Baldev Singh

Singh died in Delhi after a prolonged illness in 1961. He was survived by his two sons, Sarjit Singh (1927–1993 AD) and Gurdip Singh. Sarjit Singh was the Co-operatives minister in the government of Parkash Singh Badal. He was married to Raj Mohinder Kaur and is survived by his son TejBal Singh and his daughter Jaspreet Kaur. Gurdip Singh was married to Baljit Kaur and had 4 children. Baldev Singh had 7 great grandchildren. His nephew Ravi Inder Singh was the Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

In 1952, Baldev Singh was elected to the Parliament of India as a member of the Indian National Congress, in the first democratic elections under the new Constitution of India. However, he did not join the Nehru administration. Singh remained the major political representative of the Sikh concerns and was respected by the Akali Dal. He was re-elected to the Parliament in 1957.

In September 1948, under the instructions of the Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel, Baldev Singh and his commanders prepared plans for Operation Polo, a week-long operation that annexed the princely state of Hyderabad into the Indian Union. Singh remained a close advisor to Patel on managing the Kashmir conflict and the issues of political integration of India.

Although Baldev Singh and other Sikhs initially opposed the implementation of the Mission's 16 May scheme, on the grounds that it did not offer any protection to the Sikh community, Baldev Singh joined the new Viceroy's Executive Council, to be headed by Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhai Patel as the Sikh member. Singh became the Defence Member, a post erstwhile held by the British Commander in Chief of the Indian Army. However, by early 1947, it was clear that the interim government would not work, owing to the conflict between the Congress Party and the Muslim League.

On 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation and Baldev Singh became India's first Minister of Defence, under the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Singh was also a member of the Constituent Assembly of India.

When the Cripps Mission arrived in India in 1942 to offer Indians some form of self-government, Baldev Singh was chosen to represent the Sikh community in the talks, which also included the chief Indian political party, the Indian National Congress and Muslim League party. The Mission failed to make any progress.

While the Congress Party launched the Quit India Movement, Baldev Singh and other Sikh leaders did not support it. Singh negotiated an agreement with Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, the leader of the Unionist Muslim League to form a government in Punjab, and became the provincial Development Minister for a brief time in the summer of 1942.

Baldev Singh won an election to the Punjab provincial assembly under the Government of India Act 1935 in 1937, as a candidate of the Panthic Party. He became closely linked with Master Tara Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal.

Baldev Singh (Punjabi: ਬਲਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ,Hindi: बलदेव सिंह) (11 July 1902 – 29 June 1961) was an Indian Sikh political leader, he was an Indian independence movement leader and the first Defence Minister of India. Moreover, he represented the Punjabi Sikh community in the processes of negotiations that resulted in the independence of India, as well as the Partition of India in 1947.

Baldev Singh was born on 11 July 1902 in the village of Dumna in a Jat family in the Rupar district of Punjab. His father was Sir Indra Singh, a reputed industrialist, and his mother was Nihal Kaur Singh (of village Manpur). He was educated initially at Kainaur and subsequently at the Khalsa College in Amritsar, and began working in his father's firm in the steel industry. He rose to the position of director of the firm. He was married to Hardev Kaur of village Jallanpur in Punjab. They had two sons, Sarjit Singh and Gurdip Singh.