Zail Singh

Zail Singh
ਜ਼ੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ
7th President of India
In office 25 July 1982 – 25 July 1987
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi
Vice President	Mohammad Hidayatullah R. Venkataraman
Preceded by	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Succeeded by	R. Venkataraman
Minister of Home Affairs
In office 14 January 1980 – 22 June 1982
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	Yashwantrao Chavan
Succeeded by	R. Venkataraman
Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement
In office 12 March 1983 – 6 September 1986
Preceded by	Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
Succeeded by	R. Venkataraman
Personal details
Born	Gyani Zail Singh ਗਿਆਨੀ ਜ਼ੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ 5 May 1916 Sandhwan, Punjab, British India
Died	25 December 1994 (aged 78) Chandigarh, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Pardhan Kaur[1]
Children	One son Three daughters[1]
Alma mater	Shaheed Sikh Missionary College
Religion	Sikhism

Gyani Zail Singh (Punjabi: ਜ਼ੈਲ ਸਿੰਘ,  pronunciation ; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was the seventh President of India, serving from 1982 to 1987. Prior to his presidency, he was a politician with the Indian National Congress party, and had held several ministerial posts in the Union Cabinet, including that of Home Minister.

His presidency was marked by Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.^[2] He died of injuries in 1994 after a car accident.

Early life

He was born in Sandhwan, Faridkot district on 5 May 1916 to Kishan Singh. He was a Sikh by religion, was given the title of Gyani, as he was educated and learned about Guru Granth Sahib at Shaheed Sikh Missionary College in Amritsar.^[3]

State Politics (1947-1971)

In 1947, with the reorganization of India along secular lines, he opposed Harindar Singh, ruler of Faridkot State and was incarcerated and tortured for five years.^[4] He was called on to be the Revenue Minister of the recently formed Patiala and East Punjab States Union, under Chief Minister Gian Singh Rarewala in 1949 and later became Minister of Agriculture in 1951. From 1956 to 1962, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Chief Minister of Punjab (1972-77)

Zail Singh was elected as a Congress Chief Minister of Punjab in 1972.^[5] He arranged massive religious gatherings, started public functions with a traditional Sikh prayer, inaugurated a highway named after Guru Gobind Singh, and named a township after the Guru's son.^[6] He created a lifelong pension scheme for the freedom fighters of the state. He repatriated the remains of Udham Singh from London, armaments and articles belonging to Guru Gobind Singh.

Central Government

In 1980, Zail Singh was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha, and appointed to join Indira Gandhi's cabinet as Minister of Home Affairs.^[2] He patronised Bindranwale and twice helped stall action against him on murder charges by disposing in the parliament about his non-involvement.^[7]

President of India

In 1982 he was unanimously nominated to serve as the President. Nonetheless, some in the media felt that the President had been chosen for being an Indira loyalist rather than an eminent person. "If my leader had said I should pick up a broom and be a sweeper, I would have done that. She chose me to be President,"^[8] Singh was quoted to have said after his election. He took the oath of office on 25 July 1982. He was the first Sikh to hold the office.His best friend Sardar Sadhu Singh Brar encouraged to him to explore the leadership, enthusiasm in career as well as politics.

He served beside Gandhi, and protocol dictated that he should be briefed every week by her on the affairs of the state. On 31 May 1984, The day before Operation Blue Star, he met with Gandhi for more than an hour, but she omitted even sharing a word about her plan.^[9] Following the operation he was pressured to resign from his post by Sikhs. He decided against resignation fearing to aggravate the situation on advice from Yogi Bhajan. He was subsequently called before the Akal Takhat to apologize and explain his inaction at the desecration of the Harimandir Sahib and killing of innocent Sikhs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October in the same year, and he appointed her elder son Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister.^[10]

Latter Term

His remaining term was full of controversies on account of his soured relations with prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. During this time, he ensured that the prime minister adhered to protocols and forced him to remove KK Tewary, a congress MP who alleged on the floor of the Lok Sabha that the president had sheltered terrorists in the Rashtrapati Bhawan.^[11]

Singh used a pocket veto to refuse assent to the "Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill" in 1986 to show his opposition to the bill. The bill was later withdrawn by the V. P. Singh Government in 1990.^[12]

Injury and death

On 29 November 1994, Zail Singh was involved in a serious vehicle accident near Kiratpur Sahib in Ropar District on his way to the Anandpur Sahib. He later died at the Post Graduate Institute, Chandigarh less than a month later on Christmas Day, 25 December 1994, aged 78, and was cremated at the Raj Ghat Memorial near Old Delhi.^[13]

See also

• Giani Zail Singh College Of Engineering & Technology

References

1. Hazarika, Sanjoy (1994-12-26). "Zail Singh, 78, First Sikh To Hold India's Presidency". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
2. "Zail Singh, 78, First Sikh To Hold India's Presidency". The New York Times. 1994-12-26. Retrieved 2011-26-10.
3. "Zail Singh." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/545853/Zail-Singh>.
4. A.C. Aurora, "Punjab Riyasti Praja Mandal", The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, ed. Harbans Singh, Vol. III, Patiala, India, Punjabi University, 1997, p. 278.
5. Sangat Singh, The Sikhs in History, New Delhi, Uncommon Books, 1999, pp. 350-54; Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, pp. 315-17.
6. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 355.
7. http://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/shattered-dome
8. 10 stories that changed in our lifetime. India Today. 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2011-26-10. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/23077/10+stories+that+changed+in+our+lifetime.html?complete=1
9. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume II: 1839-2004, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 359-60.
10. Harjot Singh, "Zail Singh, Gyani", The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, ed. Harbans Singh, Vol. IV, Patiala, India, Punjabi University, 1997, pp. 456-57.
11. "Presidential Years of Zail Singh". outlook india. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
12. "Show Of Dissent". India Today. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
13. Harjot Singh, "Zail Singh, Gyani", The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, ed. Harbans Singh, Vol. IV, Patiala, India, Punjabi University, 1997, p. 457.