Gurnam Singh

In Office

1. Judge PEPSU High Court, 1950-1956
2. Judge Punjab High Court, 1956-1959.
3. Leader of Opposition, Punjab Legislative Assembly (1962-1967)
4. Chief Minister of Punjab :
   • 1967 February to 1967 November
   • 1969 February to 1970 March
5. Indian High Commissioner to Australia 1973

Personal Details

1. Born: 25th February 1899, Village Narangwal, Punjab, British India
2. Died: 31st May 1973 in New Delhi, India
3. Nationality : Indian
4. Political Party : Shiromani Akali Dal
5. Spouse : Dr. Sant Kaur
6. Residence:
   • Lyallpur in British India;
   • Chandigarh, Independent India
7. Alma Mater:
   • Forman Christian College, Lahore;
   • Middle Temple, London
8. Religion: Sikh

Early Life and Education

Gurnam Singh was born on 25th February 1899 at Village Narangwal in Ludhiana District of undivided Punjab. He belonged to a prominent Sikh family. His father, Karam Singh Grewal, was the Government Revenue official of the village. His paternal uncle Gajjan Singh was Honorary Magistrate, a founding member of the Unionist Party and an elected member of India’s Central Legislature in the 1920’s. Gurnam Singh’s schooling was at Khalsa School, Ludhiana and he graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore. He obtained his Bar-at-Law degree from the Middle Temple, London in 1928. He married Dr. Sant Kaur, the well-respected Assistant Civil Surgeon of Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in Pakistan). He practiced law in Lyallpur and was regarded as a leading criminal lawyer of pre-partition Punjab. After partition of India he was elevated as Judge of the Pepsu High Court in 1950. He became Judge of the Punjab High Court in 1956.

Sports

Gurnam Singh was an outstanding sportsman. He captained the Punjab University Hockey Team and went on to play for India in Britain in 1928. He was champion athlete in the Punjab Olympics, twice winning the Lady Machlagan Cup for the best athlete. He was a member of the Indian Olympics Association.

Liberal Judge

Gurnam Singh served as Judge of the PEPSU High Court (1950 - 1956) and Punjab High Court (1956-1959). “Gurnam Singh was an outstanding judge in all aspects of law. He brought to the Bench integrity, clarity of mind, a quick grasp of issues, capacity for hard work and an independent disposition. He welcomed the Constitution of India as an indelible national commitment to democracy and rule of law. Perhaps more than any other judge or jurist, he realized the ingrained deficiencies of a legal system framed to facilitate colonial rule by curtailing political activity and individual rights (emphasis added). In spite of framing the Fundamental Rights in free India, democracy was often observed in the breach rather than in its true spirit. This was because the system, instead of balancing the rights of the state with those of the individual, in effect gave primacy to the executive and the police. India had not broken with its colonial legal system. The checks and balances were not effective and power was increasingly concentrated in one hand. Therefore, a judge had particular responsibility to safeguard the interests of the citizens and political opponents, especially in cases of malicious prosecution and repression. For his convictions and beliefs, Gurnam Singh was regarded as a liberal hence an “anti-establishment judge”.

Partition of India

Gurnam Singh felt the partition of India into India and Pakistan on a religious basis was a great national tragedy arising from failure of statesmanship. Millions were killed or forced into migration in the brutal ethnic cleansing that followed. This situation could be summed up in Abraham Lincoln’s words, "A house divided against itself cannot stand.” After all Pakistan was Punjab, Sind, Bengal and the Frontier provinces by another name. Partition solved nothing. Generations on both sides of the divide were condemned to conflict and sectarian violence. The field was fertile for professed nationalists and patriots to inflame passions for partisan interests regardless of drainage of blood and treasure.

Need for Independence

Gurnam Singh was the only permanent judge of the higher judiciary in India to head an elected government. His views on the political and legal system adopted by the country stand out as they are in marked variance with the established concept. He felt the constitutional framework was to be seen in the context of British rule. The British introduced into India western democratic institutions of liberty, justice and a free press. Law was codified. The inherent contradiction was that a colonial power founded on military force and ruling by executive decree could not meet the democratic aspirations of Indians. Nor could a western civilization perceived as alien by orthodox Indians bring about urgently needed social reforms and equality in a rigidly conservative Eastern society. Only independence of India could unlock the creativity and productivity of its people.

