Profile :
The scion of royal family of erstwhile state of Patiala, Amrinder Singh, who became the 14th chief minister of Punjab, has personality of a prince, posseses the bravery of a soldier, emotions of a writer and heart of a reformer. He rates himself a humble politicians and firm administrator. Capt. Amarinder Singh is the son of His Highness Late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh
of Patiala.. He was born on 11th March, 1942 at Patiala. He commissioned in the
Indian Army in June 1963 and resigned in early 1965. He rejoined Army immediately
because hostilities broke out with Pakistan and took part in the actual operations in
war against Pakistan and again resigned after the war was over in early 1966
attended a large number of national and International conferencesThe Maharaja , a descendent of the royal family of the erstwhile state of Patiala, has seen both sides of the coin in Punjab – in the Akali Dal and now in the Congress – in a career spanning nearly two decades. The “Maharaja”, as he came to be known in both the Akali Dal and the Congress, joined politics in 1980 when he was elected to Parliament from Patiala on the Congress party ticket.
He is considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family by dint of being a close friend of Rajiv Gandhi.
Singh resigned from Parliament and quit the Congress in June 1984 in
protest against the infamous Operation Blue Star when the army stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar.
In 1985, he was elected to the Punjab state assembly from Dakala in Patiala district and became agriculture minister in the Akali Dal government headed by Barnala.
Again, he resigned from the Barnala government a year later protesting against the entry of the Punjab police into the Golden Temple complex. In May 1991 he formed the Akali Dal (Panthic) party.
Singh made the first attempt at becoming chief minister in 1992 when he decided to contest the assembly elections boycotted by the mainstream Akali Dal.
His fledgling party fared badly and only three of its candidates could make it to the state assembly. He himself lost badly in one constituency but was elected unopposed from another after the Congress withdrew its candidate.
In 1997, he merged his party into the Congress and the next year he was appointed the party’s state chief.
A voracious reader and writer, Singh has written a book on the Kargil
conflict of 1999 when Indian troops fought Islamic mercenaries backed by Pakistan in the icy heights of Jammu and Kashmir.
He also has a passion for environment and wildlife and is chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature-India for Punjab and two other states
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