Jiwan Singh Umranangal (English: Jiwan Singh Umranangal, born- October 1, 1914; died- November 7, 1998) was an Indian politician belonging to the Akali Dal. He served as the Revenue Minister of Punjab. He was the grandfather of Paramraj Singh Umranangal, who is a senior IPS officer of Punjab cadre. Jeevan Singh Umranangal was born in 1914 in Dhaliwal Bet village of Kapurthala district. He passed matriculation from Kapurthala High School. He was basically an agriculturalist by profession. He adopted politics as a career by becoming a member of Akali Dal in 1952. He became the Sarpanch and Numberdar (village head) of his native village Umra Nangal. He later served as the General Secretary of the Akali Dal and eventually became the Vice President of the party.
He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1968, 1977 and 1980. He served as Revenue Minister under Gurnam Singh in 1968 and Finance Minister under Parkash Singh Badal in 1977. He won elections to the ‘Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’ thrice and served on its executive committee for 12 years. In the 1979 SGPC elections, Jeevan Singh Umranangal defeated AISSF President Amrik Singh, who was supported by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He became a close associate of senior Akali leader Fateh Singh.
Jeevan Singh Umranangal took a tough stand against pro-Khalistan militants. In 1986 he began a door-to-door campaign in the Majha region, meeting families of militants and seeking their help in convincing the militants to abandon violence. He also launched a 45-day padayatra and convinced those who had moved out of Punjab due to the violence to return. In retaliation, terrorists killed his son Sukhdev Singh Umranangal on 8 May 1987.
He accused the SGPC of failing to stop campaigns spreading intolerance and hatred in the community. He then left the Akali Dal due to its leaders’ ambiguous stance on extremist violence and founded his own party “Jagat Akali Dal” on 21 January 1992. He later merged his party back into the Akali Dal in February 1998. Jeevan Singh Umranangal died on 7 November 1998 in a hospital in Beas at the age of 84.
