Jagir Kaur
Encyclopedia
Bibi Jagir Kaur is the first woman to be elected for the second time as the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
(SGPC), an organisation that manages historic Sikh shrines and some educational institutions in the Indian states of Punjab
, Haryana
, Himachal Pradesh
and the Union Territory
of Chandigarh
.
Ms. Kaur's name was put forward by the senior Akali
leader, Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, and seconded by another SGPC member, Harswinder Singh. There were no other contenders. She had held the same post from March 1999 to November 2000, when she resigned. The post became vacant since the death of the Akali stalwart, Gurcharan Singh Tohra
, who served for 26 terms. He died in March, 2004 after a brief illness.
, a Sikh
political party with a strong following in Punjab. She joined the party in 1995 and was shortly thereafter appointed member of the party's working committee. In 1997, she was elected from the Bholath constituency in Kapurthala district
. She was appointed Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister in addition to holding the portfolios of social welfare, development of women and children welfare in the Parkash Singh Badal Cabinet. She resigned the post of minister when she was appointed as the President of the SGPC. Her rise was meteoric, rising from the position of a teacher in Mathematics to the post of President of the SGPC.
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee is an organization in India responsible for the upkeep of gurdwaras, Sikh places of worship in three states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. SGPC also administers Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Gurdwaras in Delhi are the administered by Delhi Sikh...
(SGPC), an organisation that manages historic Sikh shrines and some educational institutions in the Indian states of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
and the Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
.
Ms. Kaur's name was put forward by the senior Akali
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...
leader, Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, and seconded by another SGPC member, Harswinder Singh. There were no other contenders. She had held the same post from March 1999 to November 2000, when she resigned. The post became vacant since the death of the Akali stalwart, Gurcharan Singh Tohra
Gurcharan Singh Tohra
Panth Rattan Shiri Gurcharan Singh Tohra , former president of SGPC , a Sikh body in charge of controlling Gurdwara . He died of a heart attack in New Delhi on April 1, 2004 at the age of 79...
, who served for 26 terms. He died in March, 2004 after a brief illness.
Politics
Jagir Kaur is an active member of the Shiromani Akali DalShiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...
, a Sikh
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
political party with a strong following in Punjab. She joined the party in 1995 and was shortly thereafter appointed member of the party's working committee. In 1997, she was elected from the Bholath constituency in Kapurthala district
Kapurthala District
Kapurthala district is a district of Punjab state in northern Republic of India. The city of Kapurthala is the district headquarters....
. She was appointed Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister in addition to holding the portfolios of social welfare, development of women and children welfare in the Parkash Singh Badal Cabinet. She resigned the post of minister when she was appointed as the President of the SGPC. Her rise was meteoric, rising from the position of a teacher in Mathematics to the post of President of the SGPC.