Formerly People’s Maharaja turns 82
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 11,2024
Capt. Amarinder Singh, two times congress Chief Minister of Punjab and now a BJP leader turns 82 years. Today is his 83rd birthday. He has born on 11 March 1942 to erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala Yadvindra Singh and Maharani Mohinder Kaur. He is a scion of Phulkian dynasty and founder of Patiala, Ala Singh.
Seven years back, on this date, he had won the Punjab election with a thumping majority and became the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab. He has also served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002-2007.
But, he had lost 2022 elections from his bastion, Patiala urban seat and it was said that once People’s Maharaja –Capt Amarinder Singh has been politically outcasted by the residents of Patiala.
He has one son, Raninder Singh, and one daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, who is married to a Delhi-based businessman, Gurpal Singh. His wife, Preneet Kaur, is at present lok sabha MP from Patiala and was Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2009 to 2014.
He attended famous Welham Boy’s School, Lawrance School, Sanawar, Doon School, Dehradun. He also served in the Indian Army from June 1963, after graduating from the prestigious National Defence Academy. He served in the elite Sikh Regiment.
1980 former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi inducted Capt Amarinder Singh into politics and he won the Lok Sabha Seat. But after 4 years, in 1984 he resigned from the Parliament and from the Congress party protesting against the Army action on Darbar Sahib during Operation Blue Star. After resigning from Congress he joined Shiromani Akali Dal and became member of state legislature assembly from Talwandi Saboo (Bathinda) and become minister for Agriculture, Forest, Panchayats.
He remained CM from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2017 to September 2021. On September 18, 2021, he resigned from the CM and left Congress party. Later he floated his own party Punjab Lok Congress. But after loosing 2022 elections, he merged his party with BJP in September 2022.
Books written by Capt Amarinder Singh
- A Ridge Too Far
- Lest We Forget
- The Last Sunset: Rise and Fall of Lahore Durbar
- The Sikhs in Britain: 150 years of Photographs
- Honour and Fidelity: India’s Military Contribution to the Great War 1914 to 1918
- The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce – 1965 India-Pakistan War
Formerly People’s Maharaja –Capt Amarinder Singh turns 82.Khushwant Singh has also written a biography on Captain Amarinder Singh The People’s Maharaja.
