The Demise of India's First Defense Minister

A strong advocate of keeping India undivided and the first defence minister of India, Baldev Singh was one of the sole representatives of the Sikhs in the Partition Council during the 1940s. He believed in the co-existence of all communities in India. But why did he change his views, later on?

Baldev Singh, the pride of the Sikh Community, Image Source: Be An Inspirer

The clock struck 12, it was 15th August 1947. The whole country rejoiced at the end of an era filled with bloodshed and sacrifices and tasted what freedom felt like. All of the freedom fighters were honoured for their tireless efforts, and one such person was Baldev Singh, who dedicated his entire life to the cause.

His reward of being titled 'the defence minister of India' was close to nothing in comparison to the struggles he had gone through.

The story of his life began when in a tiny village named Dumma in the Rupar district of Punjab, a reputed industrialist Sir Indra Singh and his wife Nihal Kaur Singh gave birth to a son in 1902 and named him Baldev Singh. It was in his name "The King of Power" that everyone knew he was destined to do some great things. Having lived a rather peaceful childhood, he was raised to become an industrialist like his father, a very typical Indian upbringing at the time.

Soon after graduating from Khalsa College of Amritsar, he began working in his father’s company and got married. During this time he decided to stand for the Punjab provincial assembly elections. He ended up winning the election as a representative of the ‘Panthic Party'. And in this way, his political journey began.

Just like every other famous person Baldev Singh too had a turning point in their life. During the Cripps Mission, he was chosen as the representative of the Sikh Community. While in the power of the Punjab province, this mission gave a whole new direction to his political career, as he became the voice for the Sikh community, he spoke along with the Indian National Congress and Muslim League Party. This was around the time when the world was afflicted with the Second World War.

The Cripps mission was not a hit and barely made any change. However, it facilitated the footing of Baldev Singh in Indian Politics.

He has always been a rebel since the very start, it started with him opposing the “Quit India Movement” and shaking hands with the Unionist Muslim league. With this, he formed a different government in Punjab.

His ‘rebellious’ nature carried on to the point when India was to be divided, he strongly opposed it since he believed in the ethnic cohesion of the country. India, however, was partitioned and he received the title of ‘India’s First Defence Minister.

During the Partition riots in Punjab, he fought in the frontline, and protected the minority Sikh community from clashes, along with, of course, preventing violence from escalating.

This glorious career, however, found its chapters closing too soon. The brave and daring Baldev Singh passed away on this day in 1961, due to prolonged illness.