrumental in the founding of the Pacific Coast Hindi Association, of which Sohan Singh was elected its first President. The association later came to be known as the Ghadar Party.
• During World War I, the Ghadar Party was one of the key participants in the Hindu German Conspiracy that sought to trigger rebellion in the British Indian Army.
• Sohan Singh, as one of the top Ghadar leaders, returned to India at the outbreak of the war, in the wake of the Komagatamaru incidence, to organise and direct the rebellion inside India.
• However, returning to India on the SS Namsang, Singh was arrested in October 1914 and later tried in the Lahore Conspiracy Case and sentenced to death but later on commuted to life imprisonment
• In 1929, while still interned, Sohan Singh began a, well publicized, hunger strike in support of Bhagat Singh.
• After his release, Singh's works are identified closely with the works of the Communist party of India.
• He also made the release of intervened Ghadarites a key part of his political work
• Following Indian's independence in 1947, Singh worked closely with the Kisan Sabha and the CPI.

5. Baba Gurdit Singh

• Birth- 25 August 1860, Sarhali Kalan, district Amritsar
• Death- 24 July 1954, Kolkata

Events associated-

1. Kamagata Maru incident
2. Majorly associated with
3. Forced labour

• At the age of 13 he managed to acquire enough private elementary education to allow him to correspond with his father in Malaya.
• he visited Malaya in about 1885 and like his father he too conducted business in Singapore and Malaya as a contractor, becoming very successful.
• He returned from there in 1909.
• In 1911 he raised his voice against forced labour. He wrote to the Government complaining against officials who forced poor villagers to work for them without remuneration, and when he received no response, he exhorted the people of his village to refuse to be subjected to begar (forced labour).
• He chartered a Japanese ship, the Kamagata Maru in 1914 to go to Canada where the government had put restrictions on the entry of Indians.
• The ship, renamed Guru Nanak Jahaj by its predominately Sikh passengers, had a total of 372 passengers out of whom 351 were Punjabi Sikhs and 21 were Punjabi Muslims.
• The ship sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver on April 3, 1914 as a direct challenge to the obstructions put up by Government of Canada meant to prevent Indian citizens who were sons of the British Empire from immigrating to Canada.
• The hardships faced by its passengers during their trip and their treatment after arriving in Vancouver, BC's port turned them into staunch nationalists.
• The ship reached Vancouver on May 22, 1914 where it was not allowed to dock. Attacked by the police once during the night, the attack was repulsed by the passengers.
• The spectacle raised major headlines across the newspapers across Canada and created a great stir among the predominantly 'so called white sellers of European decent' and the Indians who had previously established themselves in Canada.
• An agreement was finally reached, the ship’s tanks were reloaded with fresh water, food, fuel for the boilers (coal apparently) and other supplies, paid for by the Canadian Government who had been warned to not let the affair get out of hand, less it cause trouble in India where a growing cry for freedom had the British fearing a revolution.
• Once the ship was loaded it was pushed out of the harbour by a Canadian warship, and started its long voyage back to China.
• With war breaking out during their return the ship was forced to head for India. It reached Calcutta on September 29, 1914.
• However, the passengers were not allowed to enter Calcutta, they were allowed to land about 15 miles up the Hooghly and allowed to dock at Budge Budge where a train was waiting to take all the passengers to the Punjab.
• They refused to board the train and in a 'Mela' many of the passengers were shot dead with nearly forty evading capture including Gurdit Singh, who remained ‘underground’ for many years, until in 1920 on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi he made surrendered voluntarily at Nankana Sahib and was imprisoned by the British Government for five years.
• After his release he settled down at Calcutta where he died on 24 July, 1954.

6. Bhai Bala Ji-

• Bhai Bala who was a life-long companion of Guru Nanak, was the son of Chandar Bhan, a Sandhu Jatt of Talvandi Rai Bhoi, now Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.  
• The anecdotes narrated by Bala were recorded in Gurmukhi characters in Guru Angad’s presence by another Sikh, Paira Mokha.
• The result was what is known as Bhai Bale Vali Janam Sakhi, a hagiographical account of Guru Nanak’s life. Bhai Bala died in 1544 at Khadur Sahib.

7. Bhai Bhagatu Brar-    

• He was a devoted Sikh who served the Fifth, Sixth and the Seventh Gurus.
• He was son of Adam (Uddam in some chronicles), a Siddhu Brar of Malva country.  
• A gurdwara, Bhalana Bhagatu, named after the celebrated Bhai is located near village Gobindpura, about 11 km northeast of Bathinda.
• An annual fair is held there on the occasion of Baisakhi.

8. Bhai Kahn Singh (1861- 1938)-

• He was a celebrated scholar and encyclopaedist, born on August 30 1861 in a Dhillon Jatt family at the village of Sabaz Banera, in what then used to be the territory of the princely ruler of patiala.
• From the Nabha Maharaja’s private secretary to judge of the High Court, he held several different appointments in the state, serving for a brief interregnum, 1915-17, in the neighbouring Sikh state of Patiala.
• From among Bhai Kahn Singh’s works, Gurushabad Ratanakar Mahan Kosh (1930), an encyclopaedia of Sikh literature
• His maiden work Raj Dharam (1884), written at the instance of Maharaja Hira Singh of Nabha, was followed by Nanak Bhavarth Dipika (1888), In 1898, he published Ham Hindu Nahin which set forth forcefully the Singh Sabha standpoint with regard to Sikh identity.
• The Gurmat Prabhakar, a glossary of Sikh terminology, concepts and institutions, was published in 1898, and Gurmat Sudhakar, an anthology of important Sikh texts, scriptural and historical, in 1899.
• His Guru Chand divakar (1924) and Gur sabad Alankar (1925) deal primarily with rhetoric and prosody employed in the Guru Granth Sahib and some other Sikh texts. His Gur Gira Kasauti answers some of the questions raised by his pupil, Tikka Ripudaman Singh, about the meanings of certain hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, and his Sharab Nikhedh (1907) is a work stressing the harmful effects of drinking. Among his other works are tikas or exegeses of Jaimant Assamedh (1896), Visnu Purana (1903), Sadu and Chandi di Var (1935).
• From among his works which were published posthumously, Gurmat Martand (2 volumes) which essentially follows the format of his earlier Gurmat Prabhakar but includes much more explanatory material was published in 1960. A travelogue was published in 1984.

9. Bhai Puran Singh ji(1904 -1992)-

• He was undoubtly the single Sikh Hero of this century who worked totally selflessly all his life to provide the last hope to the mentally and terminally ill patients.
• He was born at Rajewal, Distt. Ludhiana on June 4 1904.,
• He founded Pingalwara in 1947 with a few discarded patients. He was also a writer as well as publisher and an environmentalist. Pingalwara is a very big home of human service.
• His dedication was awarded with heaps of honours by many quarters.

• Prestigious among these was the Padamshri award in 1979, which he surrendered in the wake of the army attack on the Golden Temple in 1984.

• He left for his heavenly abode on August 5, 1992.

10. Bhai Santokh Singh (1787 - 1853)-

• He was a poet and historian, born on 8 October 1787 at Nurudin village, in Amritsar district. Here Santokh Singh wrote Nam Kosh, a versified Hindi translation of Amar Kosa, the famous Sanskrit dictionary (completed in 1821), and Sri Guru Nanak Prakash,
• Santokh Singh is said to have spent some time at Patiala also as an employee of Maharaja Karam Singh before going to Kathal.
• During his 18-year span at Kaithal, now a district town in Haryana

• He wrote Garab Ganjani Tikka (1829), an exhaustive philosophical commentary in Hindi prose on Guru Nanak’s Japu, along with a critical appreciation of its poetic features (the work was meant to be a rejoinder to Anandghana’s tika of the Japu); Valimiki Ramayan (1834), a versified translation of the epic in chaste and refined Braj Bhasa ; translation of Atma Purana in Sadhukari prose; and his magnum opus Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, a voluminous history of the Gurus in Braj Bhasa consisting of 51,820 verses written during 1835-43.

• The poet died at Kaithal on 19 October 1843, soon after completion of his Gur Pratap Suraj Granth.

11. Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957)-

• He was a poet, scholar and exegete, a major figure in the Sikh renaissance and in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary tradition. For his pioneering work in its several different genres, he is acknowledged as the creator of modern Punjabi literature.
• Born on 5 December 1872, in Amritsar
• He took active interest in the affairs of Singh Sabha movement. To promote its aims and objects, he launched in 1894 the Khalsa Tract Society. In November 1899, he started a Punjabi weekly, the Khalsa Samachar. He was among the principal promoters of several of the Sikh institutions, such as Chief Khalsa Diwan, Sikh Educational Society (1908) and the Punjab and Sind Bank (1908).
• Interest in corporate activity directed towards community development remained Bhai Vir Singh’s constant concern, simultaneously with his creative and scholarly pursuits. In this engagement and, at the same time, in his eschewal of political activity, the Christian missionary example was apparently his model.
• In literature, Bhai Vir Singh started as a writer of romances which proved to be the forerunners of the Punjabi novel.

• His writings in this genre- Sundari (1898), Bijay Singh (1899), Satvant Kaur (published in two parts, I in 1900 and II in 1927)- were aimed at recreating the heroic period (eighteenth century) of Sikh history. Through these novels he made available to his readers typical models of courage, fortitude and human dignity.

• His quest for new forms of expression continued. Soon after the pubtication of Rana Surat Singh in book form in 1919, he turned to shorter poems and Lyrics. In quick succession came Dil Tarang (1920), Earel Tupke ( 1921), Lahiran de Har (1921), Matak Hulare (1922), and Bijlian de Har (1927). Following at some distance was Mere Salan Jio (1953). In this poetry, Bhai Vir Singh’s concerns were more aesthetic than didactic, metaphysical or mystical. He refined the old verse forms and created new ones. The metrical patterns Kabir, Soratha, Baint, etc., which he inherited from classical Punjabi literature, were transformed into lights nimble measures.
• By grafting Soratha and Sirkhandv forms on English blank verse, he paved the way for the emergence of Punjabi poem. He revised and enlarged Giani Hazara Singh’s dictionary, Sri Guru Granth Kosh, originally published in 1898. The revised version, published in 1927, gave evidence of Bhai Vir Singh’s command of the science of etymology and of the classical and modern languages.

Publications-

• Critical editions of some of the old Sikh texts such as Sikhan di Bhagat Mala (1912), Prachin Panth Prakash (1914), Puratan Janam Sakhi (1926) and Sakhi Pothi (1950).

12. Dr. Dalip Kaur Tiwana-

• Universally regarded as one of the leading Punjabi novelists of today.
• Her literary career as a creative writer commenced with the publication of her first book of short stories Sadhna in 1961, Her second novel Eho Hamara ZeeUna won her the Sahitya Akademy Award in 1972. Thereafter, virtually every one of her works won her an award.
• The Ministry of Education and Social Welfare honoured her book of stories for children called pa11jan IJiCh Parmeshwar in 1975, while the Department of Languages, Government of Punjab, conferred the “Nanak Singh Puruskar” on her novel Peele Patian di Dastan in 1980 and “Gurmukh Singh Mu safir Puruskar” on her autobiography Nange pa rion da Safa r in 1 982. Awards and honours have flowed from outside the Punjab as well. In 1985, the International Association of Punjabi Artists and Authors (IAAPA) based in Canada honoured her with an award in 1985.
• “Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba” award for her novel Katha Kuknoos Di came from Shashwathi, Karnataka and “Vagdevi” award for Duni Suhava Bagh was given by Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta, in 1998.
• For her outstanding contribution to Punjabi literature, Dr. Dalip Kaur received the “Shiromani Sahityakar” award from the Punjab Government in 1987, the “Best Novelist of the Decade” award from Punjabi Academy, Delhi, in 1994 and the “Kartar Singh Dhaliwal” award from Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana.
• She was among the distinguished Sikh personalities who were honoured on the occasion of the Tricentenary Celebrations of the Birth of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib in 1999.

13. Darshan Singh Pheruman(1885-1969)-

• He was a political leader, born at the village of Pherumans in present-day Amritsar district, on 1 August 1885.  In 1921, he was arrested in the morcha launched by Sikhs for recovering from the British deputy commissioner of Amritsar keys of the Golden Temple treasury he had seized, and was imprisoned for one year.
• In December 1924, he led the 14th Shahldi jatha to Jaito, and was jailed for ten months. He also took part in the non-cooperation movement, Civil Disobedience movement and Quit India campaign during the Second World War.
• He was elected a member of the Rajya Sabha as a nominee of the Indian National Congress and retained his seat up to 1964.
• In 1959, he severed his connection with the Congress and joined the Swatantra Party of which he was one of the founders.

14. Professor Ganda Singh ji(1900-1987)-

• He celebrated Punjab historian who by his sustained and pioneer work in the field of historical research initiated new trends in Sikh historiography
• He was born on 15 November 1900, The Government of India honoured him With the award of Padma Bhushan in 1983. Dr Ganda Singh died at Patiala on 27 December 1987.

15. Giani Ditt Singh (1853-1901)-

• He was a scholar, poet and journalist.
• He was an eminent Singh Sabha reformer and editor. He was born on 21 April 1853 at Kalaur, a village in Patiala district of the Punjab.
• He wrote more than forty books and pamphlets on Sikh theology and history and on current polemics.

• Well-known among his works are- Guru Nanak Prabodh, Guru Arjan Chariltar, Dambh Bidaran, Durga Prabodh, Panth Prabodh, RajPrabodh, Mera ate Sadhu Dayanand da Sambad, Naqh SiAh Prabodh and Panth Sudhar Binai Pattar. He also published accounts of the martyrdoms of Tara Singh of Van, Subeg Singh, Matab Singh Mirankotia , Taru Singh and Bota Singh.

16. Giani Gian Singh(1822-1921)-

• Poet and historian, was born of a Dullat Jatt family on 15 April 1822, at Laungoval, a village in present-day Sangrur district of the Punjab.
• Dhanna Singh Malvai introduced him to the Maharaja who employed him to recite the Sukhmani to him every morning.
• In 1857, he came in touch with Pandit Tara Singh Narotam, a renowned scholar of the Nirmala school, whom he acknowledges in his writings as his literary mentor.
• Giam Gian Singh was launched on his own distinguished career as a writer with the publication in 1880 of his Panth Prakash, a history of the Sikhs in Braj verse.
• He died there on 24 September 1921.

• The Panth Prakash and Twarikh Guru Khalsa are the most important but not the only works of Giani Gian Singh.
• His other books are: Suraj Prakash Vartak, an abridged version in prose of Bhai Santokh Singh’s Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth; Ramayan Bhai Mani Singh Ji Di; Twarikh Amritsar (Urdu); Twarikh Lahore (Urdu) ; Patit Pavan; Gurdham Sangrah; Bhupendranand; Itihas Bagarian and Ripudaman Prakash.

17. Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir (1899-1976)-

• Poet and politician, was born the son of Sujan Singh on 15 January 1899 at Adhval, in Campbellpore district, now in Pakistan.
• He gave up teaching to plunge into the Akali agitation for gurdwara reform. For taking part in the Guru ka Bagh agitation in 1922, he uderwent imprisonment. Side by side with his involvement in religious reformation, he started taking interest in nationalist politics and courted arrest in the Civil Disobedience launched by the Indian National Congress in 1930.
• The same year he was appointed head (Jathedar) of Sri Akal Takht, central seat of religious authority for the Sikhs. He held this office from 12 March 1930 to 5 March 1931.
• He went to jail again in Satyagrah (1939-41) and Quit India (1942-45) movements. He was elected a member of the Lok Sabha successively in 1952, 1957 and 1962. He did not complete his last term in the Lok Sabha and resigned in 1966 to take over as chief minister of the reorganized state of the Punjab On 28 March 1968, he reentered Parliament, this time as a member of the Rajya Sabha

• An active politician throughout his life, Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir also won renown as a poet and writer His published works include nine collections of poems— Sabar de Ban, Prem Ban, Jivan Pandh, Musafarian, Tutte Khamb, Kav Sunehe, Sahaj Seti, Vakkhra Vakkra Katra Katra and Dur nere; eight of short stories vakkhri Duniya, Ahlane de Bol, Kandhan Bol Paian, Satai Janvari, Allah Vale, gutar, Sabh Achcha, and Sasta Tamasha; and four biographical works - vekhia sunia Gandhi, Vekhia Sunya Nehru, Baghi Jarnail and Vihin Sadi de Shahid.

• He represented Indian writers at International conferences at Stockholm in 1954, and at Tokyo in 1961. He was posthumously decorated wilh Padma Vibhushan, the second highest national award of India.
• Giani Gurmukhi Singh Musafir died in Delhi on 18 January 1976.

18. Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush-

• Sikh scientists , Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush with his dedication and hard worked developed more than 200 varieties of Rice.
• Dr. Gurdev S. Khush is a plant breeder and geneticist at International Rice Institute at Phillipines. In 1967, Khush joined International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and has been at the forefront in improving rice varieties ever since.
• Khush has been the recipient of numerous awards including Japan Prize from the Japan Center for Science and Technology in 1987 and the World Food Prize in 1996 that he shared with retired IRRI colleague Mr. Henry Beachell.
• Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush now lives in Phillipines with his family

19. Gurbachan Singh Talib (1911-1986)- 

• Gurbachan Singh Talib was a scholar, author and teacher, famous for his command of the English language. He was born in a small town, Munak, in the present Sangrur district, on 7 April 1911,
• Professor Gurhachan Singh Talib was a prolific writer both in English and Punjabi, though he knew Persian and Urdu very well, too.

• Among his best-known books in Punjabi are: Anapachhate Rah (1952); Adhunik Punjabi Sahit (Punjabi Kav) (1955); Pavittar Jivan Kathavan (1971); Baba Shaikh Farid (1975), and in English “Muslim League Attack on the Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab, 1947 (1950)”; The Impact of Guru Cobind Singh on Indian Society (1966), Guru Nanak: His Personality and Vision (1969), Bhai Vir Singh: Life, Times and Works (1973); Baba Sheikh Farid (1974); Guru Tegh Bahadur: Background and Supreme Sacrifice (1976) Japuji: The immortal Prayer-chant (1977); and his classical translation in English of the Adi Guru Granth (Four Volumes). Besides these books, he kept an unending flow of articles and papers contributed to different journals.

20. Baba Kharak Singh–

• Birth- 6 June 1868 at Sialkot, now in Pakistan
• Death- 6 October 1963, Delhi

Events Associated-

1. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (1st President)
2. 5th session of the Sikh Educational Conference,
3. World War I,
4. Jallianwala Bagh massacre (President)
5. Central Sikh league council,
6. Non-co-operation movement,
7. Punjab Provincial Congress Committee (President)

   

• Kharak Singh, having passed his matriculation examination from Mission High School and intermediate from Murray College, both at Sialkot, joined Government College, Lahore, and was among the first batch of students who graduated from the Punjab University in 1889
• He started his public life in 1910 as chairman of the reception committee of the 5th session of the Sikh Educational Conference held at Sialkot
• Three years later, as president of the 8th session of the Conference held at Tarn Taran, he surprised everyone by walking to the site of the conference breaking the custom of being carried in state on a buggy driven by six horses
• He also refused permission for a resolution to be moved at the conference wishing victory to the British in World War I.
• It was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 which brought Kharak Singh actively into Sikh politics
• In 1920, he became president of the Central Sikh league council, which under his direction led the Sikhs to participate in the non-co-operation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi
• He successfully led in 1921-22 the agitation for the restoration to the Sikhs of the keys of the Golden Temple treasury seized by the British Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, and underwent during this campaign the first of his numerous jail terms.
• He was jailed on 26 November 1921 for making an anti government speech, he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment on 2 December 1921, but was released on 17January 1922 when the keys of the toshakhana were also surrendered to him.
• He was, however, rearrested soon and, on 4 April 1922, was awarded one year's jail for running a factory for manufacturing kirpans, one of the religious symbols of the Sikhs, and another three years on charges of making seditious speeches.
• He was sent to jail in distant Dera Gazi Khan (now in Pakistan), where in protest against the forced removal of the turbans of Sikh and Gandhi caps of non-Sikh political prisoners, he discarded all his clothes except his kachahira or drawers.
• Despite the extreme weather conditions of the place, he remained bare backed until he was released after his full term (twice extended for non-obedience of orders) on 4 June 1927.
• He had unanimously been elected president in absentia of the Gurdwara Central Board (later re-designated Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) constituted under the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, and was reselected to the high office after fresh elections in 1930.
• He resigned soon after, although he continued to work both for national independence and for the protection of Sikh interests.
• Earlier during 1928-29, he had vehemently opposed the Nehru Committee Report until the Congress Party shelved it and undertook to secure Sikhs' concurrence in the framing of constitutional proposals in the future.
• He opposed, though without success, the Communal Award, which gave statutory majority to Muslims in the Punjab, and was in and out of jail on several occasions for making what the government held to be seditious speeches.
• He was a firm protagonist of national unity and opposed both the Muslim League's demand for Pakistan and the Akali proposal for an Azad Punjab.
• After 1947, he stayed in Delhi in virtual retirement, and died there on 6 October 1963

21. Saifuddin Kitchlew

• Birth - 15 January 1888; Amritsar, Punjab, British India
• Death - 9 October 1963; Delhi, India

Events associated-

1. Indian National Congress,
2. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee,
3. General Secretary of the AICC (1924)
4. Indian National Congress session 1929-30 (Lucknow)
5. Rowlatt Act,
6. Jallianwala Bagh massacre,
7. Stalin Peace Prize or Lenin Peace Prize,
8. Naujawan Bharat Sabha (founding leader),
9. Foundation Committee of Jamia Millia Islamia

• Publication- Urdu daily Tanzim
• Award associated- Stalin Peace Prize
• Saifuddin Kitchlew was an Indian freedom fighter, barrister, politician and a Muslim nationalist leader.
• He is most remembered for the protests in Punjab after the implementation of Rowlatt Act in March 1919, after which on 10 April, he and another leader Satya Pal, were secretly sent to Dharamshala.
• A public protest rally against their arrest and that of Gandhi, on 13 April 1919 at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, led to the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• A member of Indian National Congress, he first became Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (Punjab PCC) head and later the General Secretary of the AICC in 1924.
• Kitchlew was also the chairman of the reception committee of the Congress session in Lahore in 1929-30, where on 26 January 1930; the Indian National Congress declared Indian independence and inaugurated an era of civil disobedience and revolution aimed to achieve full independence.
• Kitchlew was a founding leader of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha (Indian Youth Congress), which rallied hundreds of thousands of students and young Indians to nationalist causes.
• He was a member of the Foundation Committee of Jamia Millia Islamia, which met on 29 October 1920 and led to the foundation of Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• He started an Urdu daily Tanzim and was instrumental in the establishment of Swaraj Ashram in January 1921 at Amritsar to train young men for national work and to promote Hindu-Muslim unity.
• Throughout the 1930-1934 struggles, Kitchlew was repeatedly arrested, and in all spent fourteen years behind bars.
• He was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize (now known as Lenin Peace Prize) in 1952.

22. Kartar Singh Sarabha

• Birth- 24 May 1896, village Sarabha, Ludhiana District
• Death- 16 November 1915, Lahore, Pakistan

Events associated-

1. Ghadar party,
2. Ikk Mian Do Talwaran
3. Publication- Newspaper Ghadar (Gurmukhi edition of the paper)
4. Statue- In Ludhiana

