M A I N   N E W S

Punjab ex-CM Harcharan Singh Brar dead
Funeral today; 3-day mourning announced; Govt offices, educational institutions to remain closed
Naveen S Garewal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6
Former Punjab Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Harcharan Singh Brar died at the PGI here today. He had been unwell of late. The Punjab Government has announced state funeral that will take place at his village, Sarai Naga (Near Muktsar), at 3 pm tomorrow.

Brar, 87, is survived by son Kanwaljeet Singh (Sunny) Brar (a sitting Congress MLA) and daughter Bubli Brar. Brar remained the Governor of Orissa as well as that of Haryana (from September 24, 1977, to December 9, 1979).

The Punjab Government has declared 3-day mourning from today. The National Flag will fly half-mast on all government buildings while government offices, boards, corporations and education institutions will remain closed tomorrow.

Hundreds of condolence messages that poured in as the news of Brar’s death spread described him as an able administrator, keen farmer, statesman and a man with vision. Brar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab on August 31, 1995, to fill in the void created by the assassination of the then CM Beant Singh. During his 14-month term as the state head, he created Muktsar and Moga districts.

Himself from Malwa, he was married to Gurbinder Kaur, who belonged to the Kairon family from Majah. Brar had been ill for the past some years.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has expressed grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Brar. Punjab Governor Gen SF Rodrigues (retd), Haryana Governor Jagan Nath Pahadia and CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda have also condoled his death. Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Rajinder Kaur Bhattal described him as a great visionary.

OBITUARY
Brar — a rare blend of administrator, politician
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6
Former Governor of Orissa and Haryana and Chief Minister of Punjab, Harcharan Singh Brar, was a rare blend of an administrator and a politician. A veteran of Punjab and Congress politics, he died at the PGI this morning after a protracted illness. He was 87. He leaves behind his wife, Gurbinder Kaur, son Kanwarjit Singh and daughter Babli. Kanwarjit Singh Brar is sitting MLA from Muktsar.

Belonging to a landlord family of Sarai Naga in Faridkot, also the home district of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Harcharan Singh Brar belonged to a staunch Congress family. His wife Gurbinder Kaur Brar, not only remained a MP from Faridkot, but also led the Punjab Congress Legislature Party as well as donning the mantle of the Leader of Opposition. She is also the link between Brars and Kairons, two powerful political families of Punjab.

One of the immaculately dressed politicians, Harcharan Singh Brar, was known for his aristocratic lifestyle. A graduate from Government College, Lahore, he had been one of the oldest politicians of Punjab. He was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1960 when he defeated Chanan Singh from Muktsar by a margin of 6,188 votes.

He represented Gidderbaha and Kotkapura, besides Muktsar in Punjab Vidhan Sabha. His last term as member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha saw him being elevated as Chief Minister of the state after the assassination of the then Chief Minister Beant Singh outside Punjab Civil Secretariat in August 1995. He remained Chief Minister till end of November 1996, before Rajinder Kaur Bhattal took over the reins of from him as the first woman Chief Minister of Punjab.

Harcharan Singh Brar also served Punjab as Irrigation and Power Minister and Minister for Health and Family Welfare. He also remained Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary and the Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

Because of his immense contribution to the Congress party, he remained a member of the All-India Congress Committee for more than two decades. In recognition of his contribution, he was also made the Governor of Orissa and later shifted in the same capacity to Haryana, before he decided to return to active politics and successfully contested the 1992 Assembly elections. He thus joined a rare band of politicians who held both Chief Ministerial and gubernatorial positions.