Teja Singh Akarpuri (1892 – 20 November 1975) was an Indian and

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

politician who served as the 11th

Jathedar of Akal Takht The Jathedar of the Akal Takht ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ ਅਕਾਲ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is the head of the Akal Takht and head of the Sikhs worldwide. The jathedar has the de facto power as the supreme spokesperson of the Khalsa t ...

from 1921 to 1923 and 1926 to 1930. He was the First MP from

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, between the rivers Beas River, Beas and Ravi River, Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the distr ...

constituency In

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 ...

from 1952 to 1957 and was succeeded by Diwan Chand Sharma.

Early life

Teja Singh was born in the

district of the

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 ...

. His father was Pala Singh and mother Partap Kaur. He matriculated from Khalsa Collegiate School,

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

, in 1911, and enlisted in the 24th Sikh Battalion of the Indian Army the following year. Leaving the Army, he became a patvari in the revenue department of the Punjab at the end of 1914. He was promoted ziledar in 1918.

Political career

After the Nankana Sahib massacre of February 1921, he resigned from government service and joined the

Akali movement The Akali movement , also called the Gurdwara Reform Movement, was a campaign to bring reform in the gurdwaras (the Sikh places of worship) in India during the early 1920s. The movement led to the introduction of the Sikh Gurdwara Bill in 1925, w ...

. The

SGPC The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; "Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee") is an organization in India responsible for the management of Gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the union ...

appointed him administrator of Gurdwara Premsati at Kamalia, in

Montgomery District Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province of British India, in what is now Pakistan. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi rivers, extendi ...

, now in Pakistan. In 1921, he was appointed

Jathedar A jathedar ( pa, ਜੱਥੇਦਾਰ) is a leader of high regard chosen to head and ensure discipline within a jatha, a body of Sikhs. The Jathedar of the Akal Takht is the central head of the Sikhs worldwide, who makes all important decisions ...

Akal Takht The Akal Takht ("Throne of the Timeless One") is one of five takhts (seats of power) of the Sikhs. It is located in the Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Akal Takht (originally called Akal Bunga) was built by ...

. He was president of Sri

Nankana Sahib Nankana Sahib () is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is the most ...

management committee from 1935 to 1938. In the Punjab Assembly elections in January 1937, he contested the

Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...

constituency as a nominee of the Shiromani Akali Dal, but lost to Sir Sundar Singh Majithia, leader of the Khalsa National Party. He was again elected a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 1939. He became 7th president of the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1940. He presided over the first Sarb Hind Akali Conference at

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

, in

district, on 10 February 1940. Jathedar Teja Singh Akarpuri was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1957 representing his native district,

.Statistical Report On General Elections, 1951 (refer to Page 15)
/ref> He died at his ancestral village Akarpura on 20 November 1975.

References

* Piar Singh, ''Teja Singh Samundn''. Amritsar, 1975 * Ashok, Shamsher Singh, ''Shiroinani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee da Panjah Sala Itihas''. Amritsar, 1982 * Josh, Sohan Singh, ''Akali Morchian da Itihas''. Delhi, 1972 * Pratap Singh, Giani, ''Gurdwara Sudhar arthat Akali Lahir''. Amritsar, 1975 * Sahni, ''Ruchi Ram, Struggle for Reform in Sikh Shrines'', ed., Ganda Singh. Amritsar, n.d 1975 deaths Indian Sikhs People from Gurdaspur India MPs 1952–1957 Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India Indian National Congress politicians 1892 births Punjabi people Jathedars of Akal Takht Indian National Congress politicians from Punjab, India {{PunjabIN-INC-politician-stub