Prem Singh Lalpura

Prem Singh Lalpura was president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) from 16 November 1958 to 7 March 1960, according to the SGPC's own list of presidents, where his is the 22nd entry in a list of 45 terms. The list puts Master Tara Singh in the chair just before him and just after him. Wikipedia, used here where nothing better opened, gives his birth as 26 February 1925 at Lalpur, Amritsar, and his death as 9 March 2011 at Amritsar. It says he defeated Master Tara Singh for the SGPC chair at the age of 33 and was the youngest president in its history.

His name appears earlier, in the SGPC's own history of the 1955 Punjabi Suba morcha. The history says that on the third day of the morcha command of the jatha passed to Sardar Prem Singh Lalpura, a member of the SGPC. It describes him as one of the young men who had beaten Joginder Singh Shant of the Nagoke party in the gurdwara elections, and says Master Tara Singh had given them the title "Panthak Tiger". Five jathas of twenty Singhs were arrested under him.

Key moments

• 1955: commands a jatha on the third day of the Punjabi Suba morcha (SGPC's history, p. 30).
• 16 November 1958: becomes president of the SGPC. OneIndia counts two annual terms, 1958 to 1959 and 1959 to 1960.
• 7 March 1960: his term ends and Master Tara Singh returns as president (SGPC's list).
• 11 December 1972: the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism lists a Prem Singh Lalpura among the twelve members of the sub-committee that the Akali Dal's working committee appointed to review the Dal's position after its poor showing in the March 1972 Punjab assembly elections and to proclaim its programme and policies afresh.
• 11 August 2006: OneIndia reports that he announced he would join the Congress.

Wikipedia says he sat three times in the Punjab assembly for Tarn Taran and that he stayed in the Akali Dal until he resigned in March 2004. OneIndia reported on 11 August 2006 that he made his announcement at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh, saying the Akali Dal had disappointed him, and that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh welcomed him and said his entry would strengthen the Congress in the Majha belt. It described him as a member of the Punjab assembly for 15 years from Tarn Taran and as active in Akali politics for nearly 60 years.