Sarwan Singh Phillaur is an Indian politician who served as a Minister for Jails, Tourism, Cultural Affairs and Printing and Stationery in the Punjab Government.^[1][2]

Phillaur was born on May 30, 1948, in Chak Des Raj, a village in Phillaur, Jalandhar district. He hails from the Ravidassia^[3] community and is married to Nirmaljit Kaur; they have two children: a son, Damanvir Singh Phillaur, and a daughter, Amanpreet Kaur.^[4]

He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1977 on an Akali Dal ticket from Phillaur for first time.^[5] He was re-elected from Phillaur in 1980, 1985, 1997 and 2007.^[6][7][8][9] In 2012, he successfully contested from Kartarpur.^[10] Presently he is cabinet minister and holding portfolio of Jails, Tourism, Cultural Affairs and Printing and Stationery.^[1] In 1997, he was Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes.^[11]

He made headlines in 2014 when he resigned from the Cabinet on moral grounds following media reports concerning the alleged involvement of a family member in a drug racket; later, his properties, as well as those of his son, were provisionally attached by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with investigations. In 2016, following disagreements over being denied a ticket, he left SAD and joined the Indian National Congress, but in 2022, he and his son joined the breakaway Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).^[4]

He is credited with projects such as the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial and a Centre for Excellence for Vegetables in Kartarpur, for which he initiated proposals of land allocation while he was a minister. This reflects work towards cultural heritage and agricultural education/agribusiness support in his constituency.^[12] Under his tenure, improvements were noted in infrastructure like the six-laning of the national highway, better inner roads in Kartarpur, and better connectivity.^[13]