"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,
Omitted, and all the voyage of their lives,
Is bound in shallows and in miseries."
________________

The life of Capt. Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of the State of Punjab, is the story of a man who took the tide at the flood, redoubling the courage of his convictions at every turn, never failing in his duties as a compassionate  human being, an honest citizen and a leader of men. Capt. Amarinder Singh was born on March 11, 1942 as the eldest son of  late his Highness Maharajdhiraj Yadavindra Singh of Patiala,one of the largest royal States of erstwhile India.  He received his education from two premier public schools of the country, initially at the Lawrence School, Sanawar and thereafter at The Doon School, Dehradun, upto 1959.  He joined the National Defence Academy, Kharagvasla, in July 1959 and upon graduation from there in December 1962, he joined the prestigious Indian Military Academy in January 1963.  He was Commissioned into the Indian Army in June 1963 and posted to the 2nd Bn, the Sikh Regiment, a battalion which his father and grandfather had served with distinction before him.  After serving in one of the most difficult field-areas at the Indo-Tibetan Border for 2 years, Capt. Amarinder Singh was appointed Aide-De-Camp to Lt. Gen. Harbakhsh Singh, VrC, GOC-in-C,  Western Command.  He resigned from the Army in early 1965 as his father, late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh was appointed Indian Ambassador to Italy and as such, his presence was required at home. But however, he rejoined the Army again, immediately, when hostilities broke out with Pakistan, and took active part in war operations in the Indo-Pak War and resigned in early 1966, after the war was over.

Capt. Amarinder Singh started his political career on January 7, 1980, when he was elected to the Lok Sabha as a  Member of Parliament.  Thereafter he has served in multifarious positions of eminence- as Cabinet Minister, Agriculture, Forest Development & Panchayats, Punjab; leader of the Akali Dal Legislature Party; MLA Samana; Chairman INTACH ; and Chairman, Committee of World Wide Fund for Nature, India (Punjab, HP & Chandigarh), and several other prominent positions. 

On July 4,1998, Capt. Amarinder Singh was appointed President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (I), and re-elected as such on November 25, 2000.  Thereafter in the last Assembly elections held on 13.02.2002, he was elected with a huge margin of more than 33000  votes from his nearest rival, and was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Punjab on 27.02.2002 after being unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party.  

Endowed with a remarkable vision and laudable convictions, Capt. Amarinder Singh, assisted by a dedicated team of ministers, officers & advisors, has, in a short span of nine months, taken giant strides forward to stamp out corruption in public life and in government offices.  Political interference  in administrative functioning is well under control, be it the bureaucracy, the police or any other department. The message spelt out by him is loud and clear-Be responsive to the problems of the common man, be fair, be bold, and ensure accountability at any cost.  Here is a Chief Minister who means business !

Capt. Amarinder Singh is married to Preneet Kaur, daughter of S. Gyan Singh Kahlon, ICS, former Chief Secretary Punjab. A gentle lady dedicated to social reform and upliftment of the people, Maharani Preneet Kaur is herself a well loved and popular leader of the masses. She is presently serving her 2nd term as an elected Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha). 

At the Golden Temple,Amritsar

At the Durgiana Mandir, Amritsar

Spelling out his priorities