Navjot Singh Sidhu - A sardar unreservedly passionate about Punjab and Punjabiyat

A flamboyant cricketer and now a temperamental politician, there is no denying Sidhu's central role in Punjab's state politics.

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Jitesh Surjiani | 26 Nov '21

Navjot Singh Sidhu, fondly known as Sherry, is a well-known personality and an important figurehead in Punjab politics. A flamboyant ex-cricketer, a colorful media personality, and now an outspoken politician, Sidhu has worn many hats during his long innings in public life.

He is often referred to as "controversy's child" given that he is almost always surrounded by some controversy, willingly or unwillingly, that has kept him in the public eye. A self-professed nationalist with a heart that beats for Punjab and Punjabiyat, Sidhu has taken a firm stand on many issues irrespective of their personal or political repercussions. He has a gift of the gab that has endeared people to him whether on TV shows, political rallies, or cabinet meetings.

Family and personal life

Sidhu was born on 20 October 1963 in Patiala, Punjab. His father, Sardar Bhagwant Singh was very active in public life – he served as Patiala district president of Congress under ex-Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh’s mother served as an Attorney General of Punjab’s State Government and was a decent cricketer. Sidhu's mother, Nirmal Kaur, fought assembly elections twice on a Congress ticket.

Navjot Singh Sidhu is married to Navjot Kaur Sidhu, a doctor, and a former member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The couple has two children. His son, Karan Singh Sidhu received his master's degree in law from Benjamin N Cardozo school of law of New York and practices law in Delhi. His daughter, Rabia Sidhu studied interior design from London.

Sidhu suffered a personal setback in 1991 when he was arrested for an attack due to road rage that led to the death of Gurnam Singh. A trial court discharged Sidhu, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court held him guilty of culpable homicide in 2006 and sent him to jail for three years. In 2007, the Supreme Court suspended Mr. Sidhu's sentence and granted him bail. The case was subsequently dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2018 citing a lack of evidence that conclusively proved Sidhu’s role in the death.

Sidhu is a vegetarian and a firm believer in yoga and meditation which he practices daily.

Education and early career

Sidhu is an alumnus of Yadavindra Public School, Patiala. He studied in Mumbai at HR College of Commerce and Economics.

His father, Sardar Bhagwant Singh was a decent cricket player and wanted to see his son Navjot as a top-class cricketer. In keeping with his father’s wishes, Sidhu made his first-class debut in November 1981 playing for Punjab against Services in Amritsar. At the age of 20, he made his International Test debut. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in December 1999. During his 18-year cricketing career, he played 51 Test matches and over 100 ODIs and scored over 7,000 international runs including 27 First class centuries. He became known for his swashbuckling batting skills and six-hitting ability that earned him the sobriquet "Sixer Sidhu".

After hanging up his cricketing boots at the age of 36, Sidhu began a new chapter of his professional career as a cricket commentator in 2001. He worked with various sports channels and gained wide popularity until he quit in 2014. As a commentator, Sidhu was noted for his one-liners, which came to be known as "Sidhuisms". Between 2004 and 2019, Sidhu appeared in many reality shows, movies, and comedy shows such as Comedy Night with Kapil and The Kapil Sharma Show. His wit and oratory skills were on full display and earned him a huge fan following across India and abroad.

Journey into politics

Given his family legacy of serving in public life and his widespread popularity, politics was a natural calling. Sidhu was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Amritsar in 2004 on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. Given his conviction in an earlier court case, he had to resign from his position in 2006. After the Supreme Court stayed his conviction, he successfully re-contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in a by-election. Sidhu was again elected as an MP to the 15th Lok Sabha in 2009 from Amritsar on a BJP ticket.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Sidhu was passed over for a ticket to contest from the Amritsar seat, one which he swore allegiance to, in favor of Arun Jaitley. As a result, he did not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Sidhu took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on 28 April 2016. As per media reports, his nomination was only a placatory move by the BJP to prevent him from joining the Aam Aadmi Party. However, he remained a Rajya Sabha MP for only less than 3 months and resigned from the Rajya Sabha on 18 July 2016.

On 2 September 2016, Sidhu along with Pargat Singh and Bains brothers formed a new political front - Aawaaz-e-Punjab to fight against those working against Punjab’s interests. This party was dissolved in just a few months as Sidhu contested and won the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections from Amritsar East on the Indian National Congress ticket.

Despite the various ups and downs in his political career graph and the Congress party, Sidhu swears allegiance to the Gandhi family and remains attached to the Congress party until this date.

Key Highlights of political life

  • As Minister of Tourism and Local Bodies, Sidhu significantly contributed to the revival of the dying craft of making brass utensils practiced by the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru area, which fell under his Lok Sabha constituency of Amritsar. This program was executed under Project Virasat to revive India's only handicraft on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

  • Given the ongoing tensions with Pakistan despite stiff resistance, in Aug 2018, Sidhu attended the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan – his good friend from his cricketing days. The unfortunate highlight of the trip was his decision to hug General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Army. Sidhu claimed that this gesture was in response to Bajwa’s assurance of opening the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur corridor before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. This promise was duly fulfilled in a month which allowed visa-free entry of followers of Sikhism from India to Pakistan.
  • On 15 February 2019, during an appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show, Sidhu courted controversy by saying, "For a handful of people, can you blame the entire nation of Pakistan, and can you blame an individual?" in response to the recent attack on Indian soldiers in Pulwama, Jammu, and Kashmir that killed 40 personnel of India's border security forces. Though he condemned the attack as "cowardly and dastardly" in principle, the comments did not go down too well with the Indian public especially as the nationalistic sentiments were running high. This comment cost him dearly as his contract on the show was canceled and he was asked to leave the show the very next day.
  • The Indian air force’s anti-terrorism operation at Balakot in Pakistan in response to the Pulwama attack was questioned by Sidhu when he tweeted 'Were you uprooting terrorist or trees?’. A section of the media and society were privately circumspect of the success of the operation when Pakistan mentioned that there were no casualties or destruction caused by the Indian attack. However, Sidhu’s open criticism had some people calling him anti-national and a friend of Pakistan, a swipe at his warm relations with Imran Khan.
  • Despite familial ties with ex-CM Capt. Amarinder Singh, Sidhu’s relations with the captain remained tense ever since his induction into the Congress party. On 14 July 2019, Sidhu resigned from the Punjab Cabinet after being stripped of key portfolios in a cabinet reshuffle. On 18 July 2021, Sidhu was appointed as President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. All throughout Sidhu led a series of revolts that led to the eventual resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh as the CM of Punjab. Sidhu’s flip-flop in resigning from the President’s post too within 2 months and then withdrawing his resignation came as a vindication of sorts for Amarinder Singh who tweeted, "I told you so...he is not a stable man and not fit for the border state of Punjab."

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Twitter

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Jitesh Surjiani

Jitesh Surjiani

Jitesh Surjiani is passionate about progressive change for India and its citizens. He writes about issues that are roadblocks in improving quality of life and interpersonal interactions as well as areas of public governance that fall short in intent and action.

Navjot Singh Sidhu - A sardar unreservedly passionate about Punjab and Punjabiyat Navjot Singh Sidhu - A sardar unreservedly passionate about Punjab and Punjabiyat
Navjot Singh Sidhu - A sardar unreservedly passionate about Punjab and Punjabiyat
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