Parkash Singh Badal

NAME : PARKASH SINGH BADAL

DATE OF BIRTH :  8^TH DECEMBER 1927

BIRTH SIGN : SAGITTARIUS

BEGINNINGS : 

Parkash Singh Badal was born in Abul Khurana Punjab near Malout, India. Parkash Singh Badal graduated from FC College,Lahore and Panjab University as a Bachelors in Arts. He joined the Siromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee at a young age.  He started his political career in 1947.He was the sarpanch of the Badal Village and later was the Chairman of Block Samiti,Lambi. 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. Parkash Singh Badal had been elected in Vidhan Sabha for a total of 10 times. He became the youngest Chief Minister of Punjab in March 1970 at the age of 43 and served five terms as the chief minister of Punjab. He held the record of being the oldest Chief Minister of any Indian State.

BEST KNOWN FOR :

Badal was considered as one of the most powerful Sikh leaders worldwide. In his political  career, he spent 17 years in jail.During Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi Government in 1975-1977,he was imprisoned for a civil liberty agitation. In total he spent 17 years in jail during his career.Badal launched many schemes during his tenure such as free ambulance service,the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant. He reduced taxes on air conditioned buses making it less expensive for companies to operate luxury buses increasing profits of a bus company .

 Badal returned the second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan award to support the 2020–2021 Indian farmers’ protest on 3 December 2020.

In 2016,the Aam Aadmi Party protested at his residence on the issue of farmer suicides and a wheat scam. Badal invited them to his house with folded hands for lunch to discuss the issue. Although the Rivalry continued ,they stopped protests at his residence.

Badal was given the title of Panth Rattan Fakhr e-Qaum which means `Jewel of the religion,pride of the community by the Akal Takht on 11^th December 2011.He created many memorials pertaining to Sikhism such as Virasat-e-Khalsa.Padma Vibhushan was bestowed on him due to his contributions towards politics,agriculture,infrastructure and service to India in March 2015.

FAMILY LIFE :

Badal’s father,S.Raghuraj Singh was a landlord. His family wre generally apolitical and worked in the fields.His mother Sundri Kaur, was a homemaker. He has a brother,Gurdas Singh Badal who is younger to him and is a politician. In 1959,he married Surinder Kaur who died in 2011. He has a son ,Sukhbir Singh Badal,politician and a daughter,Parneet Kaur.

DEATH  :  

Badal died on 25^th April2023 at the age of 95 after a brief illness at the Fortis Hospital in Mohali,Punjab.