Sikander Bakht | |
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| Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 21 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Succeeded by | I. K. Gujral |
| Leader of the Opposition inRajya Sabha | |
| In office 7 July 1992 – 21 May 1996 | |
| Preceded by | S. Jaipal Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Shankarrao Chavan |
| In office 1 June 1996 – 19 March 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Shankarrao Chavan |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Manmohan Singh |
| Member of theIndian Parliament forChandni Chowk | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Subhadra Joshi |
| Succeeded by | Bhiku Ram Jain |
| 15thGovernor of Kerala | |
| In office 18 April 2002- 23 February 2004 | |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | |
| In office 19 March 1998 – 13 October 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Murasoli Maran |
| Succeeded by | Murasoli Maran |
| Minister of Housing Affairs | |
| In office 21 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 | |
| Preceded by | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Succeeded by | M. Arunachalam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 August 1918 (1918-08-24) Delhi,British India |
| Died | 23 February 2004(2004-02-23) (aged 85) Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala,India |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (after 1980) |
| Other political affiliations | JP (1977–1980) Congress (O) (1969–1977) INC (before 1969) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Zakir Husain CollegeDelhi University |
Sikander Bakht (24 August 1918 – 23 February 2004) was an Indian politician belonging to theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who served as the 15th governor of Kerala from 2002 until his death.[1] He was elected as the Vice President of the BJP, served as its leader in theRajya Sabha, and as a cabinet minister in theNDA government headed byAtal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2000, he was awardedPadma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour of the Government of India.
Sikander Bakht was born in Quresh Nagar inDelhi, India in 1918. He attended theAnglo Arabic Senior Secondary School, Delhi and completed hisBachelor of Science from the Anglo-Arabic College (now known asZakir Husain College) in Delhi. During his school and college days he was a keenhockey player and representedDelhi University and Delhi in various tournaments. He also played and captained the Independents Hockey Club. He once said he is a member of BJP and always maintained that India is a land of secularism and supported the ethos of India.
In 1952, Bakht was elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as aCongress candidate. In 1968 he was elected as the Chairman of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking. In 1969 the Congress party split and Bakht stayed withCongress (Organisation). Bakht was then elected to The Metropolitan Council of Delhi as a Congress (O) candidate. On 25 June 1975, Emergency was declared byPrime MinisterIndira Gandhi, Bakht along with other opposition leaders was imprisoned on 25 June 1975. He was lodged in the Rohtak Jail until his release in December 1976. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered General Elections in March 1977. As soon as the opposition leaders were released, they merged all opposition parties to form The Janta Party.
In March 1977, Bakht was elected to theLok Sabha (the lower house of Indian Parliament) as aJanata Party candidate, from Chandni Chowk in New Delhi.Morarji Desai was appointed prime minister and he appointed Bakht as a Cabinet Minister for Works, Housing, Supply and Rehabilitation. He served in this capacity till July 1979.
In 1980 the Janta Party split and Bakht opted to be with theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was appointed General Secretary of BJP. In 1984 he was made the Vice President of BJP.
In 1990 Bakht was elected to theRajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) fromMadhya Pradesh. In 1992 he became the Leader of Opposition in theRajya Sabha. (The Leader of Opposition is equivalent to Cabinet Minister's post.) On 10 April 1996 he was reelected from Madhya Pradesh to theRajya Sabha.[2]
In May 1996, during the firstAtal Bihari Vajpayee Ministry, Bakht served asMinister of External Affairs andMinister of Urban Affairs. After the collapse of the Vajpayee government, Bakht became the Leader of the Opposition in theRajya Sabha once again.
In 1998 Vajpayee was again appointed prime minister and Bakht was appointed Industry Minister, a post he held until 2002. In addition, he was appointed the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. After serving an entire term as Industries Minister, Bakht retired from active politics and was appointed the Governor of Kerala in 2002. He was the first BJP leader ever to be appointed the governor of Kerala.
In 2000 Bakht was awarded thePadma Vibhushan. This is the second highest Indian civilian award. The four other persons from the BJP who have been awarded thePadma Vibhushan areAtal Bihari Vajpayee,Lal Krishna Advani,Sushma Swaraj andArun Jaitley. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani have since been awarded theBharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India.[3]
Bakht finished his term in Rajya Sabha on 9 April 2002. 9 days later, he was sworn in asGovernor of Kerala, succeedingSukhdev Singh Kang. At the age of 83 years, 237 days, he was the oldest Governor of Kerala state. He was highly popular and served in this post until his death. Bakht died in theMedical College Hospital inKerala's capital cityThiruvananthapuram on 23 February 2004, from complications of intestinal surgery which was performed on 19 February. He was the first Governor of Kerala who died in office. He was replaced two days later byKarnataka governorT. N. Chaturvedi. There was concern, particularly among BJP members, that Bakht might have died because ofmedical negligence, but nothing was proven.[4] Chief MinisterA. K. Antony, at the time of Sikander Bakht's death, had to give into popular demand to order an inquiry to examine if there was any lapse on part of doctors or any other motive.[5][6]
The President of India,A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, said "In his death we have lost a prominent public personality and a statesman."[7] Prime Minister Vajpayee said "Mr. Bakht was a freedom-fighter. He struggled for democracy and the nationalist cause with courage and conviction. He rendered distinguished service as a member of my Cabinet for sometime."[7]
| Preceded by | Minister for External Affairs of India 1996–1996 | Succeeded by |
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