By Asia Samachar | India |
Parkash Singh Badal, a five time chief minister of Punjab and patriach of what is probably the richest family in the northern Indian state, passed away today (April 26). He was 95.
He passed away on Tuesday at a private hospital in Mohali and is scheduled to be cremated in Muktsar tomorrow (Thursday).
He leaves a divided legacy, with some quarters critical of his politics.
Take, for example, this entry on social media by @theNSYF: “One of the longest serving client politicians of New Delhi has died today. He will be remembered as a traitor of the Panth and Punjab, the Sikh face of the Delhi Darbar always serving Indian interests for which Punjab suffered and his family gained. Parkash Badal who died in reality died the true death in 1984 and became a walking corpse.”
In 2022, at the age of 94, he entered his 13th electoral battle when he ran for a Punjab state assembly seat from home turf Lambi in Punjab’s Muktsar district under the banner of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He became the oldest person to fight an election in the county. In this fight, Parkash and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal both lost.
Easily the grand old man of Punjab politics, Parkash first became chief minister in 1970 when he headed a coalition government which did not last long. He had also served as CM 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012-2017.
Born on December 8, 1927 in Abul Khurana near Malout, Badal graduated from the Forman Christian College in Lahore. His first political posts were the sarpanch of Badal village and the chairman of the block samiti.
He entered the state assembly from Malout in 1957 as the Congress nominee. In 1969, he won the Gidderbaha assembly seat on the SAD ticket.
The Badal family is said to have their tentacles in various businesses in Punjab. The family was said to own a vast business empire, which included several transport companies, a hospitality firm, and a media business, reported The Indian Express in 2015.
His daughter in law Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also served a minister in the federal government.
RELATED STORY:
The Badal Business – INDIAN EXPRESS (Asia Samachar, 9 May 2015)
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