Majithia Sirdars
Majithia Sirdars term refers to a set of three related families of Sikh sardars (chiefs) that came from the area of Majitha - a town 10 miles north of the Punjab city of Amritsar and rose to prominence in the early 19th century.
The Majithia clans threw in with the rising star of the Sikh misls - Ranjit Singh - during the latter 19th century. As Ranjit Singh established the Sikh Empire around the turn of the 19th century, the Majithia sardars gained prominence and became very influential in the Maharaja's army. Ten different Majithia generals can be counted amongst the Sikh army during the period of 1800-1849.
According to the English historians, the Majithia family was one of the three most powerful families in Punjab under the Maharaja. Best known of the Majithia generals were General Desa Singh, General Lehna Singh, General Ranjodh Singh, General Surat Singh and General Amar Singh. In all there were 16 Majithia generals in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University; was the founder and the owner of The Tribune newspaper - the most respected English-language newspaper in north-western India to this day; and the founder and owner of the Punjab National Bank - also the most powerful bank in north-western India until nationalized by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s. He was also one of the charter members of the Indian National Congress party - which later became the main Indian nationalist political party and the party of Nehru and Gandhi.
The son of General Surat Singh, Sardar Sundar Singh Majithia, also had tremendous impact on the early 20th century Punjab. He was a main force in the Sikh revivalist movement and was one of the founders of the "Chief Khalsa Diwan Society". Amongst his accomplishments can be counted the establishment of the Khalsa College, Amritsar and the founding of the Punjab and Sind Bank. He was knighted by the British - thus often referred to as Sir Sundar Singh Majithia.
Sardar Sundar Singh's brother, Sardar Umrao Singh, was the father of Amrita Sher-Gil - considered by many to be first great female artist of the Indian subcontinent.
The Majithia family, although referred to by the name of their village Majitha - which is common in Punjab, in actuality belong to the "Shergill" clan of the Jat Sikhs - itself a subset of the "Gill" clan.
Other famous members of the Majithia family are:
Sardar Parkash Singh Majithia, who was one of the most prominent of the Akali leaders of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and was popularly known as 'Majhe da jarnail'. He remained cabinet minister in many Akali governments holding important portfolios like Transport, Agriculture, and Revenue and Rehabilitation. He was elected MLA five times from Majitha constituency. He also played the stellar role during the Anti-Emergency Morcha and the Dharam Yudh Morcha. In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, he served as the acting President of Akali Dal. Being the senior most Akali leader in the 1990s, he was unanimously appointed the patron of Shiromani Akali Dal, an honour he retained till his last breath.
Sardar Parkash Singh Majitha was also one of the longest serving elected Presidents of the Governing Council of Khalsa College Amritsar. His grandsons Sardar Jagteshwar Singh Majitha (Member, Punjab Public Service Commission), Sardar Ajay Singh Majitha and Sardar Gurteshwar Singh Majitha (senior leader Youth Congress) have also been serving the people of Majitha and have carried the legacy of the family forward. Sardar Parkash Singh Majitha's son late Sardar Simarjit Singh Majithia (Ex. Chairman PUNSEED Punjab) and his nephew Sardar Rajmohinder Singh Majithia (MP and MLA) are also well-known Akali leaders.
Bikram Singh Majithia (Minister and MLA) is another famous Majithia, who is Son of Satyajit Singh Majithia and Grandson of Surjit Singh Majithia and also belongs to the family of the Majithia Sardars. Bikram Singh Majithia was a prominent figure in the Shiromani Akali Dal campaign for the 2007 and 2012 Assembly elections. While in 2007, the party fought a formidable Congress Government, in 2012 Shiromani Akali Dal returned to power consecutively for the second term. Majithia became the president of Youth Akali Dal in 2011.
Bikram Singh Majithia took over as New and Renewable Energy Minister, Punjab, he invited entrepreneurs from across the country and the NRIs to invest in solar power sector. The result was that in a short span Punjab was able to attract investment worth Rs 4,000 crore in this sector and the solar power generation tipped to go up from a meagre 9 megawatt to 541 megawatt by 2016.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal (M.P,President women Shiromani Akali Dal) who is wife of Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal. She also belongs to family of Majithia Sirdars. She is daughter of Satyajit Singh Majithia and Granddaughter of Surjit Singh Majithia as well as daughter-in-law Parkash Singh Badal.
Sardar Nirranjan Singh Majithia(Beriwale) also belongs to Majithia Sardars families.
References
1. Punjab to generate 4,200 MW solar power by 2022: Bikram Singh Majithia HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times 5 May 2015|
2. Provide easy credit for solar power projects: Bikram Singh Majithia Hindustan Times 24 June 2015.
3. Majithia Family.