Advocate for Liberal democracy

India was not a nation in the traditional sense. It consisted of separate nations with diverse people, regions, castes, languages, religions cultures and ethnic groups, united by British rule. The binding force could only be a liberal democracy with a federal system of government. This was the obvious intent of the Constituent Assembly which guaranteed fundamental rights and secular polity. Enactment of good laws was not sufficient. It was the prime duty of the state and the judiciary to secure these rights.

Government system in India half democratic, half colonial

Gurnam Singh believed that the political and administrative system in India was inherently flawed. To paraphrase Lincoln, it was a hybrid system of government, half democratic and half colonial, that could not work. The leadership failed in its prime task of evolving democratic institutions and framing laws which existed in western democracies. True, India was a parliamentary democracy. The Preamble of the Constitution was framed in the name of the People who elected Federal and State governments by universal franchise. In practice this was a false conception: The retention of colonial laws framed to suppress dissent and free speech enabled the office of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers to exercise extra-ordinary power unknown to any democracy.

Power devolved from nominated British Viceroys and Governors to the person of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers and not to the people or even the Cabinet. Little changed except that an elected executive replaced nominated British civil servants. It was inevitable that the interest of the state and the ruling party would merge; and that the party merged with the individual and the individual became the state. Dissent or a contrary view, especially on regional or ideological issues, was condemned as anti-national and unpatriotic. Increasingly, candidates for public office in legislatures and the executive were nominated for their pliability to serve the party leader rather than on merit or interest of the State: The principles of a free constitution are irrecoverably lost, when the legislative power is nominated by the executive. (Edward Gibbon) Indians were free and yet in bondage to their rulers.

Accountability in Public office absent

Gurnam Singh was a strong advocate of human rights and rule of law. The existing system was ripe for misuse. The checks and balances basic to a vibrant democratic system existed only on paper. Even the restraints put in place by the British to check the abuse of power and corruption in public life were whittled down. There can be only nominal accountability when supervisory and investigative authority is vested in politicians and officials who themselves are the accused. In such situations, not only is the law subverted but the accuser or even an honest official discharging his duty is in danger of becoming the accused.

“At least, the British officials and judges along with their Indian counterparts were men of character, integrity and commitment to duty thereby mitigating the rigours of colonial rule. Now the impartiality and integrity of politicians and public servants was becoming suspect. What would be the fate of the citizens if authority came to the vested in venal and pliable hands when the body politic retained much of the centralized stringency of colonial rule.” 1 (emphasis added); especially after Nehru who at least was committed to democracy and secular polity. Gurnam Singh would cite instances where eminent High Court and even Supreme Court judges had decided cases under pressure of the Executive.

 

Misuse of draconian laws

Gurnam Singh condemned the state policy of use of force and draconian laws to suppress peaceful regional demands and perceived political opponents. A perverse definition of nationalism and patriotism was misused to intimidate and penalize dissent. This was preceded by a systemic campaign by the government, sections of the press, ideological organizations and retired officials to vilify such individuals and organizations as traitors.

His views are reflected in his letter dated July 5, 1960 to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India: “The law may be the lex aeterna, ruling above human minds, and as such they protect all those who respect and honour them and destroy those who do not respect them. But they may become merely the will and the whims of those in power, and, as such, they can be the most terrible weapons of tyranny that man has ever possessed.” He went on to explain how the provisions of the Constitution which guarantee the freedom of speech and expression and the right of peaceful assembly are frequently breached by the authorities to suppress and victimize organizations and individuals on the pretext that there are no absolute rights under the exceptions provided therein. Persons arrested in false cases under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code are patronizingly advised that they can prove their innocence in the court of law no matter the cost to their reputation, career, health and finances.

There could be no solution to regional disputes by the use of harsh laws. They were to be settled by dialogue and discussion. In his letter dated July 5, 1960 to Prime Minister Nehru in the context of Sikh demands, he wrote:

“This, in fact, is the first point I desire to make, that by some deliberate design or irresistible development of events, there pervades in the political atmosphere of India, an oppressive and stifling climate of dominant group opinion and governmental trend, in which it is verboten (forbidden) to breathe unless in harmony with the wishes and prejudices of the communal majority. This, the Sikhs resent profoundly and intensely, and to smear them as “communal”, or even harbourers of treasonable intentions is certainly not the best way of relieving this tension from which they suffer, ever since 1947.”

He strongly protested against the detention of Master Tara Singh, the Sikh leader in 1960, for making peaceful demands on behalf of the community. As Chief Minister in 1967, he was the first signatory to a petition prepared by Mrinalini Sarabhai to the President of India for the release of former Kashmir Premier Sheikh Abdullah detained for making demands on Kashmir.

