New Delhi – Satya Pal Malik, the plain-speaking Jat leader whose journey from a small village in western Uttar Pradesh to four Raj Bhavans was defined by an unflinching defence of farmers and instinctive solidarity with the Sikh community, passed away today at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, aged 79. Poignantly, his final curtain fell exactly six years after, as the last Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, he presided over the abrogation of Article 370.
Early Years and the VP Singh Connection
Born on 24 July 1946 in Hisawada, Baghpat district, Malik lost his father while still an infant and was raised by his mother in an atmosphere steeped in the egalitarian ideas of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia. A gifted organiser, he twice led student unions at Meerut College and Meerut University before graduating with a B.Sc. and LL.B.
Disillusioned by the Bofors scandal, Malik resigned from the Congress in 1987 and threw his weight behind Vishwanath Pratap Singh. As a founding face of Jan Morcha, he criss-crossed the country in an anti-corruption campaign that unseated Rajiv Gandhi. When VP Singh formed a minority government in 1989, he rewarded Malik with the charge of Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs & Tourism – Malik’s only stint in the Union Council, but one that cemented his reputation for plain dealing across the aisle.
A Career Carved by Conscience
Malik’s willingness to cross party lines in pursuit of principle took him through the Lok Dal, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and, eventually, the BJP, where he served as National Vice-President. Yet party colours never muted conviction. In four decades he would sit in both houses of Parliament, pilot Uttar Pradesh’s tourism portfolio, and twice win a popular mandate – all the while retaining the rustic candour that endeared him to farm households across north India.
Gubernatorial Stewardship
In 2017 Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed him Governor of Bihar and, briefly, Odisha. A year later he was dispatched to Srinagar, where on 5 August 2019 New Delhi revoked Jammu & Kashmir’s special status. Malik guided the volatile transition with a lawyer’s caution and a farmer’s pragmatism. Subsequent tenures in Goa and Meghalaya completed a rare quartet of Raj Bhavan assignments.
Voice of the Fields
Long before statehouses— Raj Bhavans as we call them—, Malik had tilled family land, and the soil never left his conscience. During the 2020-21 farm protests he became one of the most senior figures in public life to back the movement, urging the Centre to provide a statutory guarantee for Minimum Support Prices. Speaking in Baghpat in March 2021 he declared: “Give the kisan a legal MSP and I shall end the protest.” His words carried the weight of personal experience and resonated far beyond Delhi’s borders.
Solidarity with Sikhs
Malik’s empathy extended naturally to Punjab’s agrarian Sikh belt. Addressing the Global Jat Summit in November 2021, he cautioned the Union government against under-estimating the resilience of Sikh history, invoking the martyrdoms of Guru Gobind Singh’s young sons and the aftermath of Operation Blue Star: “You cannot defeat the Sikhs… do not test their patience.” The remarks, delivered in earthy idiom, earned him warm appreciation from gurdwaras and farmers’ unions alike.
Integrity under Fire
During his tenure in Srinagar, Malik alleged that middlemen had offered him bribes of ₹150 crore to clear two corporate files. He cancelled the tenders and, by his own account, informed the Prime Minister. Even from his hospital bed this summer he repeated his credo: “I took five kurta-pyjamas to Kashmir and shall leave with only them.” A Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet filed in May 2025 named him among the accused in the Kiru hydro-electric project, but Malik insisted the inquiry was “price worth paying for speaking the truth”.
Condolences that Spanned the Spectrum
Tributes poured in across ideological divides:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “saddened” and prayed for peace.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi praised Malik for “fearlessly speaking the truth till the very end”.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called him a “farmer-friendly leader” who “held a mirror of truth to power”.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saluted his courage in backing the kisan agitation and “speaking uncomfortable truths” about Pulwama.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mourned the loss of a man who “dared to speak truth before power”.
Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaaj, thanked him for “fearlessly raising his voice for Punjab and the Sikh community”.
A Complex, Courageous Legacy
Satya Pal Malik leaves no political dynasty, but he leaves an idea: that constitutional office need not silence conscience, and that the ploughman and the Sikh faith deserve a defender in the highest councils of state. His life reminds us that patriotism can wear the colours of dissent and still salute the national flag with full honour.
His cremation will take place on 6 August at Lodhi Crematorium, drawing the curtain on a career remembered for its courage, controversy and unwavering commitment to what he believed was right. May his soul find shanti, and may the fields of India and the spirit of Sikh resilience long remember their steadfast sentinel.