Bibi8217;s village happy but cries for development

BEGOWAL KAPURTHALA, MARCH 17: For those who witnessed Bibi Jagir Kaur rocket into the political orbit through her religious standing in...

BEGOWAL KAPURTHALA, MARCH 17: For those who witnessed Bibi Jagir Kaur rocket into the political orbit through her religious standing in the village of her in-laws, her elevation as president of the premier Sikh body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC, hardly comes as a surprise. Nevertheless, her close supporters and followers are jubilant. They were seen distributing sweets when The Indian Express team visited the village this afternoon. But her detractors are far from being impressed. They do not tire of saying the oft-repeated complain about her failure to initiate any development works in the region, particularly in Kapurthala district, despite being a Cabinet minister in the Parkash Singh Badal Government.

quot;We were all anticipating itquot;, said Bibi8217;s elder sister, Ravail Kaur, offering ladoos to one and all. Ironically, the village had no power since morning. Hence, only a few could get to know about the news of the election of Bibi Jagir Kaur as the SGPC president.quot;Someone broke the news to me in the afternoon but I did not believe it until I heard it on the AIR,quot; Ravail Kaur said in a tone ringing with jubilation.

Being head of the ancestral religious seat in the name of Baba Prem Singh Dera established in the village, Bibi Jagir Kaur jumped into the political arena successfully contesting the 1997 Assembly elections as an Akali Dal Badal candidate and was inducted into the Cabinet by Badal. Her popularity and following in the Lubana-dominated region is much due to her being head of the religious seat which she inherited from her husband Harnam Singh who died barely three years after her marriage in 1980. She herself belongs to the Lubana community. Born in 1954 at Bhatnura village, Bibi Jagir Kaur has five sisters and three brothers.

A police inspector sitting in the compound of the Baba Prem Singh Dera was also seen offering ladoos to the visitors coming to congratulate members of the family at the dera. The Bibi herself was still at Amritsar. SangatSingh, a granthi at the dera, said they were all waiting for her to come back from Amritsar. Her brother-in-law Balbir Singh who is manager of the dera, said, quot;She belongs to a gurdwara and undoubtedly the right candidate to head the SGPC.quot;

Some of the shopkeepers in the village market hailed her election but were not happy with the pace of development. quot;She is a Cabinet Minister, but you see the condition of the roads here. We have the worst roads in Kapurthala District, may be in entire Punjab,quot; commented a shopkeeper in the market.

Local Congress leader Gurcharan Singh too did not seem to be impressed. quot;The SGPC presidency is okay but she is also a minister. We just hope she realises her duty towards the development of the area as a minister,quot; he remarked.

But Bibi Jagir Kaur evokes equally strong feelings among her supporters. Sukhwinder Singh, one of the employees of the two schools run by the Bibi in the village, was almost reverent towards her when he said, quot;She got me married. I was nothing. Shegave me shelter. The Bibi gives solace and shelter to the poor and needy,quot; he said in a laudatory tone.

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The dera the Bibi heads in the village was located in Pakistan from where the family of her in-laws shifted after partition and established the dera in the village. Herself a school teacher in the village school in early 1980s, Bibi Jagir Kaur took charge of the dera and quit her job after the death of her husband. She has two daughter, both studying in Chandigarh.