Gurnam Singh

Gurnam Singh (25 February 1899 – 31 May 1973) was an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Punjab from 8 March 1967 to 25 November 1967, and again between 17 February 1969 to 27 March 1970.[1] He was the first Shiromani Akali Dal Chief minister of Punjab.[2] His ministry fell due to defection of Lachhman Singh Gill, who became the next Chief Minister with the support of the Indian National Congress. He died in an air crash in Delhi on 31 May 1973.

For other people named Gurnam Singh, see Gurnam Singh (disambiguation).

Gurnam Singh Grewal
6th Chief Minister of Punjab
In office
8 March 1967 – 25 November 1967
Preceded byGiani Gurmukh Singh Mussafir
Succeeded byLachhman Singh Gill
In office
17 February 1969 – 27 March 1970
Preceded byPresident's rule
Succeeded byParkash Singh Badal
Leader of opposition in Punjab assembly
In office
11 March 1962 – 5 July 1966
Preceded byGopal Singh Khalsa
Succeeded byHimself
In office
1 November 1966 – 8 March 1967
Preceded byHimself
Succeeded byGian Singh Rarewala
In office
24 November 1967 – 23 August 1968
Preceded byGian Singh Rarewala
Succeeded byHarinder Singh
Personal details
Born(1899-02-25)25 February 1899
Narangwal, Punjab, British India
Died31 May 1973(1973-05-31) (aged 74)
Delhi, India
Political partyShiromani Akali Dal
ProfessionPolitician

Early life

Singh was born in Narangwal, Ludhiana on 25 February 1899 in a Grewal Jatt family.[3][4] He graduated from the Forman Christian College, Lahore.[5] He captained the hockey team of Punjab University.[6]

Law career

Singh practiced Law in Lyallpur (Present day Faisalabad, Pakistan). Later he served as the president of the Bar Association, there. During the partition of Punjab, Singh moved to Punjab, India. He was made the judge of the PEPSU and Punjab High Courts in 1950. He retired from this post in 1959.[5][7]

Political career

In 1959, he joined Shiromani Akali Dal. In 1962, he became the member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Raikot. He defeated congress candidate Inder Mohan Singh.[8] Akali Dal president Sant Fateh Singh made Gurnam Singh the head of the legislative wing of the party. He served as the leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 1962 to 1967. In 1967, he won from Qila Raipur constituency, which he defended in 1969 too.[9][10] In 1967 he became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Punjab of Punjab. He led a coalition government of Akali Dal, Jana Sangh and communists. However, his government could not complete the full term. He again became chief minister in 1969. Later he served as High Commissioner of India in Canberra, Australia.[6][11]

Death

Singh died in an air crash in Delhi on 31 May 1973.[12]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Akali CMs". Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  3. Grewal, Dr Dalvinder Singh. "ORIGIN OF GREWALS". Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. "While Badal shines, other ex-CMs' villages remain its poor cousins". The Tribune. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  5. "Gurnam Singh's birth anniversary to be celebrated". The Tribune. 11 February 1999. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. Dhanoa, S. S. (27 February 1999). "The multi-faceted personality of Gurnam Singh". The Tribune. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. "Hon'ble Former Judges". Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  8. "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1962 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  9. "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1967 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). ECI. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  10. "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1969 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). ECI. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  11. "A gentleman-politician". The Tribune. 4 March 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  12. "Proceedings, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly". Megassembly.gov.in. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
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