Sardar Parkash Singh Badal has served as the Chief Minister of Punjab five times. He served from 1970 to 1971, 1977 to 1980, 1997 to 2002, and 2007 to 2017. He is also the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal. From 1995 to 2008, he led the party as president. In 2015, the Government of India honored him with the second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan.

Born on December 8, 1927, in Abul Khurana near Mallo, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal graduated from Forman Christian College in Lahore. In 1970, he became the youngest Chief Minister of any Indian state.

Sardar Badal was first elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1957. Since then, he has been elected 9 times as a legislator. In 1969, he was re-elected to the Assembly and became the Chief Minister of Punjab.

He has always raised his voice for the peace and sovereignty of the country. During the emergency period in the 1970s, he was imprisoned under the infamous MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act), along with other politicians. Moreover, during the Akali movement, he spent a long time behind bars fighting for the rights of the people of Punjab.

On December 11, 2011, he was honored with the title “Panth Ratan Fakhr-e-Kaum” (meaning the precious gem of the community, the pride of the society) from Sri Akal Takht Sahib. S. Badal received this honor for his services to the Sikh Panth and the establishment of numerous Sikh heritage sites, including the Virasat-e-Khalsa, and for enduring the atrocities during the Akali movement.