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‘Simple, humble’: Badal’s village honours its Bapuji
The 95-year-old five-time chief minister of Punjab breathed his last at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday. The news of his death brought with itself despair to the small village of Sri Muktsar Sahib district.
“I felt like I have lost my father again,” says 21-year-old Jagseer Singh, a resident of XYZ orphanage at Badal village in Punjab – which is the ancestral village of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal.
The 95-year-old five-time chief minister of Punjab breathed his last at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday. The news of his death brought with itself despair to the small village of Sri Muktsar Sahib district. As a mark of respect for the departed leader, shops and other businesses remained shut in the Badal village. Roads fell silent; the only sounds were residents coming together to share the tales of Badal’s benevolence.
“I came to this shelter home at a very young age with my grandparents after my father passed away. Pita ji (Parkash Singh Badal) always showered me with affection. I had once just talked about wanting to own a pair of expensive shoes for mat wrestling practice, and the very next morning, the shoes were gifted to me,” Singh, a budding wrestler tells HT.
“Bapu ji (Parkash Singh Badal) took personal interest in the welfare of all residents of the orphanage,” says Priyanka, a Class 12 student and resident of the orphanage established by the late leader in 2005. “He encouraged my younger brother and me to study hard and also play a sport.”
80-year-old Midha Singh, who was Badal’s cook for 40 years remembers him to be a simple man with simple tastes, who enjoyed an occasional glass of wine. “Badal Sahab and his late brother Gurdas Badal used to call me Bai (brother in Malwai dialect). I was among the 600 members of his baraat to Chak village in Bathinda. We stayed together overnight in a tent. I am pained that I could not see him one last time as my health did not allow me to visit him in the hospital,” he says.
Baldev Singh Dhillon, who worked as a driver for the Badal family’s public transport company for almost 40 years, also remembers Parkash Singh’s simplicity.
“I have driven him around several times during polls. Once during electioneering in Phagwara, Badal Sahab did not take his medicine and the doctor directed me to ensure that he takes his pills after eating something. I had a couple of rotis wrapped in a cloth with me which I offered him. He ate them with an onion standing with me on the side of the road,” said Dhillon.
Village panch Nachhatar Singh, who was overseeing the arrangements for the former CM’s rites at the village had a similar story to tell. “During Diwali, he often used to ask me to get him ‘gur wali matthi’ to munch with tea. His humility always showed,” said Singh.
He also brought development to our village, says 70-year-old Balbir Kaur. “You won’t find waterlogging in the villages of Lambi constituency because of the state-of-the-art drainage system here,” she says.
“He opened a private women’s college to provide affordable education to all and also modern shooting ranges that pushed youth towards sports,” said Chiranjit Singh, a close aide of Badal.
