Giani Zail Singh was born on May 5,1916 at a small village named Sandhwan, near Kot Kapura, formerly princely state of Faridkot. His father, Bhai Kishen Singh, was a village carpenter. Zail Singh lost his mother at an early age. He was brought up by his mother’s sister named Daya Kaur. He had little formal education.
After India was divided into Muslim Pakistan and secular India, East Punjab’s small kingdoms were made into a state called Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). In 1949, a non-party government was established in PEPSU. Giani Zail Singh was appointed as the Revenue Minister.
In 1956, he became a member of the Rajya Sabha. After the Assembly poll in 1972, he became the Chief Minister of Punjab. Later, he was appointed as the Minister for Home Affairs in the Central Cabinet. In 1982, Giani Zail Singh was unanimously elected by the Congress Party as the choice for the President. He won by an almost unanimous vote of the nation in 1994, he died in a car accident.