• After receiving his primary education in his own village, Kartar Singh entered the Malwa Khalsa High school at Ludhiana for his matriculation.
• In 1912, when he was barely 16 years old he sailed for San Francisco (U.S.A), and joined the University of California at Berkeley, enrolling for a degree in chemistry.
• His association with Nalanda club of Indian students at Berkeley aroused his patriotic sentiments and he felt agitated about the treatment immigrants from India, especially manual, worker received in the United States.
• When the Ghadar party was founded in mid-1913 with Sohan Singh, a Sikh peasant from Bhakna village in Amritsar district, as president and Hardyal as secretary, Kartar Singh stopped his university work, moved in with Har Dayal and became his helpmate in running the revolutionary newspaper Ghadar (revolt).
• He undertook the responsibility for printing of the Gurmukhi edition of the paper. He composed patriotic poetry for it and wrote articles.
• He also went out among the Sikh farmers and arranged meetings at which he and other Ghadar leaders made speeches urging them to united action against British.
• At a meeting at Sacramento, California, on 31 October 1913, he jumped to the stage and began to sing: "chalo chaliye desh nu Yuddha Karen, eho aakhiri vachan Te Farman ho Gaye" (come! let us go and join the battle of freedom; the final call has come, let us go!" Kartar Singh was one of the first to follow his own call.
• As World was I broke out, members of Ghadar party were openly exhorted to return to India to make armed revolt against the British.
• Kartar Singh left the United States on 15 September 1914, nearly a month ahead of the main body of Sikhs who were to follow.
• He returned to India via Colombo, resolved to set up in his village a centre on the model of Ghadar party's yugantar Ashram in San Francisco.
• When Bhai Parmanand arrived in India in December 1914 to lead the movement, Kartar Singh was charged with spreading the network in Ludhiana district.
• In this connection he went to Bengal to secure weapons, and made contacts with revolutionaries such as Vishnu Ganesh Pingley, Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Rash Bihari Bose.
• With Pingley, Kartar Singh visited cantonments at Meerut, Agra, Benaras, Allahabad, Ambala, Lahore and Rawalpind, with a view to inciting soldiers to revolt.
• As far as armaments, Kartar Singh and his associates succeeded in manufacturing bombs on a small scale at Jhabeval and later at Lohtbaddi, both in Ludhiana district, Kartar Singh organized and participated in raids on the villages of Sahneval and Mansuran in January 1915, in order to procure funds for the party.
• In February 1915, just before the planned revolt was to erupt, there was a massive roundup of the Ghadar leaders, following the disclosures made by a police informer, Kirpal, who had surreptiously gained admittance into the party.
• Kartar Singh, Jagat Singh of Sursingh, and Harnam Singh Tundilat escaped to Kabul.
• All three however came back to Punjab to continue their work. There were seized on 2 March 1915 at Wilsonpur, in Shahpur district, where they had gone to incite the troops of the 22nd Cavalry.
• The trial of arrested leaders in the Lahore conspiracy cases of 1915-1916 highlighted the role of Kartar Singh Sarabha in the movement.
• He was sentenced to death on 13 September 1915 and he received the hangman's noose on 16 November 1915 Singh his favourite patriotic song.
• A statue of Kartar Singh, erected in the city of Ludhiana commemorates his legendary heroism.
• Bhagat Singh, another great revolutionary of Indian freedom, regarded Kartar Singh as his guru, friend and brother.
• He has also been immortalized in the fictional account Ikk Mian Do Talwaran by the famous Punjabi novelist, Nanak Singh.

23. Master Tara Singh

• Birth - 24 June 1885, Harial, Pakistan
• Death- 22 November 1967, Chandigarh

Events associated-

1. Sikh Gurdwara Reforms Movement,
2. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (first General Secretary)
3. Nankana Sahib tragedy,
4. Non-cooperation movement,
5. Gandhi-Irwin pact,
6. Indian National Congress,
7. Akali Party,
8. Muslim League

• Books- Henry David Thoreau
• Prior to Mr Tohra, Master Tara Singh was the only other Sikh who was known by the honour of “Panth Rattan”.
• Master Tara Singh, a veteran Akali leader and freedom fighter, was a prominent figure in Sikh politics
• After getting his teacher's training from Govt. Training College, Lahore, he started his career as the Headmaster of Khalsa High School, Lyallpur, drawing Rs.15 per month from his pay of Rs.150 and the rest he donated to the school funds.
• He actively participated in the Sikh Gurdwara Reforms Movement from its very inception, but after the Nankana Sahib tragedy in 1921 wherein more than 200 Sikhs were killed, he left his teaching profession and became a whole time public worker.
• He was the first General Secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and later it’s President for various terms.
• After the successful end of the Gurdwara Reforms Movement, Master Tara Singh declared, 'Now it is our duty to struggle for the freedom of our biggest Gurdwara, our country, from the clutches of British Imperialism.'
• He took active part in the Non-cooperation movement in 1930. During this movement the police opened fire on the Pathans (lal kurti) in Peshawar. Master Tara Singh took a jatha of 101 Sikh Satyagraphis from Akal Takht, Amritsar to Peshawar in protest. He was arrested and released after the Gandhi-Irwin pact of 1931.
• He along with other Akalis remained a member of the Indian National Congress till 1940, with dual membership of Akali Dal and Congress. Later, he continued to participate in the National Freedom Movement as leader of Akali Party.
• In 1947, Master Tara Singh and the Akali Dal opposed the formation of Pakistan.
• He was the first to raise the slogan of 'Pakistan Murdabad', outside Punjab Assembly, Lahore, in the presence of the pro-Pakistani crowds.
• He refused to be tempted by the Muslim League offer of an autonomous Sikh state within the political boundaries of Pakistan.
• After Independence, Master Tara Singh raised his demand for the re-demarcation of the boundaries of Punjab on linguistic basis.
• During this struggle he was arrested in 1949, 1953, 1955 and 1960.

24. Harchand Singh Laungowal (1932-1985)-

• Sant Harchand Singh Laungowal was a Sikh political and religious leader in 1970’s and 1980’s.
• In 1965, he became the president of the Akali Jatha of Sangrur District and a member of the working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
• Harchand Singh retired from politics in 1977 but was recalled in 1980 to lead Akali Dal, Then he was made president of Akali Dal. His presidentship of party was a period of extreme turmoil and trial for Sikhs.
• However, the general elections of January 1985 saw the Sikhs busily involved in electioneering. After this election, Harchand Singh Laungowal and Rajiv Gandhi prime minister of India signed an accord under which many of demands of Sikhs were accepted by Rajiv Gandhi. But before the process had come full circle, the Sant was shot by an unidentified young man presumed to be an extremist Sikh Youth. This happened on 20 August, 1985 at the Gurdwara in Sherpur, not far from Laungowal.

25. Ghadriite Harnam Singh Tundilat (1882-1962)-

• Ghadriite Harnam Singh Tundilat (1882-1962) , a Ghadr revolutionary was born, 11 March 1882, in Hoshiarpur district of the Punjab. On 12 July 1906, he emigrated to Canada and then to California in the United States of America in December 1909.
• He attended a meeting of Indian immagrants at Portland in the beginning of 1912 which led to the formation of Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast, later renamed Hindi Association of the Pacific Coast, but populally known as the Ghadr Party.
• Harnam Singh was a revolutionary poet and a writer of prose of considerable merit. Three collections of his poems have been published Harnam Lafairan, Kurltl SudSIar and Harnam Sandesh. His prose works include Sacheha Sauda, Akhlaq te Mazhab, both in Punjabi, and Mazhab aur Insaniat, in Urdu.

26. Maharaja Yadavinder Singh (1913- 1974)-

• He was a Grand Commander of the Indian Empire , was the last hereditary ruler of the erstwhile Indian princely state of Patiala.
• Maharaja Yadavinder Singh founded the Khalsa Defence of India League. His support of the War effort was rewarded in 1944 by an honorary appointment as Lieutenant-Colonel in the Indian army.
• On 1 August 1947, twenty-two members of states, with Maharaja Yadavinder Singh leading, signified their decision to accede to the Indian Union and others followed in quick succession. In May 1948 he gave his assent to the merger of Patiala with seven other Punjab states to constitute what came to be known as the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU).
• In November 1952, in accordance with the recommendations of the States Reorganization Comission, PEPSU was merged With East Punjab and Yadavinder Singh, Thereafter Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sent him to New York as a member of tlle Indian delegation to the 11th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
• In 1965, the Lal Bahadur Shastri government appointed him to the prestigious post of Indian Ambassador in Rome, where he served until 1967.
• Throughout the late 1969’s, Yadavinder Singh continued his association with FAO and the Council of Sports, and in 1970 took on a new role as chairman of the Indian horticulture development council. In 1971, Yadavinder Singh took up his second and last permanent diplomatic postings at the Hague in the Netherlands. Three years ater, on 17 June 1974, he suffered a severe heart attack and died. He was 61 years of age.

27. Milkha Singh-

• He was the only Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games until Krishna Poonia won the discus gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
• He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games.
• He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
• He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements. (1959)

    1st Gold medal 1958 Asian Games – 200 m
    1st Gold medal 1958 Asian Games – 400 m
    1st Gold medal 1958 Commonwealth Games – 440 yards
    1st Gold medal 1962 Asian Games – 400 m
    1st Gold medal 1962 Asian Games – 4 x 400 m relay
    2nd Silver medal 1964 Calcutta National Games – 400 m

28. Bishan Singh Bedi-

• Bishan Singh Bedi is a former Indian cricketer who was primarily a slow left-arm orthodox bowler.
• He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet.

29. Navjot Singh Sidhu

• Navjot Singh Sidhu is an Indian politician, television personality and former cricketer.
• He currently serves as the Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs, and Museums of the State of Punjab.
• In 2017, he joined the Indian National Congress and was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly from Amritsar East.

