Veteran Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Union Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa passed away on Wednesday at a private hospital in Mohali. He was 89 years old.
The political leader had been admitted to the hosptial on Tuesday, a family source told news agency PTI.
A stalwart of Punjab politics and a long-serving member of both the state legislature and Parliament, Dhindsa played a key role in shaping the Shiromani Akali Dal’s trajectory over the decades.
Known for his firm grasp on Sikh politics and administrative matters, Dhindsa held several important portfolios in the Union government, including Chemicals and Fertilizers, during the Vajpayee-led NDA regime.
He was recently in the news in December 2024, when he, along with former Punjab Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, began performing religious penance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The move came a day after the Akal Takht — the highest temporal authority of Sikhs — pronounced a tankhah (religious punishment) against several former Akali leaders for decisions made during the SAD government's tenure from 2007 to 2017.
The religious penalty stemmed in part from the controversial pardon granted in 2007 by the SAD government to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case—an act that drew widespread criticism from the Sikh community.
Moreover, in March 2024, Dhindsa made headlines when he merged his breakaway faction, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), with the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal, bringing an end to a four-year split.
The reunion was the result of talks held between the two leaders, aimed at strengthening the Akali Dal and uniting the 'Panthic' voice.
Calling the merger a “joint responsibility to bring Punjab back on track,” the Akali leader had stressed the need for collective leadership to address the state’s deteriorating law and order situation. Sukhbir Singh Badal referred to the merger as the "merger of two families" and urged Dhindsa to take up the role of party patron, describing him as the seniormost Akali leader after the demise of former CM Parkash Singh Badal.
The political leader had been admitted to the hosptial on Tuesday, a family source told news agency PTI.
A stalwart of Punjab politics and a long-serving member of both the state legislature and Parliament, Dhindsa played a key role in shaping the Shiromani Akali Dal’s trajectory over the decades.
Known for his firm grasp on Sikh politics and administrative matters, Dhindsa held several important portfolios in the Union government, including Chemicals and Fertilizers, during the Vajpayee-led NDA regime.
He was recently in the news in December 2024, when he, along with former Punjab Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, began performing religious penance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The move came a day after the Akal Takht — the highest temporal authority of Sikhs — pronounced a tankhah (religious punishment) against several former Akali leaders for decisions made during the SAD government's tenure from 2007 to 2017.
The religious penalty stemmed in part from the controversial pardon granted in 2007 by the SAD government to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case—an act that drew widespread criticism from the Sikh community.
Moreover, in March 2024, Dhindsa made headlines when he merged his breakaway faction, Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), with the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal, bringing an end to a four-year split.
The reunion was the result of talks held between the two leaders, aimed at strengthening the Akali Dal and uniting the 'Panthic' voice.
Calling the merger a “joint responsibility to bring Punjab back on track,” the Akali leader had stressed the need for collective leadership to address the state’s deteriorating law and order situation. Sukhbir Singh Badal referred to the merger as the "merger of two families" and urged Dhindsa to take up the role of party patron, describing him as the seniormost Akali leader after the demise of former CM Parkash Singh Badal.
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