Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942), is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. A former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Punjab and

Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of a legislative constituency in the Lok Sabha; the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of parliament of Lok Sabha are chosen by direct Elections in I ...

, he was also the president of

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (or Punjab PCC), formerly known as the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee in colonial India, is the affiliate of the Indian National Congress in the state of Punjab. On 9 April 2022, Amrinder Singh Raja Warri ...

. He has also previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 and 2017 to 2021. His father was the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala. He has also served in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

from 1963 to 1966. In 1980, he won a seat in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

for the first time. As of November 2022, Singh also serves as the chairman of the Punjab Urdu Academy. Captain Singh resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab on 18 September 2021. On 19 September, 2022 he merged his party PLC with BJP and joined BJP on the same day.

Personal life

Singh was born on 11 March 1942 in Patiala City, Patiala State, Punjab Province,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

into a royal

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Jatt Sikh Jat Sikh (also known by the more conventional endonym Jatt Sikh) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land holdin ...

family of the

Sidhu Sidhu () is a Punjabi Jat clan found in Punjab.Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sir

Yadavindra Singh Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh () was the 9th and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934. Early life and family Born at Patiala City in Patiala State, within the ...

and Maharani

Mohinder Kaur Mehtab Kaur (née Mohinder Kaur; 14 September 1922 – 24 July 2017), was the second wife of the ninth and the last Maharaja of Patiala Yadavindra Singh (1913–1974). She was the mother of Amarinder Singh, the former Chief Minister of Punjab ...

of Patiala. Amarinder Singh's family belongs to the

Phulkian The Phulkian (or Phoolkian) Maharajas were Jat-Sikh rulers and aristocrats in the Punjab region of India. They governed the states of Faridkot, Jind, Nabha, Malaudh and Patiala, allying themselves with the British Raj as per the Cis-Sutlej t ...

dynasty. He attended the Loreto Convent in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, and Lawrence School in

Kasauli Kasauli is a town and cantonment, located in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Raj in 1842 as a Colonial hill station,Sharma, Ambika"Architecture of Kasauli churches" ''The Trib ...

Solan District Solan district is one of the twelve districts of the Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Solan is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district occupies an area of 1936 km2. History The territory of the p ...

, before going to The Doon School in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

. He has one son,

Raninder Singh Raninder Singh (born 2 August 1967) is an Indian politician from Punjab, India, and son of the former Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh. He is the titular heir to the Phulkian royal dynasty of Patiala. Early life and education He belong ...

, and one daughter, Jai Inder Kaur. His wife, Preneet Kaur, served as an

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and was

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2009 to October 2012. His elder sister Heminder Kaur is married to former

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

K. Natwar Singh Kunwar Natwar Singh, IFS (born 16 May 1931) is an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of External Affairs from May 2004 to December 2005. Singh was selected into the Indian Foreign Service, one of the most competitive an ...

. He is also related to Shiromani Akali Dal (A) supremo and former

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus ...

Officer

Simranjit Singh Mann Simranjit Singh Mann (born 20 May 1945) is a separatist politician and an MP representing the constituency of Sangrur since 2022. He is the president of the political party Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Mann is a three-time MP; once from Ta ...

. Mann's wife and Amarinder Singh's wife, Preneet Kaur, are sisters.

Army career

Singh served in the

from June 1963 to December 1966 after graduating from the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the

Sikh Regiment The Sikh Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Sikh regiment is the highest decorated regiment of the Indian Army and in 1979, the 1st battalion was the Commonwealth's most decorated battalion with 245 pre-independence and 82 ...

. He served as the aide-de-camp to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Harbaksh Singh Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh, VrC (1 October 1913 – 14 November 1999) was a senior General Officer in the Indian Army. As the Western Army Commander, Singh commanded the Indian Army forces and played a key role during the Indo-Pakistani W ...

, from December 1964. He left the army in early 1965 to look after his family but returned to service with the start of the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. His father and grandfather were also in army and many times he said that "Army will always be my first love".

Political career

He was inducted into the Congress by

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

, who was his friend from school and was first elected to the

in 1980. In 1984, he resigned from

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and from Congress as a protest against the Army action during Operation Blue Star. Subsequently, he joined the

Shiromani Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many ...

was elected to the state legislature from

Talwandi Sabo Talwandi Sabo is a town and Municipal Council in Bathinda district, Punjab, India. It is famous for being one of the five Takhts of Sikhism (Sikh Religious Places), Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. It is also famous for its Baisakhi, which is celebrate ...

and became a minister in the state government for Agriculture, Forest, Development and Panchayats. In 1992 he broke away from the

Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are man ...

and formed a splinter group named

Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthic) is a defunct Indian political party in Punjab.It is one of several hard-line splinter group, formed as a result of the split in Shiromani Akali Dal in 1991. SAD(P) was formed in 1990. It is led by Jasbir Singh Rod ...

which later merged with the Congress in 1998 (after his party's crushing defeat in

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

election in which he himself was defeated from his own constituency where he got only 856 votes) after

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...

took over the reins of the party. He was defeated by Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra from

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 Mubarak ...

Constituency in 1998 by a margin of 33,251 votes. He served as the President of

on three occasions from 1999 to 2002, 2010 to 2013 and 2015 to 2017. He has been a member of the

Punjab Vidhan Sabha The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. The Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted in March 2022. At present, it consists of 117 members, directl ...

for five terms representing

(Urban) thrice, Samana and

once each.

