Manohar Parrikar | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2014 | |
| 8thChief Minister of Goa | |
| In office 14 March 2017 – 17 March 2019 | |
| Governor | Mridula Sinha |
| Preceded by | Laxmikant Parsekar |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Pramod Sawant |
| In office 9 March 2012 – 8 November 2014 | |
| Governor | Bharat Vir Wanchoo Margaret Alva Mridula Sinha |
| Deputy | Francis D'Souza |
| Preceded by | Digambar Kamat |
| Succeeded by | Laxmikant Parsekar |
| In office 24 October 2000 – 2 February 2005 | |
| Governor | Mohammed Fazal Kidar Nath Sahani S. C. Jamir |
| Deputy | Ravi Naik |
| Preceded by | Francisco Sardinha |
| Succeeded by | Pratapsingh Rane |
| 27thUnion Minister of Defence | |
| In office 9 November 2014 – 13 March 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Arun Jaitley |
| Succeeded by | Arun Jaitley |
| Member ofGoa Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 28 August 2017 – 17 March 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Sidharth Kuncalienker |
| Succeeded by | Atanasio Monserrate |
| Constituency | Panaji |
| In office 1994–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Joan Baptista Florino Gonsalves |
| Succeeded by | Sidharth Kuncalienker |
| Constituency | Panaji |
| Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 26 November 2014 – 2 September 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Kusum Rai |
| Succeeded by | Hardeep Singh Puri |
| Constituency | Uttar Pradesh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar (1955-12-13)13 December 1955 |
| Died | 17 March 2019(2019-03-17) (aged 63) Panaji, Goa, India |
| Cause of death | Pancreatic cancer |
| Nationality |
|
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (since 1980s) |
| Spouse | Medha Parrikar (died 2001) |
| Education | Loyola High School |
| Alma mater | IIT Bombay (1978) |
| Occupation |
|
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2020) |
Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar (13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and a member of theBharatiya Janata Party who served as the eighthChief Minister of Goa, going on to serve a total of four times between 2000 and 2019. He also served as theUnion Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2017. In 2020, he was posthumously awarded thePadma Bhushan.
Parrikar proposedNarendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate at the 2013 BJP parliamentary elections convention in Goa. He then served in theNational Democratic Alliance government under Prime Minister Modi asDefence Minister of India from 2014 to 2017. He was a member of theRajya Sabha fromUttar Pradesh from 2014 to 2017.[1][2][3]
He was the firstIIT alumnus to serve asMLA of an Indian state, the first IITian to become the Chief Minister of a state in India, the first Goan to become a cabinet-rank minister at the Centre, and also the first Chief Minister of a state to continue in office for over a year despite being diagnosed with terminal-stage cancer.[4]
Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar was born on 13 December 1955, to aGaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) family[5] inMapuçá,Portuguese Goa.[6] He studied atLoyola High School inMargao.[7] Parrikar completed hisSecondary School Certificate at G. S. Amonkar Vidya Mandir, Mapusa, which was previously known as New Goa High School. He completed his primary education inMarathi and went on to graduate inMetallurgical Engineering from theIndian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay),[6] in 1978. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Bombay in 2001.[8]
Parrikar served asChief Minister of Goa, holding the office four times (from 2000 to 2005, 2012 to 2014, and lastly from 2017 to 2019).[9][10] He also served as theUnion Minister of Defence from October 2014 to March 2017.
Parrikar joined theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a young age and became amukhya shikshak (chief instructor) in the final years of his schooling. After graduating from IIT, he resumed RSS work inMapusa while maintaining a private business, and became asanghchalak (local director) at the age of 26.[citation needed] He was active in the RSS'sNorth Goa unit, becoming a key organiser of theRam Janmabhoomi movement. He was seconded by RSS toBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the objective of fighting theMaharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.[11] He is sometimes described as having been apracharak of the RSS.[12]
As a member of the BJP, Parrikar was elected to theLegislative Assembly of Goa in 1994. He wasleader of the opposition from June to November 1999. He successfully contested the election to become Chief Minister of Goa for the first time on 24 October 2000, but his tenure lasted only until 27 February 2002.[13] In 2001, the Parrikar government had turned over fifty-one government primary schools in rural areas toVidya Bharati, the educational wing of the Hindu nationalist groupSangh Parivar, inviting criticism from certain educationists.[14][15]
On 5 June 2002, he was re-elected and served another term as Chief Minister.[13] On 29 January 2005, his government was reduced to aminority in the Assembly after four BJPMLAs resigned from the House.Pratapsing Rane of the Indian National Congress would subsequently replace Parrikar as Chief Minister.[citation needed]
In 2007, the Parrikar led BJP was defeated in the Goa state elections by the Congress led byDigambar Kamat. BJP and their party-allies won twenty-four seats against the Congress' nine in the Goa Assembly Elections held in March 2012. After coming to power on the promise of getting rid of casinos from the state, in 2014 Parrikar granted permanent licenses to casinos in Goa.[16][17]
In 2014, Parrikar drew criticism for approving a junket costing at least₹8.9 million (equivalent to₹14 million or US$170,000 in 2023) for six MLAs from the ruling party, including three ministers, to attend theFIFA World Cup in Brazil. TheIndian National Congress termed the trip "wasteful expenditure" and criticized the lack of other government officials or soccer experts in the delegation.[18][19]
In the2014 general elections, BJP won both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.[20] Parrikar was reluctant to leave Goa and move to Delhi in November 2014, by his own admission but was persuaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join central government.[20]
Parrikar was preceded byLaxmikant Parsekar as Goa's CM. Parrikar had represented thePanaji constituency in theGoa Legislative Assembly when he was a player in the state politics.[21]
In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as theMinister of Defence replacingArun Jaitley, who, till then, held additional charge of the Ministry.[12][22] His entry into the parliament was facilitated by choosing him as the party's candidate for the electedRajya Sabha seat fromUttar Pradesh.[21]
On 14 March 2017, Parrikar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Goa. Goa Forward Party led by Vijai Sardesai, one of the parties who allied with BJP in Goa after election results were announced, had said that it would extend support to the BJP only if Parrikar was brought back to the state as Chief Minister.[23][24]
In 2001, the Parrikar government turned over fifty-one government primary schools in rural areas toVidya Bharati, the educational wing of theSangh Parivar, inviting criticism from educationists.[25][26] He also drew criticism for approving a junket costing at least₹8.9 million (equivalent to₹14 million or US$170,000 in 2023) for six government MLAs from the ruling party, including three ministers, to attend the2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. TheIndian National Congress termed the trip "wasteful expenditure" and criticized the lack of other government officials or football experts in the delegation.[27][28]
Parrikar often made remarks of controversial nature.[29] In wake of the debate onreligious intolerance in India and actorAamir Khan stating that his wifeKiran Rao had asked to move out of India, Parrikar made a controversial remark that "if anyone speaks like this, he has to be taught a lesson of his life".[30] He later clarified that he had not targeted any specific individual.[31] In August 2016, Parrikar stated that going toPakistan is the same thing as "going to hell".[32] In November 2016, Parrikar, while serving asMinister of Defence of India, raised a question about whyIndia should bind itself to theno first use policy.[33]
In 2019, an audio tape of Poriem MLAVishwajit Rane surfaced where he spoke to an unknown person claiming that theDassault Rafale Aircraft deal papers were in then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's bedroom. Congress LeaderRahul Gandhi attempted to play the alleged audio tape in the Lok Sabha but was not allowed to do so.[34]
During March–June 2018, Parrikar was undergoing treatment for what would turn out to bepancreatic cancer atMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center inNew York,USA. He returned toIndia and in September was admitted in theAIIMS, Delhi for treatment.[35] On 27 October 2018, theGovernment of Goa announced that Parrikar hadpancreatic cancer.[36]
He died on 17 March 2019 at the age of 63 from pancreatic cancer at his residence inPanaji.[37][38] His death was announced by thePresident of India,Ram Nath Kovind in atweet condoling his death.[39] His death was condoled byPMNarendra Modi,HMRajnath Singh,BJP presidentAmit Shah,INC presidentRahul Gandhi, and several other political leaders from all overGoa and India.
On the evening of 18 March, Parrikar was cremated with full state honours atMiramar inPanaji.[40]
In June 2020, abiography titledAn Extraordinary Life: A Biography of Manohar Parrikar was published byPenguin Random House India. The book, written by journalists Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, documents Parrikar's life and political career.[41]
In 2019, it was announced that a part of the Miramar beach would be converted to a memorial for Parrikar, featuring a library, a meditation hall, an audio-visual room and a souvenir shop. The memorial is named The Manohar Parrikar Smriti Sthal.[44]
The Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses was renamed theManohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in February 2020.[45]
In December 2022, the new international airport atMopa, Goa was namedManohar International Airport.[46]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Goa 2000–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Goa 2012–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Defence 2014–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Goa 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
