Born on July 11, 1902, Sardar Baldev Singh was independent India's first Defence Minister. He, also, was the first Sikh Defence Minister in any country. Singh who was born in Rupar district, Punjab during British Raj played an important role in the country's freedom struggle.
Sardar Baldev Singh represented the Punjabi Sikh community in negotiations that resulted in India's independence and the partition.
The alumnus of Khalsa College, Amritsar, Singh was born to steel magnate Inder Singh in Jamshedpur. After his graduation, he joined his father's company. However, in the 1930s he returned to Punjab and joined politics.
On his birth anniversary, here's remembering independent India's first defence minister's contribution to the country.
Sardar Baldev Singh's Illustrious Political Journey
Singh had won the Punjab provincial assembly in 1937 as a Panthic Party candidate and was later closely linked to Master Tara Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal. With the win in the provincial assembly, he began his illustrious political career. From 1942-46, Singh held the post of State's Development Minister.
Singh was part of delegations representing the Sikh community in the negotiations during the 1942 Cripps Mission and was part of the 1946 delegation to the 1946 Cabinet Mission.
Initially, Singh did oppose the Partition, during the negotiations and proposed safeguarding the minorities. However, he also stated that if the partition was inevitable, Sikh community be protected and Muslim-dominated divisions of Punjab should be cut off.
The aftermath of the partition was gruesome and Baldev Singh with Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel led the army for relief and rescue operations.
He also ably weathered Defence ministry through crisis like India-Pakistan war in 1947 and the accession of Junagadh and Hyderabad to India.
In 1952, Baldev Singh was elected to the Parliament of India as a member of INC in the first democratic elections under the new Constitution of India. He was re-elected to the Parliament in 1957.
Until he breathed his last in 1961, Singh remained a major political representative of the Sikh concerns and was respected by the Akali Dal. He was re-elected to the Parliament in 1957.