30. Harbhajan Singh

• A specialist spin bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan
• He is the former captain of IPL team Mumbai Indians and Punjab for the 2012–13 Ranji Trophy season.
• He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009

31. Yuvraj Singh

• Yuvraj has been a member of the Indian cricket team in ODIs since October 2000 and played his first Test match in October 2003.
• He was the vice-captain of the Indian ODI team between 2007–2008
• He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won.
• In a match against England at the 2007 World Twenty20, he famously hit six sixes in one over bowled by Stuart Broad — a feat performed only three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never in an international match between two Test cricket teams.
• In 2012, Yuvraj was conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award by the Government of India.
• Padma Shri (2014)

32. Ajit Pal Singh

• Indian professional field hockey player from Sansarpur, Punjab
• He was the captain of the Indian hockey team. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1970, and awarded it in 1972.
• He was captain of the Indian team at the Hockey World Cup 1975 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• He represented India in three Olympics from 1968 through 1976, winning bronze medals in his first two Olympic Games.
• He was appointed as India's chef de mission for 2012 Summer Olympics. It was the first time that a sports person was given this opportunity, as earlier this position went to either politicians or administrators
• He is also at present the organising member of All India Balwant Singh Kapur Hockey Tournament for Mata Parkash Kaur Cup held every year for school boys’ under-16.

• Padma Shri (1992)

33. Gagan Ajit Singh-

• Field hockey striker from India
• Singh made his professional debut in 1997 during a test series against Russia, Singh played at the 2000 and the 2004 Summer Olympics, where India finished in seventh place on both occasions.
• Since that last tournament, Singh is playing in the Netherlands, for HC Klein Zwitserland, alongside his fellow countryman Dilip Tirkey.
• He was caption of Indian Junior team that won Junior World Cup in 2001
• Member of the All Asian men’s hockey team in 2002.

• Arjuna award in 2002

34. Pargat Singh-

• Pargat Singh (born 5 March 1965) is a hockey player turned politician in India and belongs to the Indian National Congress in Punjab.
• He is a former Indian hockey player and his playing position was of full back.
• He was considered as one of the world's best defenders erstwhile.
• He captained Indian men's hockey team at 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
• He was nominated for Jalandhar Cantonment legislative seat as SAD nominee which he subsequently won.

35. Jeev Milkha Singh-

• Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998.
• He has won four events on the European Tour, becoming the most successful Indian on tour.
• He was the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking in October 2006.

• Padma Shri in 2007.

36. Jyoti Singh Randhawa-

• Jyoti Singh Randhawa (born 4 May 1972) is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 and 2009.
• Randhawa turned professional in 1994.
• He participates on the Asian Tour and the European Tour.
• In 2002, he finished top on the Asian Tour money list.
• His best finish on the European Tour is tied second in the 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic.

37. Abhinav Singh Bindra-

• Abhinav Bindra (born 28 September 1982 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India) is an Indian businessman and retired professional shooter who is a former World and Olympic champion in the 10 metre Air Rifle event.
• By winning the gold in the 10 metre Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.
• It was also India's first gold medal since 1980, when the Men's Field Hockey Team won the gold.
• He is the first and only Indian to have held both the World and Olympic titles at the same time, a feat he accomplished by capturing the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, after having won the gold at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Bindra also won the Gold Medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
• In 2014, Abhinav Bindra joined the GoSports Foundation, Bangalore as a member of their board of advisors. In collaboration with the GoSports Foundation, he will also provide support to India's up and coming talented shooters through the Abhinav Bindra Shooting Development Programme.
• In May 2016, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) appointed Abhinav Bindra as the Goodwill Ambassador for Rio 2016 Olympic Games Indian Contingent.
• In the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Bindra finished 4th in the finals of the 10 metre Air Rifle Event. On 5 September, 2016, Abhinav Bindra announced his retirement.

38. Prabhjot Singh-

• Prabhjot Singh (born 14 August 1980) is a field hockey forward for the Indian National Hockey Team.
• Prabhjot debuted for the Men's National Team in 2001. He was part of the national squad in the 2004 Athens Olympic, where India finished in 7th place.
• Apart from representing India in hockey, he is also an officer in Indian Oil.
• He was the captain of the Sher-e-Punjab team in the World Series Hockey in 2012.
• He was awarded Arjuna Award in 2008 for exceptional performance as an Indian striker.
• Recently he led Sher- e- Punjab in the World Series Hockey in the inaugural edition.

39. Harjeet Singh

• Harjeet Singh (born 2 January 1996) is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a Midfielder.
• He captained the Indian squad at the 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup that went unbeaten throughout the tournament, eventually winning a Gold medal

40. Master Tara Singh (1885 - 1967)-

• Master Tara Singh was born in a Punjabi Hindu Malhotra family of Rawalpindi. It is indeed remarkable that from humble origins he arose to the top of Sikh leadership, culminating with the creation of Punjabi State in Independent India.
• Tara Singh Malhotra is remembered for two things, one steering Sikhs towards opting for India in 1947 and other to campaign for the state of Punjab in Independent India.

41. Sardul Singh Caveeshar (1886-1963)-

• Sardul Singh Caveeshar (1886-1963) was a politician, newspaper editor and author, born at Amritsar in 1886, In 1913 he launched an English journal, Sikh Review, from Delhi. For a series of articles he had published in the Akali from 13 to 21 March 1921 on the massacre of reformist Sikhs at Nankana Sahib, he was arrested on 27 May 1921, charged with sedition and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment
• In 1927, he was elected a member of the Working Commiittee of the Indian National Congress. During the Civil Disobedience movement, 1931-33, Sardul Singh became acting president of the All-lndia Congress.

• Sardul Singh was a prolofic writer. The most famous are Guru Nanak and World peace, All Year Round: Guru Arjan’s Twelve Months of love and Worship, battle of Life: How Guru Gobind Singh fought it, Guru Gobind Singh and national movement, The Cross and the Crown, Republicanism in religion, the city of joy, spirit of sikhism, A Sikh king: Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Two Jewels of the house of Phul, The problem of life: How Guru Nanak solved it, India’s fight for freeddom (1936), Sikh studies(1937), Sikhs and the Swaraj, non-violent non-cooperation, The Lahore Fort Torture Camp (1946)
• His Sikh Dharm Darshan in Punjabi was published by Punjabi University, Patiala in 1969

42. Sobha Singh (1901-1986)-

• Sobha Singh was a famous Sikh painter, famous especially for his portraits of the Gurus. He was born on 29 November l901 in a Ramgarhia family of Sri Hargobindpur, in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab.
• Sobha Singh was skilled in the western classical technique of oil painting.
• Sohni-Mahinval was rated to be a real masterpiece; its impact upon the Puniabi consciousness was of a lasting nature. What gave Sobha Singh the utmost satisfaction was his paintings of the Gurus of the Sikh faith.
• Much acclaimed and honoured in his lifetime, Sobha Singh died in Chandigarh on 21 August 1986

43. Sir Sobha Singh (1890-1978)-

• Sir Sobha Singh (1890-1978) was the single largest builder and real estate owner of New Delhi, was the elder of the two sons of Sujan Singh, the younger one being Wjal Singh who made himself famous as a Punjab parliamentarian.
• Despite this handicap, he became the first lndian president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee. He was knighted by the government and appointed a member of the Council of States. Sobha Singh left the greater part of his private estate to a charitable trust. Among his last bequests was one for Bhagat Puran Singh’s Pingalvara in Amritsar, home for lepers.
• Sir Sobha Singh had four sons and a daughter by his wife, Lady Varyam Kaur. Writer and author, his son “KS” or Khushwant Singh has made himself known the world over for his audacious and fresh style of writing.

44. Bhai Randheer Singh ji-

• Bhai Randheer Singh, whose original name before baptism and initiation into the Khalsa fold was Basant Singh, was born in the village of Narangwal in the Ludhiana District of Punjab on July 7, 1878.  
• He, along with the Ghadarite emigrants from USA and Canada, became an active participant in the armed revolt against the British Government for the country’s freedom.

