The First Sikh President of India

Growing up, all of us would have seen the name "Zail Singh" on the "Names of Presidents" charts in our schools. He seemed to be the only turban-clad person on those charts. Although his life was simple, he never failed to represent the Sikhs all throughout his tenure.

Zail Singh. Illustrated by Anupama: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

The year was 1916. Somewhere in the tiny village of Sandhvan, near Kot Kapura in Punjab, Mata Hind Kaur gave birth to her son. Her husband, Kishan Singh, seemed to be the proudest in the room. The proud parents looked into the eyes of the child and knew he was destined to make them proud. Kishan Singh was the village carpenter and he also owned a piece of land he used to till every so often for the purpose of agriculture.

He was a devout Sikh and brought his son up to follow his own ethics of being simple and upright, one of the reasons also being that they weren’t very well off financially.

The kid, who is now known as Zail Singh, grew up to be liked by everyone in the countryside, just like his father. He was fondly called ‘Jarnail’ which means General, and the name stuck by. However, as a young man he changed his name to Zail, the reason being that he had been imprisoned several times for opposing the rule of the Maharaja of Faridkot.

He dedicated a majority of his time to religion. He also received the title of Giani, for having taught himself about the Guru Granth Sahib at the Shaheed Sikh Missionary College in Amritsar.

Eventually, India got freed from the British which meant that the whole country was reorganised. Zail Singh’s feud with the ruler of Faridkot continued uptil now, in fact, it got worse than ever.

He opposed Harinder Singh Brar, the ruler of Faridkot at the time and was incarcerated and tortured for five years for that. After having been through so much, he was called on to be the Revenue Minister of the recently formed Patiala and East Punjab Union, which perhaps marked the beginning of his glorious political career.

In 1951, he became the Minister of Agriculture in Punjab and then from 1956 to 1962, he served as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

His career with the Central Government was very brief. He was appointed as the Minister of Home Affairs in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet.

Then, in 1982 on this day, he was unanimously nominated as the president of India. Many felt that he received the presidency for being an Indira Loyalist rather than him being an esteemed personality, especially after his alleged involvement with Operation Blue Star. On this he commented the following:

"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."

Whether he was just another pawn of the Gandhi family is still debatable, however, he has had a respectable career and has been conferred with several honours, he passed away in a motor accident in 1994. Since then, he has survived on by his sons and daughters and his legacy.

In 1951, he became the Minister of Agriculture in Punjab and then from 1956 to 1962, he served as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

His career with the Central Government was very brief. He was appointed as the Minister of Home Affairs in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet.

Then, in 1982 on this day, he was unanimously nominated as the president of India. Many felt that he received the presidency for being an Indira Loyalist rather than him being an esteemed personality, especially after his alleged involvement with Operation Blue Star. On this he commented the following:

"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."

Whether he was just another pawn of the Gandhi family is still debatable, however, he has had a respectable career and has been conferred with several honours, he passed away in a motor accident in 1994. Since then, he has survived on by his sons and daughters and his legacy.

Fondly called Jarnail; Image Source: Wikimedia Commons