Gyani Zail Singh Biography(President of India)
Gyani Zail Singh, who served as the seventh President of the Republic of India was the first Sikh to serve in this post. He was a very religious person and had in depth knowledge about the Guru Granth Sahib even though he lacked formal secular education. He was a freedom fighter and social reformer who always emphathized with the downtrodden and did all that he could possibly do for the upliftment of the society. He was interested in politics from an early age and was deeply influenced by the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his companions who gave up their precious lives fighting for the freedom of the country. Young Zail, who was just 16 at the time of the incident resolved to follow in their footsteps and contribute towards the welfare of his nation. He fervently participated in nationalist activities and was frequently imprisoned, even kept in solitary confinement. Yet nothing could break the determined man’s spirit. As fate would have it, this aspiring politician soon joined the Indian National Congress and held several prestigious posts in the cabinet before being elected the president of India.
Birthday: May 5, 1916 (Taurus)
Born In: Faridkot, Punjab, India
Also Known As: Gyani Zail Singh
Died At Age: 78
Spouse/Ex-: Pardhan Kaur
Father: Bhai Kishan Singh
Mother: Mata Ind Kaur
Died On: December 25, 1994
Place Of Death: Chandigarh, India
Cause Of Death: Accident
Childhood & Early Life :
He was born in a mud house to a poor family in Faridkot district in Punjab, India. His father’s name was Bhai Kishan Singh while his mother was Mata Ind Kaur. His father worked as the village carpenter.
He was the youngest among six siblings who included five brothers and a sister. Tragedy struck the close-knit family when his mother died when he was just a child. The children were later brought up by their mother’s sister.
His family, though humble also had a small piece of land to till. Zail Singh was brought up in a religious environment by his family and became well versed in the holy scriptures of the Sikhs by an early age.
As a teenager he was accepted into the Shahid Sikh Missionary College at Amritsar in spite of the fact that he did not have a matriculation certificate. However, he was a very confident young man highly skilled in the art of public speaking.
While in college he acquired the title “Gyani” because of his knowledge of the Guru Granth Sahib and because of his extensive training in religious studies. He was very fluent in Punjabi and Urdu and could hold his audience in a trance with his oratory skills.
In 1931, Bhagat Singh and his companions Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged to death by the British for their extremist nationalist activities. Zail Singh who was just 15 at that time was deeply impacted by the incident.
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