Starting his active political career as a sarpanch in the year India got its independence, 87-year-old Parkash Singh Badal has achieved almost everything a politician can wish for. He served five-times as the Chief Minister of Punjab, 10 times as a member of the State legislative Assembly, he was a Union Minister in the Morarji Desai Government in 1977 etc. A “Padma” honour for the ‘larger than life’ public figure is just what he deserves. President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday conferred the country’s second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan for the year 2015, on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a Civil Investiture Ceremony held in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Described as “country’s great statesman”, Badal has been awarded the honour in the category of “public affairs”.
The citation read, “Sardar Parkash Singh Badal is an Indian politician, who has been the Chief Minister of Punjab for four terms previously — from 1969-71, 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-2012 — and is currently the Chief Minister of the State for the fifth term. Few in this country can claim to have remained in the forefront of public life for almost the entire period of the post-Independence India as he has been, making him the grand patriarch on the Indian political scene.”
Born on December 8, 1927 in village Abul Khurana, Badal graduated from FC College lahore, and jumped into politics in 1947. Beginning his political career from the grass root level as the sarpanch of lambi village, there was no looking back for him. After entering the State Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1957, he never faced defeat and has been elected MlA in each Assembly election held in the State till present, for total 10 times, except 1992 which was boycotted by the Akalis.
Badal's contributions towards people’s welfare have been enormous. Apart from carrying out various welfare services, he has contributed in the upliftment of society and States, introducing welfare schemes that has benefited Punjab. His life is a saga of struggle for safeguarding human rights, civil liberties, freedom of the press and other democratic values in the country. He has spent the better part of the prime of his life in prison fighting for popular causes in independent India.
All his life, Badal has worked closely with the common people, earning him well deserved sobriquet of "man of the masses" and a true grass-root leader. Even today, he regularly holds Sangat Darshans in villages across Punjab by going to the doorsteps of the people to redress their grievances. Having numerous awards and coveted honours to his credit for distinguished services and life time achievements, Badal was bestowed with the most revered honour ‘Panth Rattan Faqhr-e-Quam’ title from Sri Akal Takhat Sahib in recognition of his outstanding contribution and glorious services rendered by him during his long panthic and political career.
