Sant Fateh Singh dies

Who: Sant Fateh Singh (27 October 1911 to 30 October 1972), the leader who carried the Punjabi Suba campaign to success in 1966.

What: Sant Fateh Singh died at Amritsar on 30 October 1972, aged 61, about seven months after announcing his retirement from active politics on 25 March 1972. The sources consulted give no cause of death. Born at Badhaila in Bathinda district, he had no formal schooling and began to read Punjabi at 15. He preached in Ganganagar district, helped build gurdwaras and schools, and joined the Punjabi Suba agitation. Key moments:

• He took charge of the agitation in May 1960 and began a fast-unto-death on 18 December 1960, ending it on 9 January 1961 after 22 days.
• In July 1962 he split from Master Tara Singh. On 2 October 1962 his Akali Dal took control of the SGPC, and in the January 1965 gurdwara elections his side won 90 seats to Tara Singh's 45.
• When war broke out in September 1965 he postponed a threatened fast and urged Sikhs to support the government.
• The Punjabi-speaking state came into being on 1 November 1966. He ended a second fast on 27 December 1966 on assurances from Indira Gandhi's representatives, and fasted again from 26 to 30 January 1970 over Chandigarh.

Where: Amritsar.

Why it mattered: The Tribune's profile says his political influence declined after the second fast. The Akali Dal won only 24 of 104 seats in the March 1972 Assembly election (the House then had 104 seats, with Congress on 66, according to elections.in; the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, in its Anandpur Sahib Resolution entry, writes 24 out of 117, the size of the House at later elections), and the Encyclopaedia says the defeat led it to self-examination. A 12-member sub-committee was appointed on 11 December 1972, six weeks after his death, to reflect on the party's situation, and the Working Committee adopted the Anandpur Sahib Resolution at Anandpur Sahib on 16 and 17 October 1973. Others then came to the front. Gurcharan Singh Tohra became SGPC president in 1973. Harchand Singh Longowal was acting Akali Dal president in 1975 and president from 1980. Parkash Singh Badal, first chief minister in March 1970, became Leader of the Opposition in 1972 and chief minister again in 1977. Jagdev Singh Talwandi presided over the Akali conference at Ludhiana in October 1978.