Chandigarh, Sept. 18 -- A politician and a military historian, Captain Amarinder Singh, who has had a political career of over half a century, has been a close friend of the Gandhi family, and was brought into Congress by Rajiv Gandhi. Amarinder Singh, who comes from the royal family of Patiala, studied in the Doon School with Rajiv Gandhi. Singh served in the Indian Army from June 1963 to December 1966 after graduating from the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the Sikh Regiment. He joined the Congress after being asked by his friend Rajiv Gandhi, and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980. His old association with the Gandhi family came as a hindrance as Rahul Gandhi is emerging as t...