Tota Singh (1941 – 2022) was an Indian politician and senior leader of Shiromani Akali Dal. In 2012, during the Shiromani Akali Dal-led government in Punjab, he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and NRI Affairs. During his tenure as leader of SAD, Tota Singh served as Senior Vice President, member of the High Power Committee of Shiromani Akali Dal and member of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Tota Singh was born in Didar Singh Wala, Moga, Punjab, British Raj on Sunday, 2 March 1941 (age 81 years at the time of death). His zodiac sign was Pisces. Soon after completing his schooling at a local school in Moga, Tota Singh went to DM College, Moga to pursue graduation in Fine Arts.
Physical Appearance
Hair Color: Gray
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name was Babu Singh.
wife and children
Tota Singh’s wife’s name is Mukhtyar Kaur. The couple have four children, three sons and a daughter. His sons Balwinder Singh are Deputy Secretary in the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Barjinder Singh Makhan Brar is a SAD leader, and Dr. Jaswinder Singh is a dentist in Calgary. His daughter’s name is Dr. Paramjit Kaur Dhillon and she is a medical practitioner in the UK.
Barjinder Singh Makhan Brar, second son of Tota Singh
livelihood
Tota Singh started his political journey in 1969 when he was appointed party president of Ferozepur, Faridkot and Moga districts. At that time Firozpur district was the largest district of Punjab. From 1985 to 1987, Tota Singh served as Chairman of the Punjab Mandi Board under the ministry of Surjit Singh Barnala. He contested the Punjab Legislative Assembly election from Moga constituency with the support of Shiromani Akali Dal and won. During this third Badal ministry, Tota Singh was named as the Education Minister until 2002. During his tenure as Education Minister of Punjab from 1999 to 2000, Tota Singh made the English language a compulsory subject in primary classes. Earlier it was taught from class six. Meanwhile, he took necessary steps to modernize the education sector in Punjab and is credited with introducing computer literacy in the government schools of Punjab. Tota Singh again won the Punjab Assembly in 2002 from Moga constituency on Shiromani Akali Dal ticket. Five years later, Tota Singh won the Punjab Legislative Assembly election from Dharamkot constituency in 2012 and soon after his victory, he held the portfolio of Agriculture and NRI Affairs in the cabinet ministry. He then contested the assembly elections from Dharamkot constituency in 2017, but this time, he lost to Indian National Congress candidate Sukhjit Singh, who became the MLA from Dharamkot soon after winning the election. In September 2021, Tota Singh contested from Dharamkot constituency and his son Barjinder Singh Brar alias Makhan contested from Moga constituency.
controversies
illegal recruitment of clerks
- Meanwhile, Tota Singh was accused of recruiting 134 clerks in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) through illegal means; However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave him a clean chit in the case and he was acquitted in the case.
Using a government vehicle for personal use
- In May 2012, when he was serving as the Agriculture Minister of Punjab, he was convicted in a Mohali court of using a car belonging to the Punjab School Education Board for his personal use. Soon after being charged in this legal case, Tota Singh resigned from the cabinet ministry and appealed in the Punjab High Court. In its decision, the High Court sentenced him to one year in jail and a fine of thirty thousand rupees. Later, the Haryana and Punjab High Court issued a stay notice on the judgment.
Accusations against his son Barjinder Singh
- In 2012, Tota Singh’s son Barjinder Singh alias Makkhan Brar came into limelight when his name came into limelight in the Moga sex scandal. Barjinder Singh was accused of blackmailing the rich in this scam along with other senior Punjab Police officers from Moga.
Accused of supplying fake pesticides
- In 2015, when Jathedar Tota Singh was serving as Punjab’s agriculture minister, opposition leaders demanded his resignation after whitefly and distribution of fake pesticides destroyed a large cotton crop in Punjab And Tota Singh was blamed for this.
Literary work
Apart from being a politician, Tota Singh liked writing books. In 2020, a book titled ‘Gatha Purkeyan Di’ was released by him.
property/property
movable property
- Deposits in Banks: Rs. 16,09,525
Immovable property
- Agricultural Land: Rs. 8,75,00,000
- Non-agricultural land: Rs. 6,50,00,000
- Commercial Building: Rs. 1,27,50,000
- Residential Building: Rs. 2,50,00,000
Liabilities
- Loan from Banks/Financial Institutions: Rs. 3,31,70,000
- Any other liability: Rs. 3,00,000
net worth
As of 2012, Tota Singh has a net worth of Rs. 15.84 crores.
Death
On 21 May 2022, Tota Singh died in a hospital in Mohali, Punjab after a prolonged illness. He was undergoing treatment for liver disease.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Being one of the senior most leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab, Tota Singh earned the title of Jathedar ahead of his name.
- Tota Singh was a trusted leader in Surjit Singh Barnala’s cabinet in Punjab, and after the fall of the Barnala government in Punjab, he joined Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal.
Tota Singh with the then Akali Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal
- Tota Singh was a graduate and when the Akali government appointed him the Education Minister of Punjab in 1997, the opposition targeted the Akali-BJP government in this matter.
- Once SAD party president Sukhbir Singh Badal had said in a conversation with a media house that Tota Singh was like a father to him.
- Early in his political career, before filing nomination papers to contest the Punjab elections, Tota Singh had said in one of his speeches that it was necessary to conduct a mandatory dope test on all politicians in Punjab. During that time, drug cases were at their peak in Punjab.
- During his cremation on 24 May 2022, his granddaughters voluntarily participated in his last rituals. Several media houses captured Tapreet and Japreet shouldering his body, arranging wood on the pyre and adding materials for the last rites. His two other granddaughters, Harjas Kaur Dhillon and Jasleen Kaur Brar, also attended his funeral. In an interview given to a media house, Japreet Kaur, younger daughter of Barjinder Singh Makkhan Brar, said that her grandfather loved his granddaughters more than the sons in his family. He narrated,
No one in our family ever differentiated between a boy and a girl. If we had a brother, he would have done the same. So why can’t we bid farewell to our grandfather as we wish? We did not think even for a moment about what the society would say or raise any objection. For us, he was our father who always loved us more than the sons of the family.
In the same conversation, Tota Singh’s son, Barjinder Singh, said he was proud of his daughters, and said it was their right to attend their grandfather’s funeral. He said,
When my daughters told me that they wanted to participate in the rituals, I felt very proud and told them that it was their right to do so. Sikhism has always taught us about great women warriors like Mai Bhago who fought with the Mughals. If a woman can fight the Mughals, then performing these rituals is nothing.
Japreet Kaur during her grandfather’s last visit
Japreet Kaur during her grandfather’s funeral
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn