Balram Jakhar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 14th Governor of Madhya Pradesh | |
| In office 20 July 2004 – 19 July 2009 | |
| Chief Minister | Uma Bharti Babulal Gaur Shivraj Singh Chouhan |
| Preceded by | Lt. Gen.K. M. Seth (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Rameshwar Thakur |
| Governor of Gujarat | |
Additional Charge | |
| In office 12 July 2004 – 24 July 2004 | |
| Chief Minister | Narendra Modi |
| Preceded by | Kailashpati Mishra |
| Succeeded by | Nawal Kishore Sharma |
| 19thMinister of Agriculture | |
| In office 21 June 1991 – 17 January 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Preceded by | Devi Lal |
| Succeeded by | Jagannath Mishra |
| 8th Speaker of the Lok Sabha | |
| In office 22 January 1980 – 27 November 1989 | |
| Deputy | G. Lakshmanan M. Thambi Durai |
| Preceded by | K. S. Hegde |
| Succeeded by | Rabi Ray |
| Leader of Opposition of the Punjab Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 19 June 1977 – 17 February 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Prakash Singh Badal |
| Succeeded by | Prakash Singh Badal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1923-08-23)23 August 1923 Panjkosi,Punjab,British India |
| Died | 3 February 2016(2016-02-03) (aged 92)[1] Delhi,India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Children | Sunil Jakhar, Sajjan Jakhar, Surinder Jakhar |
| Parent(s) | Rajaram Jakhar (father) and Paato Devi (mother) |
| Profession | Farmer,Politician |
Balram Jakhar (23 August 1923 – 3 February 2016) was an Indian politician, who served as theSpeaker of the Lok Sabha andGovernor of Madhya Pradesh. He was also the longest servingSpeaker of the Lok Sabha, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days. Jakhar was among the popular faces of Jat politics in Rajasthan during 1980s. He served as theMinister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare from 1991 to 1996 in Government of India. He was a member ofIndian National Congress.[2][3][4][5]
Jakhar was born in a HinduJat family inPanjkosi village ofFazilka district in Punjab now inFazilka on 23 August 1923. His father was Chaudhari Rajaram Jakhar and his mother was Pattodevi Jakhar migrated to Pankosi fromMontgomery District ofWest Punjab in 1900.Jakhar earned a degree inSanskrit fromForman Christian College,Lahore, in 1945. He had knowledge of English,Punjabi,Urdu, Sanskrit andHindi languages.
A lifelong member of theCongress party, Jakhar founded the Bharatiya Krishak Samaj, a farmers' organization, in 1965. He was elected to thePunjab Legislative Assembly in 1972 and was re-elected in 1977, becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
Jakhar then moved to national politics. He was elected in 1980 to the seventhLok Sabha fromFerozepur and in 1984 to the eighth Lok Sabha fromSikar. He had the distinction of being elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha during his very first term in the house. Furthermore, served twice asSpeaker of Lok Sabha, a rare achievement in Indian parliament history, holding office from 1980 to 1989, thus became the longest serving speaker in history. As Speaker of Lok Sabha, he promoted automation and computerization of Parliamentary works. He promoted Parliament library, reference, research, documentation and information services for the knowledge and use of members of Parliament. The establishment ofParliament Museum was his contribution. He was the first Asian to be elected Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Executive Forum.
He was an attendee of the secondProvisional World Parliament held inNew Delhi on March 17, 1985.[6]
The Sikar parliamentary seat was won byDevi Lal in the elections of 1989. In 1991, Jakhar was again elected to parliament from the Sikar constituency and his party returned to power in India. Jakhar was made Union Agriculture minister under Prime MinisterP. V. Narasimha Rao in 1991.
After the Congress party returned to power in 2004, he was appointed Governor ofMadhya Pradesh and served from 30 June 2004 to 30 May 2009.[7]
Jakhar was the father of three sons:
| Lok Sabha | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mohinder Singh Sayanwala | Member of Parliament forFerozepur 1980–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSikar 1984–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSikar 1991–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Lok Sabha 22 January 1980 – 18 December 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Gujarat (Acting) July 2004 – July 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Lt. Gen. K. M. Seth (Acting) | Governor of Madhya Pradesh 30 June 2004 – 29 June 2009 | Succeeded by |