Lachhman Singh Gill (1917 – 26 April 1969) was an Indian politician who served as the 7th Chief Minister of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He remained in this post from 25 November 1967 to 22 August 1968. He was a member of

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Eternal Party'') is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are ma ...

(SAD), a Sikh-centered regional political party in

Early life and career

He was born at Chuhar Chakk Village in

Moga district Moga district is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. It became the 17th district of Punjab state on 24 November 1995, being cut from the Faridkot and Firozpur districts. Moga district is among the largest produc ...

in 1917. Before joining politics he worked in the Punjab Works Department, Punjab, he also contracted many buildings in Delhi during the 1940s under the guidance of famed Sikh contractor and businessman, Sardar Bahadur Sir Sobha Singh. He left the contracting business after joining the

Punjabi Suba Movement The Punjabi Suba movement was a political movement led by Punjabi-speakers (mainly Sikhs) from 1947 to 1966, demanding the creation of an autonomous ''Punjabi Suba'', or Punjabi-speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Pu ...

in the 1950s. He became a member of the executive committee of 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 ...

(SGPC) in 1960. In 1966, he became a member of the Sikh Educational Committee for the management of Sikh colleges. In 1961, he became general secretary of the

SGPC 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 t ...

Chief Ministership

In the 1962 General Elections for

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 ...

he won from

Jagraon Jagraon is a city and a municipal council, a rural police district and a sub-division of the Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Jagraon is more than three centuries old. Jagraon is at almost the geographical center of the state, f ...

constituency. He again got elected from Dharamkot in 1967 in the newly restructured Punjab. In the subsequent United front government led by

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 ...

, he was appointed education minister and Justice Gurnam Singh became

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. On 22 November 1967, Lachhman Singh Gill revolted against the

Gurnam Singh Gurnam Singh (25 February 1899 – 31 May 1973) was an Indian politician and the 6th Chief Minister of Punjab from 8 March 1967 to 25 November 1967, and again between 17 February 1969 to 27 March 1970. He was the first Shiromani Akali Dal ...

government and defected with 16 MLA's.President's Rule in Indian States: (a Study of Punjab) By S. C. Arora
/ref> With the support of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

he formed a minority government on 25 November 1967. However Congress pulled their support on 21 August 1968 and the government fell. President's rule was imposed in Punjab on 23 August. The major decision of Lachhman Singh Gill's government was to make

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

the official language of Punjab from 13 April 1968 onward.

Death

He died of a heart attack at

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

on 26 April 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Lachhman Singh Chief ministers of Punjab, India Punjab, India MLAs 1967–1972 1917 births 1969 deaths Chief ministers from Shiromani Akali Dal Shiromani Akali Dal politicians