Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi
Cabinet Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs & NRI Affairs
Government of Punjab | Chandigarh (INDIA)
Ancestry & Birthplace:
Guru Har Sahai, Ferozepur, Punjab (India)
Residence:
Panchkula, Haryana (INDIA)
IF YOU ARE FIT, YOU ARE HIT
Because he believed in the beauty of his dreams, they became his reality. It was because of this belief that he won the gold medal in National Trap Shooting Championship in 1975 and represented India in Asian Games in 1978 and 1980.
Seven of the Sikh Gurus, from Guru Ram Das on, were Sodhis. We come from that Sodhi clan and are proud of it. As legends would have it, Maharaja Ranjit Singh awarded aristocratic Sodhi patrician grants, lavishly patronising with gifts of several villages. My forefathers had a huge land, of hundreds of acres in Guru Har Sahai, which my grandfather, Guru Harbans Singh, gave to the poor to till. Most of the same land was later gifted to those who tilled it. From there began our practice of giving.
If it weren’t for my mother, I wouldn’t have brought India laurels
I was born to Sardarni Raj Kumari and Sardar Narjit Singh on 9 January 1954 among six children. As Maa came from a Hindu family, I remember all my childhood birthday celebrations started with prayer performance by a Hindu priest. Respect for all religions was imbibed in us.
My elder brother, Hardeep Singh, and I first attended The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and then completed schooling from Garrison Army School, Ferozpur. I was above average in studies, extremely naughty too. Bunking classes or sneaking out of the hostel to watch movies, mimicking teachers, playing Cricket all day and indulging in meaningless fights were some activities I always enjoyed with my best buddy, Rajeshwar Sidhu. I loved watching movies, so did my father. We watched the evergreen Bollywood hit, Mughal-e-Azam, together. I still hum the song Jab pyaar kiya toh darna kya from the same movie.
The other outdoor activity we enjoyed was shooting. At age eight, I saw my father and brother shooting an air gun. It amazed me and I started following the sport sincerely. By the time I completed school, Rajeshwar and I were sure we would join the Indian Army. His family was happy as his father was an army personnel but my mother didn’t allow me to. She wanted me to take care of the land we owned. Following her wish, I bid farewell to my dream of becoming an army officer and joined my father in farms, when my interest shifted to shooting.
In 1973, I participated in the Junior Shooting Championship held in Lucknow, winning the medal and it gave my passion new wings. Soon after, I got married to Rita. She is a wonderful person who has always acknowledged my responsibilities and supported me in all my endeavours. It was perhaps her support that I could practice hard and win the gold medal in National Trap Shooting Championship in 1975. Sharing team space with Maharaja Karni Singh and Captain Amrinder Singh, I was happy to get an opportunity to represent India in Asian Games in 1978 and 1980 along with Asian Games Gold medal winner, Raja Randheep Singh.
Punjab government in 1978 awarded me with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award and an award amount of Rs 2,500; it was the very year when the award was instituted. With honours earned and thinking of serving my land as my ancestors, I decided to enter politics.
Simply following the tradition
I have been active in politics since 1973, becoming a member of the Youth Congress in 1976. But when I met former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi in 1985, he gave me the ticket for legislative assembly; however, I was not successful. Although it was an initial setback, it taught me great things in life. I continued to work for the welfare of the needy, downtrodden and the general masses. During the mid-1990s, I met Abhinav Bindra, then a 13-year-old child. Little did I know then but one small suggestion from me became a big motivation for him. He went to win gold in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
The lessons learnt in 1985 helped me in my next election in 2002, when I was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly. When I filed the nomination, no one thought I would win but to everyone’s surprise and with people’s love, I won with flying colours, in 2007, 2012 and again in 2017. I remained the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2004, along with many other reputed positions in the Punjab government. Presently, I am the Cabinet Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Punjab. Major areas of my interest have been sports, health, education, employment and women’s employment.
My family has always endeavoured to contribute to the betterment of the people and has an extensive following across all the communities of the province, particularly the Rai Sikh community. I have put in a lot of effort for the upliftment of this community.
Since I have been given this responsibility, I have tried my best to promote sports among youth. And plan to serve my nation. Although a lot of Punjabis migrate to the foreign lands, I have decided to continue promoting sports not only in Punjab but pan-India. I was the Working Chairman of 1st Indo-Pak Punjab games, 2004; Member of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and am currently the Life President of Chandigarh Olympic Association. The amount of Rs 2,500 I had received in 1978 has this year has been increased to Rs 2 lakh, which, from next year will be Rs 5 lakh. In 2008, I also won a bronze medal in a team event representing India in Asian Grand Prix, Clay Pigeon Championship.
Philosophy
Everyone falls at least once in life, but a true man is the one who stands back and moves again.
I love…
Cooking. I can cook anything. When I can manage time, I also love walking, gymming, listening to music and reading.
Success Mantra
Determination is important. Do what you say! And the world will know your intentions. Success will follow itself.
I’d suggest the youth…
To head in the right direction as it’s just once that they are young. They can use sports for this. And should stay away from drugs.
The world doesn’t know that…
In my desire to become an actor, I went to Mumbai where I was asked to cut my hair. Not only was it against Sikhsim, but I had also promised my mother to never cut hair. Though I had returned home then, I act in films when I get roles to my liking in Punjabi and English movies.
Gallery
ISBN : 9788193397695