45. Professor Puran Singh ji(1881-1931)-

• Professor Puran Singh, poet and scientist, was born on 17 February 1881 at Sarhadd (Abottabad) He published for some time an English monthly, the Thundering Dawn, which also mainly addressed itself to the theme of British repression in India. got married to Maya Devi.
• He was a lover of nature and beauty, and wrote beautiful and tender poetry both in English and Punjabi. Among his famous works in English are The Sisters of the Spinning Wheel (1921), Unstrung Beads (1923), The Spirit of Onental Poetry (1926); in Punjahi, Khulhe Maidan, Khulhe Ghu,nd (1923), Khulhe Lekh (1929), and Khulhe Asmani Rang ( 1927) .

46. Dr. Parkash Kaur-

• The first lady minister of East Punjab(1956), and was given the portfolios of Social welfare and Health.
• She was born in village Khara in the year 1914. She was a member of the Kasturba Memorial Trust established for rehabilitation of refugees. She continued operating Red Cross camps in villages. She was a member of the State Social Welfare Board continuously from 1954 to 1978 and worked endlessly for the welfare of women and children.

47. Pratap Singh Kairon-

• Birth- 1 October 1901
• Death - 6 February 1965

Events associated-

1. Member of the Shiromani Akali Dal
2. Civil disobedience movement
3. Quit India Movement
4. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946
5. Creation of the city of Chandigarh and the industrial township of Faridabad

• Partap Singh Kairon was the Chief Minister of the Punjab province (then comprising Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh), and is widely acknowledged as the architect of post-Independence Punjab Province (or Punjab, Haryana and Himachal as of today). Moreover, he was an Indian independence movement leader.
• He was jailed twice by the British Empire, once for five years for organizing protests against British rule.
• Sometimes called as father of modern Punjabi Politics
• On 13 April 1932 he started an English language weekly paper called The New Era in Amritsar.
• He was first a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal, and later of the Indian National Congress.
• He was jailed in 1932 for five years for participating in civil disobedience.
• He entered the Punjab Legislative Assembly as an Akali nominee in 1937, defeating the Congress candidate, Baba Gurdit Singh of Sarhali.
• From 1941 to 1946, he was the General Secretary of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee.
• He was jailed again in the 1942 Quit India Movement and was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946.
• After Independence in 1947, Partap Singh Kairon held various offices in the elected state government including Rehabilitation Minister, Development Minister (1947–1949) and Chief Minister (21 January 1956 to 23 June 1964).
• In his role in implementing land reforms, the late leader established the Punjab Agricultural University, which played a key role in the Green Revolution.
• He also placed Punjab on the industrial map of the country.
• He was behind the creation of the city of Chandigarh and the industrial township of Faridabad (in present-day Haryana).
• Kairon made primary and middle school education free and compulsory.
• He opened three engineering colleges and a polytechnic in each district.

48. Baldev Singh (1902-1961)-

• Baldev Singh was industrialist politician and the first Defence Minister of India at Independence was born on 11 July 1902, to a Sikh family of Chokar Jatts at the village of Dummna, in Ropar district of the Punjab.
• In the first general election held under the Constitution in 1952, he was elected to Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) on Congress nomination , but was not included in the Cabinet by Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He was reselected to Parliament in 1957.
• He died in Delhi on 29 June 1961.

49. Kaur Singh Chakkar (1892-1954 A.D.)-

• Chakkar Kaur Singh belonged to Averha Chakkar, Tehsil Uri, District Muzzffarabad, Kashmir. He did not marry and devoted himself to missionary work of Sikh religion. During the tribal invasion of Kashmir, he lost 111 relatives including his aged mother. This stirred him into action.
• He went to Delhi and became guide of the first Indian army which landed at Srinagar to stem the tide of tribal invasion and remained there till cease-fire was declared.
• Later on, he devoted himself to the recovery of abducted women. In 1951, he met one Goodwill Mission from Pakistan, convinced them about the miserable conditions of women and children at Amor Camp and was also able to secure a promise of help.

50. Sardar Kishen Singh ji-

• Sardar Kishen Singh belonged to villae Birang, district Jalandhar. He was a Havaldar Major in 2/35 Sikh regiment. He was court martialled for twenty eight days on the charge of propaganda against the Government and was pensioned off. He joined Akali movement in 1920 A.D. For being a good preacher, he was made secretary of the Akali Dal in April 1921 A.D.
• He held a conference at Rurka Kalan in Jalandhar District and named his preacher Jatha as ‘Chakravart Jatha’ (Squad on the move). In August 1922 A.D. he started a secret news paper by the name of Babbar Akali Doaba and renamed their squad as ‘Babbar Akali Jatha’. Provoking articles and emotional poems were published in that news paper.

51. Pehelvan Kikkar Singh Sandhu (1857-1914)-

• Kikkar Singh Sandhu ‘Pehelvan’ was a wrestler of legendary fame. He was born in 1857 in Lahore district (now in Pakistan). Kikkar Singh was counted as the leading Indian wrestler and one among the best in the world.

52. Baba Khem Singh Bedi (1832-1905)-    

• Baba Khem Singh Bedi one of the founders of the Singh Sabha movement, was born on 21 February 1832 at Kallar, a small town in Rawalpindi district, now in Pakistan.
• He was a direct descendant, in the thirteenth place, of Guru Nanak. On 8 April 1905, he left Peshawar by rail in a state of’ serious sickness and feebleness, and died at Montgomery on 10 April 1905.

53. Sardar Khushwant Singh-

• He is the high priest of journalism and can be said to be India’s best. he is a free thinker and an international celebrity. Khushwant Singh had become a legend and an icon in his lifetime.
• He is a lawyer, critic and columnist. He is a prolific writer and historian.

54. Gaini Zail Singh-

• Birth- 5th May1916, Sandhwan (Faridkot district)

Events associated-

1. Praja Mandal
2. Revenue officer of PEPSU
3. Minister of Agriculture
4. Chief Minister of Punjab from Congress (1972)
5. President of India (1982)
6. Operation Blue Star

Title details-

• He earned the title 'Giani' which means 'a learned person', as he was well versed in Sikh doctrines and philosophies and had learned the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs
• He got admission in Shaheed Sikh Missionary College without fulfilling the minimum qualification of matriculation pass, as he impressed the authorities with his public speaking
• In his home district of Faridkot, Singh established the Praja Mandal, a political organisation allied to the Congress Party, in the year 1983. This insurrectionary act led him to a five-year jail sentence. It was during his incarceration that he took the name of Zail Singh.
• Starting his career with state politics, in 1949, he became the Revenue Minister of the recently formed Patiala and East Punjab States Union under Chief Minister Gian Singh Rarewala
• He became Minister of Agriculture in 1951 and became a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1956 till 1962
• The turning point in his career came when in 1972, he was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab from Congress
• In 1980, after being elected in the 7th Lok Sabha, he was appointed as the cabinet minister of then PM Indira Gandhi in the Ministry of Home Affairs
• On July 25, 1982, he was unanimously chosen as the President, a post he served for one full term, till 1987
• Important Fact- Singh used a pocket veto to refuse assent to the "Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill" in 1986 to show his opposition to the bill. The bill was later withdrawn by the V. P. Singh Government in 1990.
• He came under the scanner during 'Operation Blue Star', when Indira Gandhi ordered the army and police force to combat Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers in the Golden Temple, Amritsar.
• Since army orders were supposed to come directly from the President, many people raised questions as to how Indira Gandhi managed to order the army to carry out the mission
• Singh had to face more dissension when after Indira Gandhi's assassination, he appointed Rajiv Gandhi as the PM, under whose rule many more Sikhs had been slain
• On November 29, 1994, he met with an accident on his way to a pilgrimage to Anandpur Sahib. He was admitted in Chandigarh, but succumbed to his injuries on December 25, 1994.
• He was cremated at the Raj Ghat Memorial in old Delhi.
• A commemorative postage stamp was issued by India's Department of Posts on the occasion of Singh's first death anniversary in 1995.

55. Inder Kumar Gujral

• Birth- 4 December 1919
• Death- 30 November 2012

Events associated-

1. Prime Minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998
2. Third PM from Rajya Sabha
3. Quit India Movement
4. member of the Communist Party of India
5. vice-president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee
6. Water Resources Minister
7. Minister of External Affairs

'Gujral Doctrine’-

• The Gujral Doctrine is a set of five principles to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India’s immediate neighbours, notably Pakistan, as spelt out by Gujral.
• First, with the neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, India does not ask for reciprocity but gives all that it can in good faith and trust.
• Secondly, no South Asian country will allow its territory to be used against the interest of another country of the region.
• Thirdly, none will interfere in the internal affairs of another.
• Fourthly, all South Asian countries must respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• And finally, they will settle all their disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations.
• These five principles, scrupulously observed, will, I am sure, recast South Asia’s regional relationship, including the tormented relationship between India and Pakistan, in a friendly, cooperative mould.

