Simranjit Singh Mann

Simranjit Singh Mann (born 20 May 1945)[1] is a politician and a former police officer from Punjab.[2][3][4] He is the president of the political party, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar). Mann is a two-time MP; once from Taran Tarn in 1989, and then from Sangrur in 1999.[5] He has been arrested or detained some 30 times but he has never been convicted.[6]

Simranjit Singh Mann
Member of Lok Sabha
In office
1999–2004
Preceded bySurjit Singh Barnala
Succeeded bySukhdev Singh Dhindsa
ConstituencySangrur
Member of Lok Sabha
In office
1989–1991
Preceded byTarlochan Singh Tur
Succeeded bySurinder Singh Kairon
ConstituencyTarn Taran
Personal details
Born (1945-05-20) 20 May 1945
Shimla, Punjab, British India
(present-day Himachal Pradesh, India)
Political partyShiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
Other political
affiliations		Shiromani Akali Dal (until 1991)
Parent(s)
  • Joginder Singh Mann (father)
Residence(s)Qila Harnam Singh, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab
EducationB.A. (Hons.) (Gold Medalist)
Alma materGovt College, Chandigarh
ProfessionAgriculturist & Police Officer

Early life

Born at Shimla in 1945, he comes from a military-political background. His father, Lt. Col. Joginder Singh Mann, was a speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in 1967.[7] He is married to Geetinder Kaur Mann.[8] Mann's wife and Punjab Former CM Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur are sisters.[9]

He was educated at the Bishop Cotton School, Shimla and Government College Chandigarh. He was a gold medalist in the subjects of "History", "Punjabi", "Religion" and "Political Science".[1]

He has one son, Emaan Singh, and two daughters, Pavit Kaur and Nanki Kaur.[1] Some news agencies also spell his son's name as Imaan Singh Mann.[10][11][12]

Indian Police Service

He had appeared for Central Civil Services Examination in 1966, and subsequently joined the Indian Police Service in 1967, and served in the Punjab Cadre of the Service. He served in several positions, including ASP Ludhiana, SSP Ferozepur, SSP Faridkot, AIG GRP Punjab-Patiala division, Deputy Director of Vigilance Bureau Chandigarh, Commandant of Punjab Armed Police and Group Commandant of CISF, Bombay.

He was a very prestigious member of the Indian Police Service, and led the most successful crackdown on drug smugglers from Pakistan. Under him, around 7,403 drug smugglers and goons were caught. He had also criticized CM Darbara Singh for his brutal reactions against the peaceful Dharnas of 1981.

He resigned from Indian Police Service on 18 June 1984 to protest against the Operation Blue Star.[1][13]

Political career

In 1984, he resigned from his post as Group Commandant of the CISF in Bombay[1] to protest against 1984 anti-Sikh riots and attack on the Harmandir Sahib during Operation Blue Star and was detained.

He was elected in absentia to the Lok Sabha by an overwhelming mandate in the State of Punjab, and unconditionally released "in the interests of the State" in November 1989, with all charges dropped. By this time he had spent five years in prison.[6] He described it as such, ‘My beard has been ripped, my jaw has been broken, I have no nails on my toes and I was kept in solitary confinement in Chennai by the Government of India for 5 years. In Bharatpur, I was stripped naked. They gave me electric shocks by putting one terminal on my toe nails and the other on my genitals. At Bhagalpur, they put me in a lunatics' cell for four days. In Bombay, I was in a cell whose walls were plastered with feces. This would have gone on, if my lawyers, Ram Jethmalani and Dr B.L. Wadhera, were not breathing down their necks.'

He had also stated, "Personally, I am against all types of killings. I oppose all kinds of terrorism, specially state-sponsored terrorism; which can only aggravate a worsening situation."

In 1990, Mann was denied entry into the Sansad Bhavan (Parliament house) when he insisted on bearing a Kirpan into the session, a religious rite in the Sikh Faith. He subsequently resigned his seat in protest.[14]

On 3 November 1999, after Mann was elected to the Lok Sabha, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the Government of India and the Passport Office in Chandigarh to issue a passport to him.[15]

In 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra of the Aam Aadmi Party defeated him from Amargarh Assembly Constituency.[16]

References
  1. "Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)". Akalidalamritsar.net. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  2. "Khalistan ideologue in police net". Indianexpress.com. 9 March 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  3. "Pro-Khalistan slogans raised at Golden Temple". Thaindian.com. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  4. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. "India: Whether members of the Akali Dal (Mann) / Akali Dal (Amritsar) party are harassed and arrested for participating in party gatherings, for publicly complaining about the treatment of Sikhs by Indian authorities or for calling for the creation of Khalistan (separate homeland for Sikhs); whether police regard members of the Akali Dal (Mann) party with suspicion and monitor them for signs of any links with terrorism (2005–2008) (15 April 2008, IND102547.E)". UNHCR. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  5. "Rediff on the NeT: The Rediff Election Interview/ Simranjit Singh Mann". Rediff.com. 26 October 1999. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  6. "Book review: Stolen Years – A Memoir of Simranjit Singh Mann's Imprisonment". The Indian Express. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. "Ace shooter & MP. Who is this?". Rediff.com. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  8. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – mad". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  9. "Mandarins who rule Punjab". Indianexpress.com. 2 February 2003. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  10. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Punjab". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  11. "SAD(Amritsar) leaders level serious allegations on Daljit Singh Bittu". PunjabNewsline.com. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  12. "It's from father to son in Punjab". rediff.com. 9 February 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  13. "Mann resigns from party after defeat in Punjab elections". PunjabNewsline.com. 1 March 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  14. Crossette, Barbara (29 December 1990). "Premier of India meets Sikh leader". New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (15 April 2008). "India: Whether members of the Akali Dal (Mann) / Akali Dal (Amritsar) party are harassed and arrested for participating in party gatherings, for publicly complaining about the treatment of Sikhs by Indian authorities or for calling for the creation of Khalistan (separate homeland for Sikhs); whether police regard members of the Akali Dal (Mann) party with suspicion and monitor them for signs of any links with terrorism (2005-2008)". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  16. "Amargarh Election Results 2022 Live: Smit Singh Mann vs Jaswant Singh Gajjanamajra vs Ikabar Singh Jhoonda". Financialexpress. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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