Udham Singh Nagoke

Udham Singh Nagoke was a freedom fighter, Jathedar of Akal Takht and member of Rajya Sabha.

Udham Singh Nagoke
Jathedar of the Akal Takht[1]
In office 13 October 1923 – 9 February 1924
Preceded by	Teja Singh Akarpuri
Succeeded by	Acchar Singh
In office 10 January 1926 – 27 November 1926
Preceded by	Acchar Singh
Succeeded by	Teja Singh Akarpuri
Member of Punjab Provincial Assembly[2]
In office 1946–1947
Constituency	Amritsar Central (Sikh) (Rural)
Member of Interim East Punjab Assembly
In office 1947–1951
Constituency	Amritsar Central (Sikh) (Rural)
Member of Rajya Sabha[3]
In office 3 April 1953 – 2 April 1960
Personal details
Born	28 April 1894 Amritsar, Punjab, British India
Died	11 January 1966 (aged 71) Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Political party	Shiromani Akali Dal (till 1947) Indian National Congress (1947-1960) Swatantra Party (1960-1966)

Jathedar of the Akal Takht

As Jathedar of the Akal Takht, he was scheduled to lead the first Shahidi Jatha (martyrs' column) on its way to the agitation at Jaito.^[4] However, the Government arrested him the night before (8 February 1924) and sentenced him to two confinement in the Central Jail at Multan. On his release in 1926, he was again appointed Jathedar of Akal Takht. By then the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 had been placed on the statute book. In the elections held under this Act, he was elected a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and continued to be elected or co-opted to it till 1954. During this time he was a member of the Darbar Sahib Committee from 1930 to 1933. In 1947 he played a major role to keep peace in Amritsar. He was elected president of the Shiromani Committee^[5] in 1948 and again in 1950.^[6]

From right to left: Jathedar Udham Singh Nagoke, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala and Maj. Gen. Mohindar Singh Chopra at Guru Ka Bagh, Amritsar (1947).

President of the Shiromani Akali Dal

He participated in the civil disobedience movement started by the Indian National Congress and served another year in custody. In 1935, he was elected president of the Shiromani Akali Dal.^[7] The freedom campaign claimed another four years of his life (1936-39. Another term in jail awaited him in March 1942 under the Defence of India Rules. In the Quit India Movement he suffered jail for three years.

Punjab Provincial Assembly

After his release at the end of the Second World War, Jathedar Nagoke was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1946. In 1952 he was appointed head of the Bharat Sevak Samaj, a front organisation of the Congress Party.

Rajya Sabha

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1952 as a Congress nominee, a position he held until 1960. He was also a member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress executive during this period.

Punjabi Suba agitation

In 1960 he joined C. Rajagopalachari's Swatantra Party and headed its Punjab Branch in 1960-61. In 1960's he joined the Punjabi Suba movement.^[8] He served a term in jail in 1960 in the Punjabi Suba agitation.

Death

He gave up this life at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences at Chandigarh on 11 January 1966.