Cradle of post-Independence Punjab province’s architect Partap Singh Kairon

Kairon village in Tarn Taran district is, among others, known as the birthplace of Partap Singh Kairon, who is widely acknowledged as the architect of the post-Independence Punjab province, which included the current state of Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh.

Though his sub-caste was Dhillon, Partap Singh Kairon preferred to use Kairon as his surname.

Kairon served as Chief Minister from January 21, 1956, to June 23, 1964, having previously served as a minister in the state government.

Born on October 1, 1901, in Kairon, the former CM was educated at Col Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun; Khalsa College, Amritsar; and in the United States.

He supported himself by working on farms, and in factories during his time in the US, obtaining a master’s in economics from the University of California at Berkeley, before proceeding to the University of Michigan, where he received a master’s in political science.

He was impressed by the farming methods practiced in the US, and hoped to

replicate them in India later.

In the village, the Kairon family is remembered with great respect for promoting women’s education. Nihal Singh, Partap Singh Kairon’s father, established an ‘ashram’ called Mata Sahib Kaur Bhujhangan Day Boarding House, Kairon, in 1916 for girls to obtain formal education. The foundation stone of the ashram was laid by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala — the grandfather of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh — on February 12, 1916.

The ‘ashram’, now called the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Kairon, still serves its original purpose: providing access to formal education for girls from rural backgrounds.

Kairon’s son Surinder Singh Kairon was a four-time MLA, who has also served as a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Partap Singh Kairon’s grandson, has represented the Patti Vidhan Sabha constituency as MLA four times. Though both Partap and Surinder Kairon were Congress representatives, Adesh Partap contested on Shiromani Akali Dal tickets.

For his contributions to the development of the state, a memorial in the memory of Partap Singh Kairon has been erected at his native

village, though its maintenance leaves much to be desired.