->Venkat TL: removed Category:People from Barnala district; added Category:Politicians from Barnala district using HotCat

2021-11-16T10:44:06Z

removed Category:People from Barnala district; added Category:Politicians from Barnala district using HotCat

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| office = Member of [[1954 Patiala & East Punjab States Union Legislative Assembly election|Legislative Assembly of Patiala & East Punjab States Union]]
| term_start = 1954
| term_end = 1957
| predecessor =
| successor =
| office1 = Member of the [[Punjab Legislative Assembly]]
| primeminister1 =
| term_start1 = 1962
| term_end1 = 1965
| predecessor1 = Kartar Singh
| successor1 = S.Singh
| office2 =
| primeminister2 =
| term_start2 =
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_date = 1 January 1911
| birth_place = [[Karmgarh]], [[Barnala]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]]
| occupation = [[Politician]], [[feudal lord]]
| party = [[Indian National Congress]]
| alma_mater = [[Aitchison College]]
| profession =
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| sibling =
| website =
| death_date = 1983 (aged 72)
| relations =
}}

'''Gurbakshish Singh''' was an Indian politician. He was [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA)]] who represented the [[Barnala]] Constituency, in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.elections.in/punjab/assembly-constituencies/barnala.html | title=Sitting and previous MLAs from Barnala Assembly Constituency |work=elections.in |accessdate= 31 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/constituency.aspx?eid=892&cid=150 | title=Candidate Name Gurbakshish Singh Party Akali Dal (AD) | work=empoweringindia.org | accessdate=31 May 2016}}</ref>

==Early life and family background==

Singh was born in 1911 to the royal family of [[Karmgarh|Karamgarh]] (now [[Barnala district|Barnala District]]) and was a wealthy landlord of the erstwhile [[Patiala State]], he was titled as the [[Rais]] of Karamgarh. According to the revenue records and census reports of year 1901 the area of nizamat of Karamgarh was 1834 sq miles which included 4 towns and 665 villages with a population of 500,635 people.

He was an active sportsman and a part of the [[elite]] cricket team of Chiefs College, Lahore ([[Aitchison College]]), played [[tennis]], [[horse riding]] and [[shooting]]. The village of [[Karmgarh|Karamgarh]] is named after Karam Singh who succeeded the throne of [[Maharaja of Patiala]] in 1813 and ruled until his death in 1845. Later on [[Mahendra Singh of Patiala]], his younger son Raja Sahib Sir Ranbir Singh [[Order of the Star of India|KCSI]] born 1873 was married to the daughter of Sardar Lahna singh of Karamgarh in 1889, he was made a [[Order of the Star of India|KCSI]] in January 1903; he was granted the title of Raja in 1915.

His father [[Rais]] Gurbaksh Singh of Karamgarh was an Honorary [[Magistrate]] and exercised civil and criminal powers in the nizamat of Karamgarh. Gurbaksh Singh was married into the old family of the [[Vizier|Wazir]]’s of the princely state of Nabha. His brother in law, General Shivdev Singh, was a wealthy landlord and the Prime Minister of the [[Nabha State]]. Gurbaksh Singh had 3 sisters who were married into the Royal families of [[Patiala State]], [[Nabha State]] and Raja of Malaudh.

He became actively associated with the [[Congress party of India|Congress Party]] while attending [[Aitchison College]] in [[Lahore|Lahore, Pakistan]]. He was related to [[Yadavindra Singh]] who was [[Maharaja of Patiala]] and Raja [[Bhalindra Singh]], had close proximity with [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] who was the [[Shah of Iran]], took the title of Shahanshah ("King of Kings") in 1967 and ruled from 1941-1979 as the last Shah of Iran.

Gurbakshish Singh’s nephews, [[Amarinder Singh]], is currently serving as the 15th [[Chief Minister of Punjab (India)|Chief Minister of Punjab]] in [[India]] and Raja [[Randhir Singh (sport shooter)|Randhir Singh]] is a sports administrator and an ex-[[Olympic Games|Olympian]] shooter.

==Education==

Educated at Chief’s college, later known as [[Aitchison College]], [[Lahore]]. A diploma holder alongside [[Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi]] who was [[Nawab]] of [[Pataudi]] and his younger brother [[Sher Ali Khan Pataudi]] who later served in the [[Pakistan Army]], [[Amin ud-din Ahmad Khan]] who was the last [[Nawab]] of [[princely state]] of [[Loharu]], ruling from 1926 to 1947, [[Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan]] who was a prominent [[feudal lord]], [[politician]] and the chief of his tribal estate [[Kalabagh]] in North Western [[Punjab, Pakistan]] who later served as the [[Governor]] of [[West Pakistan]] and [[Yadavindra Singh]], [[Maharaja of Patiala]]. He returned to Patiala after completing his education.

==Politics and social work==

He became an influential figure in agricultural development and the spread of education in India. He was an active member of the [[Indian National Congress]] and of the AD state party and he was a key figure in the [[Punjabi Suba movement]] agitation for the creation of “Punjabi Suba” which led to the creation of present day [[Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] in 1966.

Singh was twice an [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|MLA]] including his first term from [[Sherpur, Punjab|Sherpur]] in 1954 in the [[Patiala & East Punjab States Union]] from [[Indian National Congress]] and then won the elections from [[Barnala]] in 1962 when he defeated Sampuran Singh Dhaula a close aide of the then Chief minister of Punjab [[Partap Singh Kairon]].Singh served as an [[advisor]] to [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] in 1960’s for a short tenure before quitting politics. He also served as the [[President (education)|President]] of Khalsa college, [[Patiala]] unanimous for more than 20 years.

Singh was involved in national reconstruction work and the development of services for the [[Dalit]] caste and the downtrodden. He helped organize relief during the 1955 floods and donated 22,000 Bighas of cultivable land to his tenants.

==External links==
*[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1954/StatRep_PEPSU_1954.pdf General Election, 1954 to the Legislative Assembly of Patiala & East Punjab States Union.]
*[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1962/StatRep_Punjab_1962.pdf General Election, 1962 to the Legislative Assembly of Punjab.]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gurbakshish}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians from Barnala district]]
[[Category:Shiromani Akali Dal politicians]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]

Gurbakshish Singh - Revision history

->Venkat TL: removed Category:People from Barnala district; added Category:Politicians from Barnala district using HotCat