Gopal Singh Khalsa

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1903-1979) was an Indian independence activist and politician.

Life

Khalsa was born in 1903 into

Ramdasia The Ramdasia were historically a Sikh, Hindu sub-group that originated from the caste of leather tanners and shoemakers known as Chamar. Terminology Ramdasia is a term used in general for Sikhs whose ancestors belonged to Chamar caste. Origina ...

Sikh family at a village around Sidhwan Bet area. He did his schooling from Malwa Khalsa High School in

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

and B.A from

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Lahor ...

. Khalsa went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1923 and spent three years there and did LLB from the

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, ...

, Stockton (California). He also received

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Political career

Before Independence

Later, joined the Hindustan National Party and finally returned to India in 1931. After his return, he took keen interest in the welfare of the

Dalits Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for Untouchability, untouchables and Outcast (person), outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called ...

and joined the All India Scheduled Castes Federation of

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

. He was a member of the S. C. F. Working Committee and a close associate of Dr Ambedkar from 1937 to 1946. In 1937, he was elected as an independent candidate for the Punjab Provincial Assembly. He was then appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Punjab Premier,

Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Major Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...

. From 1937 to 1946 he was also a nominated member of the District Board of Ludhiana, After the second world war in 1946, he was appointed as an officer in the Labour Department of the Government of India.

After Independence

In 1952 he joined the

Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a Centre-right politics, centre-right Sikhism, Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Indian ...

, ran on its ticket for the 1952,page xxx of
Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium
'.

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 ...

. Retrieved on 23 July 2019. and became the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He had during his political career edited a couple of magazines and papers, and from 1952 to 1954 was Chief Editor of the Daily Prabhat, the Urdu spokesman of the Akali Dal. In 1956 as a result of the merger of the Akali Dal with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

, he joined the latter organization. He played a prominent role in the organization of the Malwa Akali Dal to oppose Master Tara Singh and his Akali Dal in the 1959 elections to the

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and ...

References

1903 births Year of death missing Leaders of the opposition in Punjab, India Shiromani Akali Dal politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Punjab, India Scheduled Castes Federation politician Punjab, India MLAs 1952–1957 {{PunjabIN-INC-politician-stub