Remembering Giani Zail SinghGiani Zail Singh, the seventh President of India, is remembered as the only Sikh politician to have taken the oath of office. He had a notable political background and served the country as the President from 1982 to 87. Members of the Indian National Congress (INC) loyal to former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. Singh was famous for his unwavering loyalty to him and was born as Jarnail Singh on 5 May 1916 in the Faridkot district of Punjab.
President Draupadi Murmu paid tribute to former President Giani Zail Singh on his birth anniversary in Rairangpur today.
Here are some interesting facts about his life:
- Due to his great knowledge of Sikh doctrines and philosophy, Zail Singh earned the title of ‘Gnani’, which means ‘a learned man’. He also studied the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.
- Impressed by his public speeches, the authorities of Shaheed Sikh Missionary College granted him admission even though he was not able to meet the minimum qualification of matriculation pass.
- He was well versed in Urdu as well as Punjabi language.
- Singh founded Praja Mandal in 1983 in his home district, Faridkot. Praja Mandal was a political organization affiliated to the Congress.
- Singh was sentenced to five years in prison because of the Insurrection Act.
- He served the country as a state member from 1965 to 1962. Earlier he took oath as the Minister of Agriculture in 1951.
- In 1972, Zail Singh was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab. This was the turning point of his political career.
- He was appointed as the cabinet minister of the then PM Indira Gandhi in the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1980.
- He was unanimously elected as the President on July 25, 1982.