Here’s five things to know about Kirpal Singh Badungar, new president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), elected to the post on Saturday afternoon.
1. Badungar, 74 years old, hails from Patiala district, and has a postgraduate degree in in English literature.
2. He has written three books on principles of Sikhism.
3. He started his career as a schoolteacher, also remained office secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal.
4. He remained SGPC president for about a year in 2002, at the time when Akali stalwart Gurcharan Singh Tohra parted ways with Parkash Singh Badal and was removed from SGPC’s presidentship. Whenever Badal and Tohra stood apart, Badungar chose to remain with Badal.
5. During his previous tenure, a proposal by UNESCO to give heritage status to Golden Temple came up and was rejected. Also during his tenure the Nanakshahi calendar was released.