Singh Parivar

This is the story of Punjab8217;s Establishment, one based on not merit or even money but, simply, bloodline.

ON THE BADAL BANDWAGON

Start with the Badal family. Three times chief minister Parkash Singh Badal8217;s brother Gurdas Badal, a former MP and MLA and still very active in Akali politics, has a son called Manpreet Singh Badal. Manpreet studied in the UK, was given a party ticket by uncle Parkash and is now in his third term as MLA. He is considered a weightier leader than many who have spent decades in the Akali Dal.

When the Badals8217; palatial farmhouse in Balasar was raided recently, it was Manpreet who was at the forefront, defending the family8217;s honour before the world. Not surprising, given he is also the Akali Dal8217;s media secretary. His mother-in-law is president of the party8217;s women8217;s wing.

Parkash Singh Badal8217;s son Sukhbir came back from the US to become an MP and a Union minister. Defeated in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, he was given a Rajya Sabha seat.

The former chief minister8217;s daughter Parneet is married into the staunchly Congress family of Surinder Kairon, son of the legendary Partap Singh Kairon, perhaps Punjab8217;s most famous chief minister. Parneet8217;s husband Adesh Pratap, though, switched political affiliation after marriage, became an MLA on an Akali ticket and a minister in his father-in-law8217;s government.

KAIRONS AND BRARS: FORGING ALLIANCES

PARTAP Singh Kairon had a brother, Jaswant Singh.

Jaswant8217;s daughter Gurvinder Kaur Rano 8212; briefly an MLA and Punjab Congress chief 8212; married Harcharan Singh Brar, who became a Congress chief minister in 1995.

Their daughter Babli once unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections against Sukhbir Badal, and she is still active in politics. H.S. Brar8217;s son Kanwarjit Sunny Lalli Brar became an MLA in 1977.

PATIALA ROYALS AND MANNS: SISTER ACT

Sunny Brar and Amarinder Singh8217;s younger brother Malwinder are married to sisters. The common father-in-law is New Delhi-based businessman Surinder Pal Singh Mann, whose daughters have ended up uniting the Brars and the Patiala royals.

Another interesting pair of brothers-in-law comprises Amarinder Singh himself and radical Akali Dal Amritsar MP from Sangrur, Simranjit Singh Mann. Amarinder and Mann are married to Preneet and Geetinder respectively, the daughters of former Punjab chief secretary Gian Singh Kahlon.

Both Preneet and Geetinder are active in politics. While Preneet is the Congress MP from Patiala 8212; the region her in-laws ruled for generations 8212; Geetinder Kaur campaigns actively for her husband.

In opposite camps today, Amarinder and Man were once close ideologically. In 1994, both signed the controversial Amritsar Declaration.

WITH THE MAJITHIAS IN HIGH PLACES

To go back to the Badals. Sukhbir, Parkash Singh Badal8217;s son, is married to Har Simrat Kaur, the daughter of Satyajit Singh Majithia. Her brother Bikram Sukhbir8217;s brother-in-law is also active in Akali politics. Satyajit8217;s father Surjit was deputy defence minister in Jawaharlal Nehru8217;s 1952 ministry. Surjit8217;s father Sir Sunder Singh Majithia, incidentally, was knighted by the British, possibly an early acknowledgement of the family8217;s prowess at power-brokering.

The Badals seem to be right at the centre of political clansmanship. They are also related to the family of Baldev Singh, India8217;s first defence minister, who was sacked by Nehru because of his proximity to Akali leader Master Tara Singh, and replaced by Surjit Singh Majithia.

Badal8217;s uncle8217;s daughter was married to Baldev Singh8217;s son Surjit Singh. Surjit8217;s brother Ravi Inder Singh was nominated Speaker of the Assembly by Badal in 1977 and again in 1985. Of late, to Badal8217;s utter chagrin, he is thick with Amarinder and working to coalesce the Akali factions opposed to Badal.

WHILE these are the major families, their branches and offshoots are as tangled, proving blood is thicker than ideology in Punjab politics.

Amarinder8217;s mama mother8217;s brother Inderjeet Singh Jaijee was elected MLA in 1985 and remains active in politics as head of a proactive human rights forum. His wife Diljit Kaur Jaijee is a senior Punjab bureaucrat on the verge of retirement.

Badal8217;s relatives, no matter how far removed, are also in prominent positions. His uncle chacha Har Raj Singh8217;s son Paramjit Singh Dhillon, better known as Lally Badal, is a member of the Punjab Public Service Commission. Another uncle chacha Gur Raj Singh8217;s son Bhupinder Dhillon was Badal8217;s political secretary during 1997-2002.

Badal8217;s cousin Hardeep Inder Singh was a transport minister in the Akali government in 1985, while yet another cousin Mahesh Inder Singh Badal is the Muktsar district president of the Congress, and widely regarded as a rising star. He is Badal8217;s neighbour in their ancestral village, where a nephew of Badal8217;s, Sanjam Singh, is now sarpanch.

Punjabis are down to earth, realistic people. They know that Amarinder8217;s dogged pursuit of Badal8217;s allegedly dirty deals will end one day or the other. The dominance of the Super Six families will take much longer to go into the sunset.