Darbara Singh (10 February 1916 — 10 March 1990) was the 10th Chief Minister of Punjab from 1980 to 1983.

Freedom struggle and provincial politics

Sardar Darbara Singh (1916–1990), was born into the prosperous Jatt

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

family of Sardar Dalip Singh Johal in Jandiala Manjki, in the Jalandhar district of Punjab. He was educated at

Khalsa College, Amritsar Khalsa College ( ''khālsā kālaj'') is a historic educational institution in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab (India), Punjab, India. Founded in 1892, the sprawling campus is located about eight kilometers from the ...

and became involved with the freedom movement under the aegis of the Indian National Congress, being imprisoned by the British authorities for participation in the Quit India Movement between 1942 and 1945 and again in 1946. In the aftermath of the partition of the country, he was involved in the creation of refugee camps for the displaced people. He started his political career as President of the Jalander Congress Party (1946–1950) and went on to serve as General Secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC, 1953–56) and subsequently served as its president from 1957 to 1964. He served in the

Punjab Legislative Assembly The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab (India), Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 M ...

from 1952 to 1969, holding many portfolios including the Agriculture, Development and Home ministries. At the national level he was appointed to the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

(AICC) in 1954 and served in the apex congress decision making body the

Congress Working Committee The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It is composed of senior party leaders and is r ...

from 1962, he held both appointments till his death in 1990. He was elected to the lower house of parliament, the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

in 1971 from the

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

constituency in Punjab. Even though he was never appointed as a Union Minister, he retained deep influence in the party being elected Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha in 1971. In 1975 he served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most influential parliamentary committees as it oversees all public sector companies, across ministerial lines.

Chief Minister

In the state elections of 1980, he was elected to Punjab Legislative Assembly from Nakodar, and was appointed as Chief Minister on 17 February 1980. The 1980s were a turbulent time in the history of Punjab marked by an increase in violence and demand for a separate Sikh homeland, Singh remained Chief Minister for three years. During this time his government was grappling with the rising militancy in the state. There was a spate of assassinations, the prime among them being the daylight murder of Lala Jagat Narain, Head of the Punjab Kesri group of newspapers of Jalandhar. This was followed by the assassination of DIG of Punjab Police Jalandhar range Avtar Singh Atwal outside the Golden Temple Complex. Due to an increase in terrorist violence, the tenure of the ministry was cut short. The Singh ministry resigned and President's Rule was imposed in the state under Art.356 of the Indian Constitution on 6 June 1983.

Return to the center

Singh was elected to the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

in 1984, and served with distinction in Council of States being elected the Chairman of the House Committee in 1986. He made a place for himself as a good party functionary and manager of internal party affairs, having been posted as an 'Observer' to several states during critical elections.

References

* Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, SIKH TWAREEKH (Sikh History in Punjabi in 5 volumes), Sikh University Press, Belgium, 2007. * Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, SIKH HISTORY (in English in 10 volumes), Sikh University Press, Belgium, 2010-11.

External links

Profile on Lok Sabha websiteProfile on Rajya Sabha website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Darbara Chief ministers of Punjab, India 1916 births 1990 deaths People from Jalandhar district Punjab, India MLAs 1980–1985 Punjab, India MLAs 1952–1957 India MPs 1971–1977 Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India Rajya Sabha members from Punjab, India Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Governors of Rajasthan India MPs 1996–1997 Presidents of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee