Akali Dal giant who reshaped Punjab's politics dies aged 95
Hindustan Times|April 26, 2023
Sarpanch of Badal at 20, legislator at 30, chief minister at 43, and the last surviving member of a political generation that saw Independence, survived the Emergency, and saw Punjab politics take a surprising turn in 2022, Parkash Singh Badal, 95, a five-time chief minister of Punjab, died on Tuesday.
Ramesh Vinayak
Akali Dal giant who reshaped Punjab's politics dies aged 95

PARKASH SINGH BADAL (1927-2023)

In the tumultuous terrain of a front-line Sikh majority state, he was the quintessential moderate, a pragmatic practitioner of communal harmony, a liberal and secular man, and an avowed protagonist of and a fierce fighter for Punjab's interests.

He was deeply religious, but not dogmatic. Hindu-Sikh amity, to him, was not a mere political slogan but an article of faith-an abiding quality that endeared him to Punjab's Hindus.

In its 100-year-old history, Shiromani Akali Dal, one of the oldest regional parties, has not seen a figure as towering as Badal. He was the state's longest-serving chief minister, at 17 years across five terms. And he was president of Akali Dal from 1995 till 2017 when he handed over the mantle to his son and heir apparent Sukhbir Singh Badal.

This story is from the April 26, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.

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This story is from the April 26, 2023 edition of Hindustan Times.

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