Parkash Singh Badal: Parkash Singh Badal, who died on Tuesday evening at the age of 95, was unquestionably one of Punjab’s tallest political leaders. The experienced politician began his career as a sarpanch (village head) of Badal village the year India gained independence from the British and progressively rose through the ranks to become Punjab’s chief minister for five years. When he took office for the first time in 1970, he was the state’s youngest chief minister.
Parkash Singh Badal’s Early Life and Political Career
Parkash Singh Badal was born in Abul Khurana, near Malout, on December 8, 1927. He was born into a Jat Sikh household. Badal graduated from Lahore’s Forman Christian College. In 1947, Badal began his political career. Before entering Punjab politics, he was Sarpanch of Badal Village and afterwards Chairman of Block Samiti, Lambi. He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1957, representing the Shiromani Akali Dal political party. He was re-elected as Minister for Community Development, Panchayati Raj, Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Fisheries in 1969. In 1972, 1980, and 2002, he served as Leader of the Opposition.
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India’s Youngest Chief Minister
Badal was Punjab Chief Minister for four terms, beginning in 1970, when he became India’s youngest chief minister. He finished his last term in March of 2017. Badal, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan – India’s second-highest civilian decoration – in 2015 by the Modi government, has dominated Punjab’s political circles and Sikh religious matters for over 70 years of his public life. He is well known for his clever one-liners and recollection of people and events. He did, however, return the award to support the 2020-2021 farmers’ protest on December 3, 2020, against three problematic farm policies.
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