Government of Punjab

What it is: The Government of Punjab is the state government under the Constitution. A Chief Minister and council of ministers run the executive, with the Governor as head of state (Wikipedia). East Punjab was formed in 1947 and renamed Punjab in 1950. On 1 November 1966 Haryana was separated from it and some districts went to Himachal Pradesh, the day the Punjabi-speaking state came into being (Wikipedia; Encyclopaedia of Sikhism).

Chief ministers, in outline (Wikipedia's list)

• Partap Singh Kairon, 23 January 1956 to 21 June 1964.
• Gurmukh Singh Musafir, from 1 November 1966, the first after reorganisation. Gurnam Singh of the Akali Dal followed on 8 March 1967.
• Parkash Singh Badal first became Chief Minister on 27 March 1970. Zail Singh held the post from 17 March 1972 to 30 April 1977, Badal again from 20 June 1977 to 17 February 1980, and Darbara Singh from 6 June 1980 to 6 October 1983.
• Surjit Singh Barnala, 29 September 1985 to 11 June 1987, when his government was dismissed.
• Beant Singh, 25 February 1992 until he was assassinated on 31 August 1995. Badal, Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi followed, and Bhagwant Mann of the AAP has been Chief Minister since 16 March 2022.

President's Rule: The list records eight spells: 20 June 1951 to 17 April 1952; 5 July to 1 November 1966; 23 August 1968 to 17 February 1969; 14 June 1971 to 17 March 1972; 30 April to 20 June 1977; 17 February to 6 June 1980; 6 October 1983 to 29 September 1985; and 11 June 1987 to 25 February 1992.

Key moments

• 13 April 2026: the government passed the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, which the Akal Takht says was made without consulting central Sikh institutions (The Wire).
• 15 June 2026: the five Singh Sahibans declared Mann "Guru Dokhi" and "Khalsa Panth Virodhi" and told Sikhs not to associate with him, citing the Act and a video said to show him sprinkling liquor on a picture of the Gurus. The AAP's Baltej Pannu replied that the forensic report does not identify the person in the video (The Wire).

Where it stands: The AAP government under Mann is in office, and The Wire places the Akal Takht's edict ahead of the next elections.