Chief Minister of Punjab, First term

He became Chief Minister of Punjab in 2002 and continued until 2007. In September 2008, a special committee of

, during the tenure of a government led by

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, expelled him on the count of regularities in the transfer of land related to the Amritsar Improvement Trust. In 2010, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

held his expulsion unconstitutional on the grounds that it was excessive and unconstitutional. He was appointed as chairman of Punjab Congress Campaign Committee in 2008. Captain Amarinder Singh is also a Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee since 2013.

Member of Parliament

He defeated senior BJP leader

Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley (28 December 1952 – 24 August 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jait ...

by a margin of more than 102,000 votes in 2014 general elections. On 27 November 2015, Amarinder Singh was appointed President of Punjab Congress in the run up to Punjab elections slated for 2017.

Chief Minister of Punjab, second term

On 11 March 2017 Congress Party won the

2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election A Legislative Assembly election was held in the Indian state of Punjab on 4 February 2017 to elect the 117 members of the Fifteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly. The counting of votes was done on 11 March 2017. The ruling pre-election coalition w ...

under his leadership. Amarinder Singh was sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab on 16 March 2017 at Punjab Raj Bhavan,

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

. The

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

was administered by the Punjab governor,

V.P. Singh Badnore Vijayender Pal Singh Badnore (born 12 May 1948) is an Indian politician who was the 28th Governor of Punjab. He was a member of Rajya Sabha, elected on 17 June 2010. He was earlier a member of the 14th Lok Sabha and 13th Lok Sabha of the India ...

. He was appointed president of the

Jat Mahasabha Akhil Bhartiya JAT Mahasabha ( hi, अखिल भारतीय जाट महासभा) or ( hi, अखिल भारतीय जाट महासभा) is an organization of Jats in India. The organization was created to raise awa ...

in 2013. During his tenure as chief minister, he came into conflict with a faction of the Congress headed by

Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of To ...

, and was criticized for being inaccessible to Congress MLAs, living in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Chandigarh instead of coming to the civil secretariat building. He also received criticism for not resolving the Bargari sacrilege case and for a perception that he had been insufficiently zealous in prosecuting previous CM Parkash Singh Badal for involvement in the case. On 18 September 2021, he resigned as the Chief Minister of Punjab, as a consequence of conversations with the Congress high command that suggested the Punjab Congress MLAs were lacking confidence in his leadership. Singh publicly blamed Sidhu for the internal tension that led to the resignation, calling him "dangerous", "incompetent", and a "total disaster" and that he would fight any attempt to name Sidhu as the next CM of Punjab. Singh was eventually succeeded by

Charanjit Singh Channi Charanjit Singh Channi is an Indian politician who served as the 16th Chief Minister of Punjab. He is a member of the Indian National Congress. He was also Minister of Technical Education and Training in Second Amarinder Singh ministry and lead ...

as the new chief minister. Singh left the Congress Party, and on 28 October 2021, announced that he would be floating a new party soon and that he would be allying with the

Punjab Lok Congress

Punjab Lok Congress (PLC; English: ''Punjab People's Congress'') is an Indian regional political party, in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

founded by Singh on 2 November 2021 after he resigned as Chief Minister of Punjab and quit the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. The party was formed following a split in Indian National Congress in Punjab. Singh has announced that his party will contest on all 117 seats in

2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in Punjab on 20 February 2022 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022. The Aam Aadmi P ...

. The party failed to win any seat in the elections.

2022 Punjab Assembly election

, Singh lost from the

Patiala assembly constituency Patiala Assembly constituency (Also known as Patiala Urban) (Sl. No.: 115) is a Punjab Legislative Assembly constituency in Patiala district, Punjab state, India. Members of the Legislative Assembly Source: Election Results 2022 ...

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

Ajit Pal Singh Kohli Ajit Pal Singh Kohli is an Indian politician. He is a former Mayor of and the MLA from Patiala Assembly constituency Aam Aadmi Party. Political career He was elected as the MLA in the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election. He represente ...

. The party failed to win any seat in the elections.

Bharatiya Janata Party

A few months after his election failure Singh along with his party merged into the Bharatiya Janata Party on 19 September 2022 after meeting with HM

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

a few days before.

Books

He has also written books on war and Sikh history which include ''A Ridge Too Far'', ''Lest We Forget'', ''The Last Sunset: Rise and Fall of Lahore Durbar'' and ''The Sikhs in Britain: 150 years of Photographs''. Among his most recent works are ''Honour and Fidelity: India's Military Contribution to the Great War 1914 to 1918'' released in Chandigarh on 6 December 2014, and ''The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce – 1965 India-Pakistan War''- which contains his memoirs of the 1965 Indo-Pak war.

Awards and recognition

The author Khushwant Singh released a biographic book titled, ''Captain Amarinder Singh: The People’s Maharaja'' in 2017.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Amarinder 1942 births The Doon School alumni Living people Maharajas of Patiala People from Patiala Punjabi people Chief Ministers of Punjab, India Pretenders Indian Sikhs Shiromani Akali Dal politicians Lawrence School, Sanawar alumni India MPs 1980–1984 Punjab, India MLAs 2002–2007 Indian Army personnel Punjab, India MLAs 2007–2012 Punjab, India MLAs 2012–2017 Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India India MPs 2014–2019 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians Punjab, India MLAs 2017–2022 Punjab Lok Congress politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Punjab