Giani Zail Singh

Zail Singh was born Jarnail Singh on 5 May 1916 at Sandhwan, in the princely state of Faridkot. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, published by Punjabi University, names his parents as Kishan Singh, the village carpenter who also farmed a small plot, and Ind Kaur. He was the youngest of five brothers and a sister, lost his mother in early childhood and was raised by her sister, Daya Kaur. He had little formal schooling but studied Sikh scripture and was admitted to the Shahid Sikh Missionary College at Amritsar. The religious training there gave him the title Giani. Britannica records that he took the name Zail Singh while in jail. He married Pardhan Kaur; she died in 2002, leaving three daughters and a son.

The President’s Secretariat records that Zail Singh took part in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and was imprisoned several times for protests against British rule. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism describes him as a leading figure in the Praja Mandal movement in Faridkot state, where he gave up work as a Sikh preacher to lead the agitation against the ruler. Britannica records that he was jailed for his role in organising the Praja Mandal in the state.

After independence Zail Singh was Revenue Minister in the non-party Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) government formed in 1949. He became Agriculture Minister when the Congress government was formed on 23 May 1951. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1956 to 1962. After the 1972 general elections he became Chief Minister of Punjab, a post he held until 1977. The President’s Secretariat records land reforms and administrative restructuring among the initiatives of his tenure.

Zail Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1980 general elections. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism records that on 14 January 1980 he joined Indira Gandhi’s cabinet as Minister of Home Affairs. He held that office until 1982, when the Congress party chose him as its candidate for President after Neelam Sanjiva Reddy’s term ended.

Zail Singh served as President from 25 July 1982 to 25 July 1987 and was the first Sikh to hold the office. After the June 1984 army action in the Harmandir Sahib complex at Amritsar, the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism records that Sikh religious authorities declared him liable to religious punishment; he appeared before them, said that as constitutional head he had no active role in ordering the action, and his explanation was accepted. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984 he named her son Rajiv Gandhi to succeed her, according to Britannica, and relations between the two later became strained. Zail Singh was seriously injured in a car accident on 29 November 1994 during a pilgrimage to Sri Kesgarh Sahib, and died at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh on 25 December 1994.