Preneet Kaur, now active Indian politician, was born on 3 October, 1944 in Shimla. She has the distinction to be the daughter of an I.C.S. (now called I.A.S.) officer S. Gian Singh Kahlon and mother Satinder Kaur. S. Gian Singh got a golden opportunity to be granted entry into Indian Civil Service in 1937. This was a rare achievement in those times. Preneet’s brother Himmat Singh Kahlon works for the esteemed United Nations Organisation. Her sister Geetinder Kaur is wedded to former IPS officer, Simranjeet Singh Maan. Preneet Kaur studied at Saint Bede’s College, Shimla and got her graduation from the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Shimla.Preneet Kaur was married to Captain Amarinder Singh in October, 1964 who is currently the Chief Minister of Punjab. He was serving in Indian Army at the time of his wedding. He succeeded his father as titular Maharaja Yadvinder Singh of Patiala in 1974. So she became the Maharani of Patiala. Amarinder Singh left the army and entered politics and got immense success. Following the footsteps of her husband Capt. Amarinder Singh, she also joined Congress Party and served in the Govt. of India as Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2009-2014. She contested Parliamentary Elections repeatedly from the Patiala Constituency and was victorious in 1999, 2004 and 2009 but lost it in 2014 against Dr. Dharamvir Gandhi. In the recent parliamentary elections of 2019, she again won the Patiala constituency seat against her nearest rival Surjit Singh Rakhra, SAD-BJP candidate with a thumping and roaring number of votes of more than 160,000. She has served in various committees such as those on Food, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution, Women Empowerment, Public Undertakings and Water Resources. She has also the credit to serve on the Consultative Committees associated with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. She also remained on the rolls of Punjabi University Syndicate from October 2004 to August 31, 2005. She chaired the Plenary Session of UNGA for UN-WOMEN. It is a matter of pride and pleasure that Maharani Sahiban was kind enough to pen down the foreword of the world acclaimed book ‘Rise and Decline’ of the Mughal Empire authored by Dr. Jaswant Singh Puri who is recipient of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa), and Punjab Rattan and also launched its first copy in Punjab at a special function organized at Moti Bagh Palace, Patiala.
Preneet Kaur and Amarinder Singh are blessed with two children- a son Raninder Singh, 1967 born and a daughter Jai Inder Kaur who was born in 1966. Raninder Singh also participates in politics who has contested elections both to Parliament and State Legislative Assembly. He is wedded to Rishma Singh and blessed with three children; a son Yaduinder Singh, born April 2003 and two daughters. Yaduinder is the youngest of Preneet’s five grandchildren. Jai Inder Kaur is married to S. Gurpal Singh Sandhu. His sister Ishwar Preet Kaur is married to Himmat Singh Kahlon, brother of Preneet Kaur. Gurpal Singh and Jai Inder Kaur are the parents of two sons – Angad and Nirvaan. Angad Singh was also married in a royal family to the Princess of Bashahr who is the youngest daughter of Virbhadra Singh. Virbhadra Singh is also a seasoned politician of Congress Party who remained the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from 1983-1990, 1993-1998, 2003-2007, 2012-2017. As royal lineage meets royal temper, Jai Inder’s second son was married to Mriganka. She is the Princess of Kashmir who is the daughter of Crown Prince Vikramaditya Singh of Kashmir and his wife Chitrangada Raje. There is a chain of royal lineage and politics in the family. Mriganka’s paternal grandfather, Dr. Karan Singh is an esteemed and committed politician of the Congress Party and above all Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, Madhavrao Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior, Jyotiraditya, Vasundhara Raje, Ex-Chief Minister of Rajasthan are associated with Preneet and Captain Amarinder’s family both in politics and relations. Preneet Kaur, after winning Patiala Parliamentary seat in 2019 with a considerable margin of votes, she has assured the Patiala citizens to make this city as top-ranking in cleanliness index and fulfill other promises also. It is really appropriate to say that Preneet Kaur and development are synonymous. SAD-BJP regime of 10 years had totally neglected Patiala City. The present government is trying to revive development projects and several of the projects have been declared like Industrial Park in Rajpura and Quark City in Ghanour. She has also ensured the students to fight for their cause to implement interest-free loans for studying abroad, despite the fact that Congress Party has not been able to form the government at the centre. She will put up this cause to the NDA Govt. as it will benefit a number of students in the country. Considerable works have been done on the infrastructure such as roads, internal connecting roads, drains and connectivity to rural and urban areas.Preneet Kaur lays emphasis on the prominent needs of water and sewerage in the city. Work on this project has already started. Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has already initiated the three projects to supply canal water to villages. The sewerage project near Bahadurgarh, with a cluster of ten villages, has been given a green signal. To decongest the traffic chaos, Captain Sahib has asked the PWD authorities to finish the formalities to construct a ring-road project in Patiala and some other cities.
Preneet Kaur and the government make it sure to carry out the policies of the government in a smooth manner like farm-loan waiver, land reforms, control over drug-addiction and maintenance of law and order. Moreover, Rajindra Tank will be rejuvenated as a centre for recreation and add to the charming look of royal city of Patiala. Project is also in process to connect Sheesh Mahal Tank to Badi Nadi to store fresh rainwater. In the last more than two years, since the Congress Govt. in Punjab, the miserable condition of the roads has been improved considerably. A policy has also come into force for garbage dumping so that city remains free from diseases. Preneet Kaur is popular as she is easily accessible and has been active in the segment. She has inaugurated over Rs. 500/- crore projects after Congress formed be government in 2017.Preneet Kaur’s mission is all round development of the constituency for the best facilities and the best congenial atmosphere for the best living. She has ensured the citizens of Patiala that she will accelerate the pace of development for which funds have been allocated or in the process of being allocated to accomplish the promised projects. Before entering politics, Preneet Kaur had founded ‘Sanjeevni’. It is an institution in Patiala for differently abled children. Following the footsteps of royal foundation in family and political career of her husband, & she entered politics and exhibited her acumen and the spirit of women-empowerment.She also followed the footsteps of her mother-in-law Rajmata Mohinder Kaur who served the people whole heartedly in her political career and showed her philanthropic nature by helping the needy and the deserved ones. Though Rajamata Mohinder Kaur is no more, the work has not ceased and will never cease. The contributions of Maharaja Yadvindra Singh, life-partner of Rajmata Mohinder Kaur, will always be remembered by all sects of people. The same spirit still flows through the royal blood of royal family. Let the whole family think and do for the betterment of the people. All generations express faith in their ‘Maharani’ since Preneet Kaur is popularly known amongst all kinds of people without any bias.
Dr. Jaswant Singh Puri
Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa)
Punjab Rattan, Member Dewan Family,
Erstwhile Princely State of Patiala
Mob: 093165-20136