Sujan Singh (contractor)

Sardar Sahib Sujan Singh was a contractor and agriculturalist in Punjab and Delhi during World War I and a contractor in the 1920s who helped in agricultural development, construction of highways and infrastructure in Punjab along with Delhi.
Early life and family
His father, Inder Singh, was a trader, and his grandfather was one too, and he traced his lineage from Baba Sangat Singh. After the Partition of India, his family Haveli in Hadali was inhabited by a Muslim family from Rohtak, although is now in ruins. He was trapped on the thatched roof of his hut, and by the time he had reached Hadali, where Sujan Singh was staying, he only had a loin cloth around him. He was a pioneer of exploiting the soils and was the first to use mechanized tools for farming along with oil pressing. There were two families who were awarded lots of land- these were the families of Sujan Singh and Datar Singh. Sir Sobha Singh and him were given the task to build Delhi as the capital was shifting, as he had bought land there anticipating the shift of the capital. He contacted Malcom Hailey, who was put in charge of selecting contractors for building New Delhi, and put the names of Sujan Singh and his son Sobha Singh. The railway station near Khanewal was named after his father called Kot Sujan Singh after persistence by Ujjal Singh, and his Havelis in Mian Channu and Hadali were given to Ujjal Singh too. Whereas Sobha Singh was able to receive plots of land where the India Gate, Vijay Chowk, Rashtrapati Bhavan and other monuments and buildings would be built. It was noted by Khushwant Singh, his grandson, that in their family they did not mourn death but celebrated it as a release from the world's bondage. They presented memoranda on behalf of the Sikhs at the time of Minto Morley Reforms.<ref name=":2" />
Despite being rich he was very money-minded and used to argue with vegetable sellers over prices in annas and paisa.<ref name=":72" />
Khushwant Singh (his grandson) noted that Sujan Singh's special word of affection was "bharua" (pimp).<ref name=":72" />
Legacy
Many places are named after Sujan Singh, mainly:
# Kot Sujan Singh, a railway station in Mian Channu.
# Sujan Singh Park, a high-end colony in New Delhi.
# Sujan Singh Block A, now Wengers Block, in Connaught Place.

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