Entry into Politics

Gurnam Singh was a nationalist and member of the Congress party before independence. Post Independence he became disillusioned with the party. The Indian National Congress controlled the central and state governments with brute majorities. Power was highly centralized, the opposition weak and fragmented. There was visible intolerance to political dissent especially in Punjab. In these circumstances, he responded to the call of C. Rajagopalachari, former Governor General of India and an eminent scholar, to join active politics to secure political and structural reform. This could only be done at a regional level as no opposition party had a pan India presence.

Punjab had polarized between the Sikhs and Punjabi Hindus. The Sikh community felt it was discriminated against by the central government at the behest of a sectarian section of Hindu leaders. The schism in the two communities ran deep. A demand arose for the creation of an autonomous Sikh State within India. In the circumstances, Gurnam Singh along with Kapur Singh, Ex-ICS, accepted the invitation of Master Tara Singh, the Sikh leader, to join the Shiromani Akali Dal which historically represented the political and religious aspirations of the Sikh community. It was also the main opposition party in Punjab.

Gurnam Singh moved the historic 1960 Ludhiana resolution calling for a self-determined political status for the Sikhs within the Republic of the Union of India² in a conference presided over by C. Rajagopalachari, former Governor General of India and other eminent personalities. Later, this demand was amended to one for a linguistic state of Punjab on the pattern of reorganization of other States. Gurnam Singh’s advent into politics marked the beginning of an era which transformed Sikh polity and made a distinct impact on national politics. The troika of Master Tara Singh, Sant Fateh Singh and Gurnam Singh revived the Akali party which had been dissolved following the Nehru-Tara Singh pact in 1955. Along with Sant Fateh Singh, Gurnam Singh was a leading light in the movement for Punjabi Suba or unilingual State of Punjab.

However, Gurnam Singh’s appeal went beyond the Sikh community. In the decade that followed, he played a central role in the affairs of the region and beyond. Credit goes to him for giving Akali politics a broad secular forum which enabled the party to head successive governments in the State and be part of national coalition governments. It is a tribute to his statesmanship that the secular fabric in Punjab has withstood great challenges of the times and communal harmony prevails in the State.

Member of the Legislature

Gurnam Singh was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly on the Akali Dal ticket in 1962. He became leader of the combined opposition (1962–1967). Devi Lal, later to become Deputy Prime Minster of India, was the Deputy leader. Gurnam Singh brought all the attributes of a brilliant lawyer into politics and the legislature. He was a great orator who could hold audiences spell bound. He was the dominant figure in the Punjab legislature at a time when the Assembly consisted of many stalwarts from the pre-independence era and after. His epic debates led to the eventual resignation of long serving Chief Minister, Partap Singh Kairon. Gurnam Singh acknowledged that Kairon was a towering personality who laid the foundation for the development of Punjab. However, he felt Kairon had become intolerant of dissent and was responsible for grave human rights abuses.

It is aptly written that: “S. Gurnam Singh’s powerful oratory, ready wit, broad vision and an incisive mind made him a brilliant and formidable parliamentarian. His strong faith in accountability in public life and respect for individual rights by the state made him a leading advocate of an independent and impartial judiciary. To him goes the credit for the separation of the lower Judiciary in Punjab from the executive.”¹

Support for Federalism

Gurnam Singh was the first leader to visualize a major role for regional parties in national politics. He believed that a synthesis between national, regional and minority aspirations was essential. There must be a holistic national polity in this regard if India was to emerge as a great nation. To this end he along with Chief Minister of Madras (now Tamil Nadu), M. Karunanidhi, took up the issue of devolution of power from the Centre to the States. Gurnam Singh initiated a dialogue directly between the states which till then dealt interse through the central government. He made coalition government a success by bringing diverse parties together. The historic Batala Conference organized by the Akali Party in September 1968 formalized the demand for federalism and inter state relations. Gurnam Singh went further: transfer of power from the centre to the states was not in itself sufficient. Power must devolve to the people through local self-governments to check over centralization of authority in the union and state governments.

As Chief Minister: “Awesome achievements”

Gurnam Singh became the first non-congress Chief Minister of Punjab in 1967, heading an Akali led united front government with a slender majority. This was the first coalition of its kind in India (along with Bhartiya Kranti Dal in Bihar) consisting of non Congress parties from all spectrums of political thought i.e. Akali Dal, Akali Dal (Master), Jan Sangh, CPI, CPM, Socialists, Republicans and 9 independents. He assumed office at a time when the tenure of non-Congress governments was shortlived because of misuse of executive power by the central government through nominated State Governors. After the fall of his government in November 1967 he was re-elected Chief Minster in 1969. That government was also toppled in 1970. Gurnam Singh believed it was the fundamental duty of the State to empower and elevate its people and in particular the rural areas where eighty percent of the populace lived in poverty and indebtedness. He was aware he had little time to implement his full agenda. He decided to prioritize economic development, education and financial reforms, specially crony capitalism which was all pervasive. Till then governments in India had concentrated mainly on urban areas. The rural population and the urban poor were illiterate.

“Gurnam Singh in his brief spell in power had awesome achievements which place him amongst the foremost chief ministers the nation has produced. He can take sole credit for the current food policy in India. On his initiative the Central government began the minimum price fixation of foodgrains and expanded the role of the Food Corporation of India to purchase surplus foodgrains. This policy brought immense benefit to farmers and consumers alike. His services in this sphere were recognized by the Prime Minster Indira Gandhi, who sent him as the head of the Indian delegation to the World Food Conference in Rome, the only Chief Minister, and that too an opposition one, so privileged till today”¹. Till then the country faced regular famine because of an annual deficit in foodgrain production. Credit goes mainly to him to make India surplus in food grains by ending its dependence on imports.

When Gurnam Singh assumed office, rural India did not have roads interlinking villages with cities and each other. There was no rural electrification. “He was the first head of government, centre or state, who brought about rural development by initiating projects of rural electrification and link roads. For this purpose, he set up the Bathinda Thermal Plant. He transformed the rural economy, making Punjab the most prosperous state in India and creating a model which other states would follow”¹. He left Punjab a surplus State inspite of heavy expenditure on development.

Industry and Education

Gurnam Singh visualized industrialization of Punjab and its integration with the rural economy as the way forward to remove unemployment, poverty and indebtedness. For this purpose he obtained 14 Industrial projects from the Central government for the State including what was to be named “Punjab Tractors Ltd.” “He believed that education was the key for a better quality of life and emancipation of women. He founded the Guru Nanak Dev University and initiated the process of setting up over twenty colleges on the occasion of the fifth birth centenary of Guru Nanak Dev. He also started the Punjab School Education Board. He persuaded Master Tara Singh to start the Guru Nanak Engineering College in Ludhiana in 1956, the first of its kind in the region and remained the Chairman of the Managing Committee till his death in 1973”¹

Election of President of India, V.V. Giri

The election of Vice President V.V. Giri as President of India in 1969 is a watershed in the recent history of the country. It led to a split in the ruling Congress party between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the Congress President S. Nijalingappa who were supported by majority of Congress Chief Ministers. It caused an ideological split in the country between parties to the right and the centre-left of the political spectrum. Gurnam Singh, who travelled to Madras (now Chennai) with V.V. Giri in June 1969, was the first leader in India to support V.V. Giri for the office of President which he announced in Madras.

Issues arising from re-organization of Punjab in 1966

The Akali Dal and Gurnam Singh in particular condemned the criterion adopted by the central government for the re-organization of Punjab into the states of Punjab and Haryana on the basis of the 1961 census. It was pointed out that Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru was on record to state that the census was vitiated. The census was conducted in a surcharged communal atmosphere wherein Punjabi Hindus recorded Hindi as their mother tongue to distort the language figures. Consequently, Punjabi speaking areas were perversely transferred to Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on a communal not linguistic basis causing great resentment in Punjab. The State was also deprived of its capital city of Chandigarh built for it in lieu of leaving Lahore as also major assets such as the Bhakra Dam Complex and river waters to non riparian states. He repeatedly warned the Central Government of the danger of injecting communal virus into secular polity. In a letter to Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (dated Jan 28, 1970), Gurnam Singh wrote:

“I cannot agree to push out of Punjab Punjabi-speaking Hindu villages to satisfy undue greed of Haryana. Apart from this we would be introducing communal virus into rural area resulting in serious law and order problem which I shudder to face. It is inconceivable to act on such a preposterous preposition in order to gain some point. I have been working for Hindu Sikh Unity since I have taken over as Chief Minister and have been trying to strengthen secular forces. Now I cannot conceive of destroying that achievement in which I have phenomenal success. You are also aware that 1961 Census can not be relied upon.”