• Inder Kumar Gujral served as the Prime Minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998.
• Gujral was the third PM to be from the Rajya Sabha, the first being Indira Gandhi and the second H. D. Deve Gowda.
• He also participated in the Indian independence movement and was jailed in 1942 during the Quit India Movement.
• As a student, he became a member of the Communist Party of India.
• Gujral became vice-president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee in 1958 and joined the Congress party (INC) in 1964.
• He was close to Indira Gandhi and became a member of the Rajya Sabha in April 1964. During the emergency of June 1975, Gujral was Minister of Information and Broadcasting, where he was in charge of the media during a time of censorship in India and was in charge of Doordarshan.
• He again was selected to the Rajya Sabha to serve until 1976.
• He also served as Water Resources Minister. Later, Gujral was appointed Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union by Indira Gandhi and stayed on during the tenures of Morarji Desai and Charan Singh.
• Gujral resigned from the Indian National Congress party in the 1980s. Then he joined the Janata Dal.
• In the Indian general election, 1989, Gujral was elected from Jalandhar in Punjab.
• He served as Minister of External Affairs in Prime Minister V. P. Singh's eleventh cabinet of India.
• In 1989, Singh sent him to Srinagar to negotiate with the perpetrators of the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed.
• In the Indian general election, 1991, Gujral contested from Patna in Bihar. However, the election was countermanded following complaints of 'irregularities'.
• In 1992, Gujral was selected to the Rajya Sabha with the help of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
• Subsequent to the 1996 election, when the United Front government was formed under the premiership of H. D. Deve Gowda, Gujral was again named Minister of External Affairs.
• He also served as Union Minister or Minister of State of several other portfolios—Communications and Parliamentary Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Works and Housing and Planning.
• Gujral was a member of the Club de Madrid after his tenure as the Prime Minister ended.

56. Harcharan Singh Brar-

• Birth- 21 January 1919
• Death - 6 September 2009

Events associated-

1. 13th Chief Minister of Punjab
2. Governor of Odisha
3. Governor of Haryana
4. Credited with-
5. Creation of Muktsar and Moga districts out of Faridkot district

• He was the 13th Chief Minister of Punjab and held this position from 31 August 1995 to 21 November 1996. He succeeded the assassinated Chief Minister Beant Singh.
• At the time he was member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Muktsar Assembly Constituency.
• Brar was a member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha five times: from Muktsar in 1960-62, re-elected in 1962-67 and 1992–97, Giddarbaha in 1967-72, Kotakpura in 1969-74.
• He served as the Governor of Odisha from February 1977 to September 1977, and Governor of Haryana from 24 September 1977 to 9 December 1979.
• He took over as chief minister of Punjab on 31 August 1995 after the assassination of the chief minister Beant Singh in a bomb blast outside the Punjab and Haryana Secretariat in Chandigarh.
• He is credited with the creation of Muktsar and Moga districts out of Faridkot district. He has also served as Minister of Irrigation and Power, and Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

57. Dr. Balram Jakhar-

• Birth - 23 August 1923
• Death - 3 February 2016

Events associated-

1. Speaker of Lok Sabha
2. establishment of Parliament Museum
3. Central Agriculture minister
4. Governor of Madhya Pradesh
5. Book-People, Parliament and Administration

Title-

• The president of India awarded him 'Udyan Pandit' in 1975 for his contribution to Horticulture.
• Haryana Agricultural University Hissar and Gurukul Kangri Visvavidyalaya Haridwar have awarded him Doctor of Science and ‘'Vidya Martand'’ honorary degrees for his contribution to the Agriculture and Horticulture.

• Jakhar was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1972 and was re-elected in 1977 becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
• He was elected to the seventh Lok Sabha from Ferozepur in 1980 and re-elected to the eighth Lok Sabha from Sikar in 1984.
• He served twice as Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989, a rare achievement in Indian parliament history.
• As Speaker of Lok Sabha he was an instrument for automation and computerization of Parliamentary works.
• He promoted Parliament library, reference, research, documentation and information services for the knowledge and use of members of Parliament.
• The establishment of Parliament Museum was his contribution.
• He was first Asian to be elected as Chairman of Commonwealth Parliamentarian Executive Forum.
• He became the Central Agriculture minister in 1991 in INC govt headed by P. V. Narasimha Rao.
• He was Governor of Madhya Pradesh state from 30 June 2004 to 30 May 2009.
• Jakhar was the life president of Bharat Krishak Samaj and president of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust Management Committee.
• He tried to introduce scientific techniques in agriculture to increase production.

58. Panth Rattan Shiri Gurcharan Singh Tohra-

• Birth- 24 September 1924; Tohra village of Patiala district
• Death - 1 April 2004, New Delhi

Events associated-

• President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)

About Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC)-

• A Sikh body in charge of controlling Gurdwara (Sikh places of worship)
• He became General Secretary of the Patiala unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1947.
• Tohra, a graduate in Punjabi from Lahore University, worked at the grass root level for the next two decades and came into contact with Communists, including CPI-M leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet though he did not become one himself.
• Known as a hardliner, Tohra had carved out for himself the image of a non-conformist with the powers-that-be in Akali politics and had taken frontline SAD leaders Surjit Singh Barnala and Parkash Singh Badal who had headed Akali Dal governments in Punjab in the eighties and nineties.
• Tohra was a member of Lok Sabha in 1977–79 though earlier he was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha five times from Punjab from 1969 to 1976 and re-elected in May 1980, April 1982, in April 1998 and in March 2004.
• Along with Parkash Singh Badal and Jagdev Singh Talwandi, he was regarded as the triumvirate of Sikh politics in Punjab.
• Unlike the other two, his main domain was the Sikh religious institution, the SGPC. Though he dabbled with electoral politics often,
• Tohra made his mark in Sikh religious affairs. He is credited with rebuilding the institution of the Akal Takhat.

Operation Blue star-

• Gurcharan Singh Tohra was among the Sikh leaders who were arrested from within the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star, the Indian army action in 1984.
• Tohra was the President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee during the army operation.
• The Akal Takhat was damaged during the army operation and it was rebuilt by kar seva led by Baba Santa Singh.
• Some factions of the Sikh community believe that Tohra along with other members of the then Shiromani Akali Dal had given the nod to the central government of India to launch the attack as they felt Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a threat to their political careers.

59. Sant Harchand Singh Longowal-

• Birth- 2 January 1932; Gidariani, Patiala State, British India
• Death- 20 August 1985; Sherpur, Punjab

Events associated-

1. President of the Akali organization
2. President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s

• In 1962, Harchand Singh was named head of the important historical shrine at Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo), but he took on the suffix "Longowal" which remained with him for the rest of his life. He was affectionately known as "Sant Ji"
• Longowal's life of political activism began in June 1964, when he led a demonstration for Sikh rights at the historic site of Paonta Sahib in the present-day state of Himachal Pradesh.
• In 1965, Harcharan Singh became the president of the Akali organization in Sangrur district and a member of the working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
• In 1969, he was elected to the Punjabi Legislative Assembly as the Akali candidate, defeating the Congress Party's Babu Brish Bhan, who had been chief minister of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU).
• In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court annulled election of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister; she, instead of resigning, imposed the Internal Emergency and arrested thousands of leaders of opposition parties.
• In 1980, Longowal was recalled to preside over the Akali party.
• In March 1985, the leadership of the Akali party began to be released from jail under orders from the new Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
• With a view to improving the situation and creating the conditions for a negotiated settlement of Sikh demands, the prime minister's confidante, Arjun Singh who was posted as the Governor of the state, also relaxed the censorship on the Punjabi press, withdrew army control over certain districts, announced his willingness to institute a judicial enquiry into the November 1984 killings, lifted the ban on the All India Sikh Students Federation and agreed to review the cases of thousands of Sikhs imprisoned since the army's arrival in Punjab the previous June.
• A few days later, Rajiv made an effort to address the economic woes of Punjab, with its diminishing acreages and burgeoning unemployment by announcing the establishment of a rail coach factory at Kapurthala, Punjab which would need about 20,000 skilled hands.
• Then, after weeks of secret negotiations, Harcharnd Singh Longowal met the Prime Minister in Delhi and on 23 July 1985 signed an eleven-point memorandum covering all the major issues which had defied resolution since the Akalis had first presented their list of demand

60. Beant Singh-

• Birth - 19 February 1922; Patiala, Punjab, British India
• Death- 31 August 1995; Chandigarh, India

Events assoicated-

1. Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995
2. He was a member of Indian National Congress

• After the 1947 partition, Beant Singh entered the Punjab politics. In 1960 he was elected chairman of block Samiti (committee) of Doraha, in Ludhiana district.
• After serving for some time as Director of the Central cooperative bank in Ludhiana, Beant Singh entered the Punjab Vidhan Sabha (assembly) as an independent candidate in 1969.
• Beant Singh was assassinated in a bomb blast at the secretariat complex in Chandigarh on 31 August 1995.

