Sardar Bhopinder Singh Man

Sardar Bhopinder Singh Man, spelt Man and Mann in the sources, was one of the two Sikh members of the Constituent Assembly of India from East Punjab who, in Gurmit Singh's account, rejected the Indian Constitution. The Assembly's own debates show him on 14 October 1949 arguing against the withdrawal of the minority safeguards that the Assembly had itself agreed in 1947.

Key moments

• 23 January 1948: Gurmit Singh writes that he met Dr B.R. Ambedkar, with Giani Kartar Singh and Harcharan Singh Bajwa, to discuss the Sikh position.
• 14 October 1949: he raised a point of order on draft Article 296. He said the House could not go back on its own decisions unless a special resolution was moved. He cited the report that Sardar Patel, as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Minorities, presented on 27 August 1947, and the Advisory Committee's report of 11 May 1949, which he said had abrogated only the safeguard in the legislatures. President Rajendra Prasad answered that Rule 32 allowed a decided question to be reopened with the consent of at least one-fourth of the members present and voting, and put the question. The House voted to reopen it, so the point of order did not prevail.
• The same day: he moved amendments to draft Article 299, among them a Special Officer for minorities in each State. He argued that such officers would give the minorities a constitutional way to review their position, and pleaded that the articles not be abrogated, warning of serious repercussions in his community. He begged to differ from Sardar Patel about an assurance said to have been given by some Sikh representatives, saying it had created a false impression among his community.
• November 1949 to January 1950: Gurmit Singh writes that he and Hukam Singh raised their voices against a breach of faith by the majority community. Tarlochan Singh (SikhNet, 2023) writes that when Hukam Singh refused to sign the Constitution, the other Akali member, Bhupinder Singh Mann, followed him. Hardev Singh Virk (Asia Samachar, 2020) says he did not sign the Constitution in protest at the absence of guarantees for Sikhs.

He is remembered as the second Sikh member who stood with Hukam Singh in the Constituent Assembly against the loss of the safeguards. The sources opened say nothing of his birth, death or profession.