A former pilot of the IAF, Mr Kamal Chowdhry Cong I was drawn into politics after the assassination of his father, Mr Balbir Singh, a prominent Socialist leader of Punjab, by gunmen at Hoshiarpur in 1984.
Mr Chaudhry was born on July 3, 1947. He studied in studied in DAV School, Hoshiarpur. During his educational career he had a special fascination for yoga, swimming, wrestling and riding. As a member of the Red Cross and the St John Ambulance Brigade, he won several prizes.
While still a student of the Institute of Engineering, he was selected for the National Defense Academy and commissioned in the Air-Force in 1969.
After 21 years in the Air Force, Mr Chaudhry took retirement as a Squadron Leader and successfully contested the Parliamentary election from Hoshiarpur in 1985. He won again this time, beating his nearest BSP rival by over 68,000 votes.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 5, 1990