61. Surjit Singh Barnala-

• Birth - 21 October 1925; Ateli, Punjab, British India
• (now in Haryana, India)
• Death- 14 January 2017; Chandigarh, India

Events associated-

1. Chief Minister of Punjab
2. Governor of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
3. Minister for Chemical & Fertlizers and Food & Consumer Affairs

Books-

• Story of an Escape, about his experiences of living a disguised life in various locations of India (1996)
• My Other Two Daughters and has been transliterated in Braille by Kunwar Singh Negi (2007)

• Following that he served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands and a Union Minister on handling various portfolios
• Barnala's first ministerial assignment was in 1969 when he was sworn in as Education Minister in the Justice Gurnam Singh Government and was instrumental in setting up the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.
• In 1977 he was elected to the Indian Parliament and was inducted in the Morarji Desai Cabinet as the Agriculture Minister at the time when the Ministry included Irrigation Water Resources, Food, Environment and Forests, Consumer Affairs, Power and Chemical and Fertilizers and Rural Development.
• In 1978, Barnala signed the historic Ganga Waters Agreement (Farakka Agreement) with Bangladesh.
• In 1979, during the turmoil in the national government when PM Morarji Desai resigned, the then President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy toyed with the idea of appointing an interim government with Barnala as Prime Minister but had to drop the idea at the last moment fearing horse trading by a top member of the Cabinet, and Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh assumed Prime Minister ship.
• Barnala served as Chief Minister of Punjab from 29 September 1985 until 11 May 1987. Barnala, a member of the Sikh political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal) served as Chief Minister during a period of Sikh militant movement in Punjab.
• The state had under in Barnala's chief ministership from 1985 to 1987, and after nearly two years in office, President's Rule was imposed.
• Since then, Barnala has served as a Governor of several states.
• He first served as Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1990 to 1991 for about nine months.
• Barnala refused to recommend the dismissal of the Tamil Nadu government, and when he was later transferred as Governor of Bihar he choose to resign.
• He served as the lieutenant governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands from December 1990 to 18 March 1993.
• In 1996, Barnala once again came close to becoming Prime Minister as in 1996 General Elections with no political party getting mandate it was a good time for a regional party to have its Prime Minister.
• Regional Parties accounted about 80 MP's in the Lok Sabha The Assam Gana Parishad of Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Telugu Desam Party of Chandra Babu Naidu including The Left parties zeroed on Barnala but last minute Barnala's parent party Shiromani Akali Dal led by Barnala's supposedly close friend Parkash Singh Badal without informing Barnala joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party hence Barnala yet again missed being Prime Minister.
• In 1997, Barnala was a candidate of the BJP and its Allies in the election of the Vice-President of India.
• In 1998, Barnala was again elected to Parliament and became the minister for Chemical & Fertlizers and Food & Consumer Affairs in the Vajpayee Cabinet.
• He was the First Governor of Uttarakhand from its creation in 2000 until 2003, and Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2003 to 2004 during this time he also held additional charge of Orissa as Governor for some time, and was Governor of Tamil Nadu till 31 August 2011 during his Tamil Nadu years he also held additional charge of Puducherry for a few months.
• He is the second longest-serving Governor in Indian History after Dr. A R Kidwai and the only Governor to have served three terms in the history of Tamil Nadu State of 300 Years.

62. Parkash Singh Badal

• Birth - 8 December 1927

Events associated-

• Chief Minister-  1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017

Awards-

• 2nd highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan (2015)

Title-

• On 11 December 2011, Badal was bestowed upon the title of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum (literally "Jewel of the religion, pride of the community") by the Akal Takht.
• He was awarded this title at Golden Temple complex in the presence of Jathedars of all five Takhts in the form of a “siropa” (robe of honour), a sword and a silver plaque with inscription of the citation of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum.
• Badal was awarded this title for his service towards the Sikh Panth by creating many memorials pertaining to Sikhism such as Virasat-e-Khalsa, besides being imprisoned for long time and having faced atrocities during various Akali movements.
• This award was retracted by the Sikh Panth at Sarbat Khalsa on 10 November 2015 due to allegations of Civil Rights Violations and failure to recognize the oppression faced by the Sikhs of Punjab.

• He was the president of the party from 1995 to 2008, when he was replaced by his son Sukhbir Singh Badal.
• As the patron of SAD he exercises a strong influence on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
• He was Sarpanch of the Village Badal and later Chairman of Block Samiti, Lambi before rising into Punjab politics.
• He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1957 for the first time.
• He was re-elected in 1969, serving as Minister for Community Development, Panchayati Raj, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries.
• He was Leader of the Opposition in 1972, 1980 and 2002.
• He has been elected in Vidhan Sabha for a total of 10 times, in 1957 and in each election since 1969, except for the February 1992 election, in which he led a boycott of state elections by the Akalis.
• In 1997 elections he won from Lambi Assembly Constituency and has been a consecutive winner in four terms.
• He was a union minister in Prime Minister Morarji Desai's government in 1977, serving as Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.
• He has served as Punjab Chief Minister for four terms, the first time in 1970 when he became the youngest chief minister of an Indian state.
• He completed his most recent term in March 2017.

63. Amarinder Singh

• Birth- 11 March 1942

Events associated-

1. Indian Army
2. Shiromani Akali Dal
3. Chairman of the Punjab Urdu Academy
4. President of the All India Jat Maha Sabha

Books-

• A Ridge Too Far, Lest We Forget
• The Last Sunset: Rise and Fall of Lahore Durbar
• The Sikhs in Britain: 150 years of Photographs
• Honour and Fidelity: India's Military Contribution to the Great War 1914 to 1918 (released 2014)
• The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce– 1965 India-Pakistan War

• An elected Member of the Legislative Assembly from Patiala, he was also the president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, the state division of the Indian National Congress.
• He has also previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002-2007. His father was the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala.
• He also served in the Indian Army from 1963 to 1966.
• In 1980, he won a seat in the Lok Sabha for the first time.
• He currently also serves as the chairman of the Punjab Urdu Academy.
• He joined the Indian Army in June 1963 after graduating from the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy before resigning in early 1965.
• He rejoined the Army again as hostilities broke out with Pakistan and served as Captain in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. He served in the Sikh Regiment.
• He was inducted into the Congress by Rajiv Gandhi, who was his friend from school and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980.
• In 1984, he resigned from Parliament and from Congress as a protest against the Army action during Operation Blue Star.
• Subsequently, he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal was elected to the state legislature from Talwandi Sabo and became a minister in the state government for Agriculture, Forest, Development and Panchayats.
• In 1992 he broke away from the Akali Dal and formed a splinter group named Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) which later merged with the Congress in 1998
• He served as the President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on two occasions from 1999 to 2002 and 2010 to 2013; he also became Chief Minister of Punjab in 2002 and continued until 2007.
• He was appointed as chairman of Punjab Congress Campaign Committee in 2008. Captain Amarinder Singh is also a Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee since 2013.
• On 27 November 2015, Amarinder Singh was appointed President of Punjab Congress in the run up to Punjab elections slated for 2017.
• On 11 March 2017 Congress Party won the State Assembly Elections under his leadership.
• Amarinder Singh was sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab on 16 March 2017 at Punjab Raj Bhavan, Chandigarh. The oath of office was administered by the Punjab governor, V.P. Singh Badnore.
• Right Now CM to take the final call about "Atta dal Scheme” in Punjab.
• Capt Amarinder Singh is president of the All India Jat Maha Sabha.
• He had been associated with the Jat Maha Sabha for last 30 years as its patron since 1980 when Capt Bhagwan Singh was its president.