The legendary politician Parkash Singh Badal has died at 95. In his death, Shiromani Akali Dal has lost its guiding Star; Punjab has lost a Statesman; the Sikh community has lost a powerful leader; and India has lost a sagacious politician.
It is a personal loss to me, too, as I had known him since the 70’s and have had the opportunity to discuss Punjab and national issues with him. I recall him as a man who always talked straight without beating about the bush. Clear in his thoughts, he was extremely communicative. It was always a pleasure speaking with him. It is sad he is gone at a time when India needed him to forcefully pilot his view on the need for communal harmony, brotherhood and peace.
In the pages that follow, we have carried tribute by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prabhjot Singh, a senior journalist who had been close to the late patriarch of the Shiromani Akali Dal. We pray for eternal peace to the departed soul.