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Born on October 4, 1920, Satyapal Dang graduated from Government College, Lahore. A freedom fighter and a student leader he rose to be General Secretary of the All India Students Federation as also Vice-President of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. He met his future wife Vimla Bakaya when both were active in the Lahore Students Union. Since early fiftees the Dangs have lived in Chheharta (Amritsar). Dang worked in the Trade Union movement and rose to be a prominent Trade Union leader in Punjab. Vimla worked among women primarily and was the General Secretary of the Punjab lstri Sabha for many years. Dang was the first President of erstwhile Municipal Committee Chheharta (1953-67) while Vimla was its President from 1968 till Chheharta was merged into Amritsar, Dang entered the Punjab Assembly in 1967 after defeating the then Chief Minister Gurmukh Singh Mussafir in amritsar West constituency retaining the seat till 1980. He was a Minister for a brief period in the first non-Congress ministry headed by Justice Gurnam Singh where he set a record for hard work, honesty and simple living. He and his wife stuck to Amritsar throughout the tragic yeaers of terrorism, organising people to fight it, giving relief to victims of terrorism and working for and strengthening communal harmony. The Dangs set another example by voluntarily withdrawing from elective posts in the CPI and outside. in 1997, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award while Vimla Dang had been earlier bestowed the Padma Shree Award in 1991.