Rulda Singh Kharoud (born 9 April 1952 – 14 August 2009) was an Indian politician. He was president of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. He was also general secretary of NRI wing of

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

. In July 2009, Singh was shot by two or three armed assailants outside his residence, and died weeks later to his wounds.

Personal life

Singh was born in

Jat Sikh Jat Sikh or Jatt Sikh (Gurmukhi: ਜੱਟ ਸਿੱਖ) is an ethnoreligious group, a subgroup of the Jat people whose traditional religion is Sikhism, originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in Pu ...

family on 9 April 1952 to father Babu Singh in Jasowal, a village near

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. He was eldest among seven siblings. He was married to Surjit Kaur. As of 2006, Singh resided near

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

road in

Patiala district Patiala district is one of the twenty three districts in the state of Punjab in north-west India. Location Patiala district lies between 38 47’ and 39 41’ north latitude, 115 58’ and 116 54' east longitude, in the southeast part of th ...

. Due to his close proximity with BJP & leaders from several Hindu religious organisations, he was very committed to play the role in bridging the gap between Hindu & Sikh community in Punjab as well as other Indian states, which had lately been affected during post-Bluestar years. Representing Sikh community, he was sworn in as National president of RSS’s Sikh off-shoot Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, formed primarily to promote nationalism & harmony amongst Sikh youth who were disgruntled with Congress’s divisive politics, which included 1984 Sikh riots & subsequent, militancy in Punjab in late 1980s and early 1990s.

Death

On 29 July 2009, Rulda Singh was shot several times in the face and abdomen by two to three armed assailants. Weeks later he died at PGIMER, Chandigarh. In July 2010, three UK Sikhs were arrested following an 11-month investigation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rulda 1952 births 2009 deaths Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Punjab Indian murder victims People murdered in India