Nihal Singh, former Chief Minister of Delhi.
In Delhi politics, Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Yadav may have become chief minister by accident, but when he had to resign as chairman following a political conflict, Gul Gurmukh Nihal Singh became the Chief Minister. Nihal Singh was the first and only Sikh leader to serve as the Chief Minister of Delhi. Not only that, the decision to ban liquor in Delhi was taken by Nihal Singh seventy years ago, and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru even wrote a letter about it. Despite this, Nihal Singh did not abandon the decision to ban liquor and remained anonymous in Delhi politics.
Gurmukh Nihal Singh was elected as MLA from Daryaganj constituency in Delhi in the 1952 elections. Nihal Singh contested the elections at the behest of veteran Congress leader and then Home Minister Govind Vallabh Pant. He also got the post of Chief Minister of Delhi due to Govind Vallabh Pant. In this case, he could only be in power for a year, but he did a lot of important work in such a short period of time. Let’s know the story of Gurmukh Nihal Singh in Delhi CM’s story list…
Gurmukh Nihal Singh was born on March 14, 1895 in the undivided state of Punjab. Studied BA in Economics from University of London and taught at various universities in the country including Delhi University and BHU. Nihal Singh is ideologically linked to the Congress. At the request of Govind Vallabh Pant, Nihal Singh invited him to join politics, he accepted the invitation and was elected from Daryaganj constituency in Delhi Became a provincial councilor and became Speaker of Parliament.
How did Nihal Singh become the chief minister?
In the 1952 Delhi Assembly elections, when the Congress Party came to power with a complete majority, Deshbandu Gupta was about to be sworn in as the Chief Minister when he died in an accident. From this, Bram Prakash became the Chief Minister of Delhi at the age of 34. He became the youngest Chief Minister. However, the head of Delhi at that time was the Chief Commissioner, who usually took decisions based on the advice of the Chief Minister and Ministers. In this case, the then Chief Commissioner Anand Pandit was close to the then Home Minister Govind Vallabh Pant, with whom Chaudhry Bram Prakash was not. good.
The relationship between Brahma Prakash and Anand D Pandit was so tense that they could not agree on many important decisions. Under such circumstances, Chaudhry Bram had to resign as chief minister in 1955. After Brahma Prakash, Congress appointed Gurmukh Nihal Singh as chief minister. Pant played an important role in making him the chief minister because Govind Vallabh Pant believed that a man who had served as chancellor of many colleges was not only good at speaking but could also make unruly people The leaders went into hiding.
Nihal Singh assumed office as Chief Minister on February 13, 1955
The first Prime Minister of Delhi, Bram Prakash Yadav, resigned on February 12, 1955. On February 13, 1955, Gurmukh Nihal Singh took over as the Chief Minister of Delhi. As soon as Nihal Singh became chief minister, he decided to ban liquor in the entire Delhi. Prohibition caused a political uproar. The situation escalated so much that the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had to write to CM Gurmukh Nihal Singh.
Jawaharlal Nehru in his letter to the Chief Minister on July 26, 1956 wrote that our (Union) Health Minister Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Amrit Kaur informed about Delhi’s alcohol policy. I don’t know much about this topic. We are in favor of bans, but there are dangers in bans. This could increase illegal alcohol manufacturing and smuggling. The treatment is more dangerous than the disease itself. The health minister said illegal alcohol trade has also started in some places. I hope your (Nihar Singh) government will definitely keep this in mind.
Congressional lobby supporting Prohibition overwhelmed
Guru Mukh Nihal Singh did not lift the liquor ban in Delhi even after Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s arguments. There is a lot of debate about this even within the Congress party. In this case, the pro-prohibition congressional lobby was overwhelmed. The lobby was led by veteran Congress leader Morarji Desai, who was a strong supporter of prohibition. Therefore, Nihal Singh also did not insist on the decision of the ban.
However, news also emerged in Delhi politics at that time: Gurmukh Nihal Singh banned alcohol in the entire Delhi because of his son’s alcohol addiction. Nihal Singh stood by his decision not to lift the liquor ban. On November 1, 1956, the Congress government at the Center classified Delhi as a Union Territory and dissolved the Parliament. Gurmukh Nihal Singh also lost his chairmanship.
Nihal Singh served as Chief Minister of Delhi for just one year and 263 days. Nihal Singh resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi after Delhi became a Union Territory. Congress appointed him Governor of Rajasthan. On November 18, 1956, Gurmukh Nihal Singh was appointed Governor of Rajasthan and held the position until 1962. Not many people know about Gurmukh Nihal Singh in Delhi politics. Just like that, he remains an anonymous CM.