Gurnam Singh set up a special Cell in the Punjab Government to prepare Punjab’s case on the issue of Punjabi speaking areas, distribution of river waters and its other claims over its assets. This cell was disbanded after the fall of his government.

Fall of the Government

Gurnam Singh and his party President Sant Fateh Singh differed on their perception of running the government. Gurnam Singh upset Fateh Singh by resisting his demand of promoting undeserving persons to public office. Fateh Singh was also upset with Gurnam Singh for refusing to force-feed Darshan Singh Pheruman in jail, where he had undertaken a fast unto death for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab. Pheruman died after 73 days. In turn, Fateh Singh broke his own fast on a similar demand leading to public loss of face for which he blamed Gurnam Singh. Gurnam Singh was aware that his government was shortlived as a section of Akalis were in touch with Union Home Minister, Y.B. Chavan, to destabilize their own government; but he was not prepared to compromise principles to accommodate diverse vested interests. He preferred to be a path breaker and hoped others would consolidate what he had started.

In his pamphlet titled ‘Dictatorship & Revolt’, dated 13th June, 1971, Gurnam Singh described the fall of his government:

“But the tragedy of the whole situation is that two diametrically different lessons were drawn by the Akali leadership from the rich experience of the two united front Ministries the State had after the creation of the Punjabi-Speaking State. While some people looked upon political power as a delicate weapon to serve the common people of the State, there were others who led themselves to believe that in the final analysis, the power does not flow from the people but they individually are the main source of power. As a logical result of this shallow attitude towards political power, a section of the Akali leaders, who had confined themselves in a narrow shell of sycophants and careerists, started using political power to satisfy their ambition of projecting themselves as the new feudal rulers of Punjab. Nevertheless when these new “Maharajas” sought to turn the ministers into puppets and started interfering in day to day administration, I firmly resisted.”

Marriage and Family

Gurnam Singh was 29 when he married Dr. Sant Kaur, the popular Gynecologist of the Government Hospital, Lyallpur. A part of her duties was to carry out delivery cases in remote villages at night at a time when they lacked infrastructure and roads. She died on 22nd December, 1965. Gurnam Singh is survived by a daughter and two sons. Their daughter Jasbir Kaur was born on 17th March, 1932 in Lyallpur. She is married and lives in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Their elder son Sukhbir Singh Grewal was born on 28th June, 1933. He served as a Senior Executive in Shell International Petroleum Company and is presently an independent company Director and Advisor to several companies. He lives in Chandigarh. Their youngest son Gurbir Singh was born on 1st August, 1946 at Lyallpur. He entered politics and is presently President, Guru Nanak Education Trust, Ludhiana which manages Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana. He is a strong advocate of human rights and democratic institutions. He has been a petitioner in several landmark Public Interest Petitions including the petition for repeal of the 59th Amendment of the Constitution of India depriving the people of Punjab the right to life and liberty. He lives in Chandigarh.

High Commissioner to Australia

In 1972, Gurnam Singh was offered a post in the Union Cabinet by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in recognition of his unique abilities. He did not feel it appropriate to join the Congress at that stage having been in the forefront of the opposition. Moreover, he had been in public life for over two decades without any respite preceded by disruption to his life caused by the partition of India. He wanted a break from politics. Therefore, he accepted the Prime Minister’s offer to become High Commissioner to Australia in 1973. He was in excellent health and hoped to return soon to politics to complete his agenda; but he died trgically in an air accident.

Death & Tribute

Gurnam Singh died in an Air Crash in Delhi on 31st May, 1973 while returning from Australia. He was cremated in his native village, Narangwal in Punjab.

Tributes were paid to Gurnam Singh on his death by the Parliament of India, State Legislatures, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Chief Ministers, political leaders and eminent persons in various spheres. The tribute paid in the Punjab and Haryana High Court Golden Jubilee Souvenir sums up his life and mission:

“Gurnam Singh excelled as a sportsman, lawyer, judge and statesman. “He served the nation with distinction, devotion and integrity. Many of his ideas have borne fruit.” However, as he apprehended, there is a marked decline in the body politic and democratic institutions today. Gurnam Singh believed that lawyers and judges by their training, temperament and the demands of their profession were the best custodians of a democratic constitution. In today’s circumstances he would have expected that the legal profession above all others would strive for a nation committed to justice, freedom and rule of law.”

1. Golden Jubilee Souvenir- Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh, 2009.
2. Nationalism in India – The Problem: Ajit Singh Sarhadi.