Chaudhary Santokh Singh – An Obituary

 

Chaudhary Santokh Singh – An Obituary                        

I have been writing in my blogs about some of the known personalities who had contributed to the society and the polity in one way or the other. With some of them, I have had opportunity to meet and interact and there may be some with whom I did not have personal relationship at all. I do this as a voluntary activity to pay my respect and regard to the concerned person and for information and knowledge of my readers, if of any interest, without any instigation.

Today I will write about Chaudhary Santokh Singh, 76 years (June, 1946- January, 2023), a social and political personality of Punjab, particularly of the Doaba region, who passed away on January 14,

during the call of his duty as a politician in the early morning of cold Saturday, in the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi at Phillaur in Jalandhar.  Chaudhary Santokh Singh was a suave and gentleman politician with whom I interacted many a times informally mostly on social events particularly on returning to my roots in Jalandhar after my long diplomatic career.  I found him a polite but well informed politician particularly with regard to the matters of concern and interest to the community. He was an educated and well groomed face of the politics of have-nots and weaker sections of the society. Chaudhary Sahib, as popularly addressed by people, was one of the leading and established public figure belonging to Congress Party – MLA and Minister in Punjab in the Governments of CM Beant Singh and CM Amrinder Singh, two times Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) representing a prestigious Jalandhar parliamentary constituency besides adorning the coveted positions in the  hierarchy of his Party.  The sudden demise of Chaudhary Santokh Singh has definitely left a wide void in the dalit leadership which would take long time to fill.

Chaudhary Santokh Singh, a fellow alumnus of Jalandhar DAV College, a couple of years senior to me, was the scion of one of the premier political and social families of Punjab – his father Master Gurbanta Singh was himself a politician and community leaders of standing right from the 1920s having joined hands with  Ghadrite Baba Babu Mangu Ram Mugowalia in launching Ad-dharam Mandal and espousing the causes of depressed and oppressed segments of the society as a member of the Congress Party. He was a prominent dalit face in the Governments of Partap Singh Kairon and others and left a strong legacy which was successfully upheld by his sons, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh who also remained MLA, Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab and Chaudhary Santokh Singh who is the subject matter of this write up as a tribute on his demise. The sons of Jagjit and Santokh, Surinder Singh former MLA and current MLA Vikramjit Singh respectively are also budding politicians holding the rich family legacy. Chaudhary Santokh Singh was the leading light of the socio-cultural and educational endeavors of the family with his gracious wife Karamjit Kaur, an educationist and academic of repute herself in running the reputed institutions in Jalandhar namely; Guru Ravidass High School Kishanpura which also remained Hdqs. Of Ad-dharam Mandal for long years, Master Gurbanta Singh Higher Secondary School at Lambra, Master Gurbanta Singh Janta College Kartarpur and Guru Ravidass Bhawan Trust tt Link Road. As I said, I tended to write on eminent personalities of the community, I wrote several times about Master Gurbanta Singh, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and his son Surinder Singh in these columns which may be accessed at: https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2015/08/chaudhary-jagjit-singh-tribute.html and https://diplomatictitbits.blogspot.com/2017/12/bits-and-pieces-as-i-please-10.html

We have lost a leader of standing in the passing away of Chaudhary Santokh Singh. Obviously, everyone was socked to get the sad news. PM Narendra Modi, Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, President of Congress Party, Malikarjun Kharge in their condolence messages to the bereaved family deeply mourned the death of a worthy son of the soil. Rahul Gandhi in who’s Bharat Jodo Yatra Chaudhary Sahib died in harness not only joined at the funeral on January 15, done in his

ancestral village Dhaliwal Qadian in the outskirts of Jalandhar to join his father Master Gurbanta Singh and elder brother Jagjit Singh where they were put to eternal rest, paid a befitting tribute in his heartfelt condolence message and said "Shocked by the sudden demise of Shri Santokh Singh Chaudhary. He was a down-to-earth hardworking leader, a pious person and a strong pillar of the Congress family, who dedicated his life to public service from Youth Congress to Member of Parliament. I express my condolences to the bereaved family,"

Chaudhary family at the Langar

Let me add a bit more on a personal note. Gurpurab of Guru Ravidass is coming on February 5. In the connection, my extended family arranges a Langar on the day of Shobha Yatra for almost 30 years on a designated spot on the route of the Yatra in Jalandhar. The Chaudhary family generally led the Yatra, starting from Guru Ravidass Bhawan at Link Road, Chaudhary Santokh Singh, these days, as head of the family usually led the Yatra. He would invariably be invited to the Podium/Stage of the Langar for a message to the community. We would him miss badly and sadly this year. May Guru Ravidass grant peace to the departed soul of Chaudhry Sahib – The Yatra would go on.

जिस धज से कोई मकतल में गया; वह शान सलामत रहती है,

यह जान तो आनी जानी है; इस जान की कोई बात नहीं।