Former Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal’s patriarch Prakash Singh Badal passed away on Tuesday (April 25) at Mohali’s Fortis Hospital. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Draupadi Murmu to current Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the political sphere is mourning the death of a leader who has had a vibrant political journey dating back to the year India gained independence.
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As we reflect on the journey of one of India’s most experienced and veteran political leaders, who has witnessed and survived all of the challenges that India has faced since becoming a democracy, we bring you some of the lesser-known facts about the SAD patriarch:
HAILED FROM A JAT SIKH FAMILY
Parkash Singh Badal was born on December 8, 1927 in Abul Khurana, near Malout. He was born into a Jat Sikh family. Born and raised in Abul Khurana, a village near Malwa. He married Surinder Kaur in 1959. They have two children: a son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and a daughter, Preneet Kaur. Preneet Kaur married Adesh Pratap Singh Kairo, the son of former Punjab Chief Minister Pratap Singh Kairo. Surinder Kaur, the wife of his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, died in 2011 after a long illness.
STARTED HIS POLITICAL CAREER THE YEAR INDIA GOT INDEPENDENCE
Badal began his political career in 1947. Before entering Punjab politics, he was the Sarpanch of Badal village and later became chairman of the Block Samiti of Lambi. He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1957 as a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal political party.
He was re-elected in 1969 as Minister for Community Development, Panchayati Raj, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Fisheries.
He served as Leader of the Opposition in 1972, 1980, and 2002. He had been elected to Vidhan Sabha ten times, once in 1957 and once in each election since 1969, except for the February 1992 election, when he led the Akalis’ boycott of state elections.
CHOSE HOSPITALITY TO DEFEAT POLITICAL OPPONENTS
On a hot day in May 2016, when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had surrounded Parkash Singh Badal’s house on the issue of farmer suicides and an alleged Rs 12,000-crore wheat scam, Badal, who was the Chief Minister then, emerged from his home with folded hands. To everyone’s surprise, Badal invited them to discuss things over lunch.
He expressed that he couldn’t eat alone if his guests refused to partake in the meal. The AAP volunteers made a motion towards him, and the police stepped back, abandoning any intentions of a lathi charge or arrest. The trucks meant to arrest the protestors were sent away, and the barricades were removed.
However, political rivalry remained in place, as the very next day, Badal slammed the AAP, accusing the party of betraying the people of Punjab on river waters, following the politics of fraud, deception, and cheap stunts. With one move of inviting the protesters to lunch, he diffused the agitation and launched a counter-attack.
ROLE IN AKALI MOVEMENT
During the Emergency, Badal was first detained in the Karnal jail in connection with the Civil Liberties Agitation, and then under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. From 1996 to 2008, he served as President of the Akali Dal.
Badal was imprisoned several times, including during the 1975-77 emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was elected to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament) in early 1977 and was appointed to Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s administration. However, Badal’s tenure in national office was brief because the SAD insisted on his return to Punjab state politics. He began his second term as chief minister shortly after.
SARDAR BADAL: PANTH RATTAN FAKHR-E-QAUM
On December 11, 2011, the Akal Takht bestowed upon him the title of Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum (literally, Jewel of the religion and pride of the community). Sardar Badal was given this title in recognition of his service to the Sikh Panth, his long imprisonment, and his exposure to atrocities during various Akali movements.
PATRON OF THE COUNTRY’S SECOND-OLDEST POLITICAL PARTY
Akali Dal, India’s second oldest political party known for its strong cadre, became a family affair. At one point, three members of his family served in the Punjab Cabinet: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, son-in-law Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, and Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, while Sukhbir’s wife Harsimrat was a Union minister.
It eventually laid the groundwork for the fall of the party. Following a thrashing in the 2017 Assembly elections, the Akali Dal suffered its worst-ever defeat in the 2022 Assembly elections, winning only three seats.
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RETURNED SECOND-HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD TO PROTEST AGAINST FARM LAWS
He returned the Padma Vibhushan award in 2020 as a mark of protest against the Modi government’s now-repealed three farm laws. In the 2022 Punjab elections, he was defeated by Aam Aadmi Party candidate Gurmeet Singh Khuddian from his home turf Lambi by a margin of over 11,000 votes.
Parkash Singh Badal ran in 13 state assembly elections and won 11 of them. Between 1969 and 2017, he won ten consecutive polls.