Bishwa Nath Singh
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There must be many who must not be aware as who was an architect of of post-Independence Punjab Province - Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as of present., very much responsible for bringing green revolution and establishing much of the state's basic infrastructure in terms of irrigation, electrification and roads and leading Punjab to be the first state in the Indian Union to have all its villages electrified and ushered huge prosperity for the state as whole.He was none else than Pratap Singh Kairon who had held various offices in the elected State Govt including Rehabilitation Minister and Development Minister of Punjab from 1947 to 1949 and the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1952 to 1964.
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(Photo of Pratap Singh Kairon )
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Bishwa Nath Singh
Let us have glimpse of life-history of that great man widely known for his unique vision for development of Punjab who is affectionately called as 'father of modern Punjab " before we pay our our respectful homage to him!Partap singh Kai...ron was an architect of of post-Independence Punjab Province - Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as of present. He was a great political leader of wide influence and chief minister of the Punjab from 1956 to 1964, was born on 1 October 1901 in the village of Kairon, in Amritsar district of the Punjab, in a farming family of modest means. His father Nihal Singh, who had been active in the Singh Sabha movement, was a pioneer of women's education and had founded in his village a Sikh school for girls. When still a student of the Khalsa College at Amritsar, Partap Singh left home for the United States of America. There he had to earn his own way by working on farms and in factories. He eventually took a Master's degree in political science at the University of Michigan. He simultaneously concerned himself with the problems of Indian freedom and worked with groups determined to advance independence, if necessary by revolutionary actities. He was deeply influenced by the American way of life .He had seen in California filled with oranges, grapes and peaches where he had visualized in his mind the vision of a fruit-laden Punjab. He believed that affluence on farms was within reach of the Punjabi villager only if he had an independent and vital Government. He had evolved a pragmatic, determined approach to political, economic and social issues. He returned to India in 1929. On April 13, 1932 he started an English weekly paper” The New Era in Amritsar”.. He joined politics and the newspaper eventually shut down. He was at first, a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal and later of the Indian National Congress. He was jailed in 1932 for five years for participating in the Civil disobedience movement. He entered the Punjab Legislative Assembly as an Akali nominee in 1937, defeating the Congress candidate, Baba Gurdit Singh of Sarhali.. He joined the Shiromani Akali Dal, party of Sikh activists. He was also a member of the Indian National Congress, the main all-India party associated with the independence movement.. He was general secretary of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee from 1941 to 1946, a period of acute crisis in the freedom struggle. He went to jail again in the 1942 Quit India movement. He was President of the Punjab Congress from 1950-52; a member of the Central (All-India) Working Committee from 1945, and was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946.. After Independence in 1947, Pratap Singh Kairon held various offices in the elected state government including Rehabilitation Minister, Development Minister (1947–1949) and Chief Minister (1952–1964). As Minister for Rehabilitation in the days immediately after the Partition, Kairon ended the chaos and confusion and got down to work handling the tough task of resettling millions of refugees who had migrated from West Punjab. Forced to leave their homes over three million people were re-established in East Punjab in new homes and often in new professions, in a very short period of time.He was a man of vision. He laid the base on which Punjab prospered. In his role in implementing land reforms: He laid the base on which Punjab prospered. In his role in implementing land reforms, the late leader established the Punjab Agricultural University, which played a key role in the Green Revolution. He also placed Punjab on the industrial map of the country. He was behind the creation of the city of Chandigarh and the industrial township of Faridabad(in present-day Haryana). Kairon made primary and middle school education free and compulsory. He opened three engineering colleges and a polytechnic in each district. He was responsible for establishing much of the state's basic infrastructure in terms of irrigation, electrification and roads. Punjab was the first state in the Indian Union to have all its villages electrified. He certainly changed the administrative structure and methods of decision-making inherited from the British system. He was the first Chief Minister who not only got a law passed for consolidation of holdings but got it implemented with an iron hand. It helped farmers not only in improving their produce but also brought them relief from confrontations with each other. Seldom, it is found in the modern world to find citizen-friendly administrators, it was heart-warming to hear P C Hota, a former union secretary and Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission that speaks the character of the late Partap Singh Kairon, a former Chief Minister of Punjab. Although Hota never worked with Kairon, yet he was immensely impressed by this politician, and his work on Kairon’s life shows it. Some interesting observations made by Hota speaks of large head & heart of Kairon adding to his towering personality. For instance, when Kairon became the Chief Minister, a childhood friend of his sent him a letter expressing his excitement over Kairon’s elevation. At this, Kairon send a flag car for his farmer friend and asked him to be his guest. His friend was totally bowled over, when he saw Chandigarh from the ninth floor of the secretariat. He remarked, "What a view"? Kairon was quick to tell him, "In Punjab, there is view and view and view right from under secretary onwards." On prohibition, Kairon said, "It is the fetish of fools." He himself was a teetotaler. He also firmly dealt with the bureaucracy of Punjab. He was a man of strong likes and dislikes, which eventually led to his downfall. However, the concrete steps that he took for Punjab display his vision. He also placed Punjab on the industrial map of the country. He was behind the creation of the city of Chandigarh and the industrial township of Faridabad(in present-day Haryana). He had made primary and middle school education free and compulsory. He opened three engineering colleges and a polytechnic in each district. He was responsible for establishing much of the state's basic infrastructure in terms of irrigation, electrification and roads. Punjab was the first state in the Indian Union to have all its villages electrified. He ushered huge prosperity for Punjab. His successors have largely frittered away the development he brought about. In 1964, following the publication of the report of the commission of enquiry which had exonerated him of the bulk of the allegations made against him by his political adversaries, he resigned from chief minister ship of the Punjab. On February 6, 1965, while he was on his way from Delhi to Chandigarh, was waylaid near Rasoi village o Rohtak district, and shot dead along with his personal assistant an IAS officer, and the driver. The three were murdered by by Sucha Singh, Baldev Singh and Nahar Singh `Fauji'. Sucha had planned the killing of Kairon in revenge, because he believed that Kairon had taken a personal interest in securing the conviction of one Ajit Singh and his father Bir Singh in a murder case. Sucha Singh, Baldev Singh and Nahar Singh `Fauji' -- were convicted and hanged in 1969 while the fourth accused, Daya Singh was sentenced to life. A person of great stature of Kairon seldom comes on this worldly earth may be once in thousand years or so, who will be always remembered as maker of Punjab and a true nationalist and champion for cause of people.. Let us pay our respectful homage and floral tribute to him and offer our humble obeisance’s to his lotus feet and pledge ourselves to follow his legacy of peace & universal brotherhood!
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Gopal Sharma likes this.
Anil Kumar thank you sir.
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f.b.
December 13,2010.
23 hours ago · UnlikeLike ·
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