Panna Lal Punia, usually known as P. L. Punia, is an Indian politician and

Member of the Rajya Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected ...

from Uttar Pradesh since 2014. He was member of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

from 2009 to 2014 and represented Barabanki (Lok Sabha constituency).Detailed Profile – Shri P. L. Punia
India.gov.in (1974-01-16). Retrieved on 2013-01-08. He is a

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

leader of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

party. He was also chairperson of the

National Commission for Scheduled Castes The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is an Indian constitutional body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Sc ...

between 2013-16 and as such sat ''ex officio'' on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). In July 2012, Punia appeared in the popular TV show '' Satyamev Jayate'', hosted by

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

star

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

, to raise awareness of discrimination against

scheduled castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

Early life

He was born on 23 January 1945 to Bharat Singh and Dakhan Devi in the

Jhajjar Jhajjar is a town in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The city is situated on the road connecting Rewari to Rohtak (NH-352), Loharu to Meerut (NH334B), Charkhi Dadri to Delhi and Gurgaon to Bhiwani. Jhajjar is located west o ...

district of the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

(now

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He took an M.A. from

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

and a PhD from

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. In 1970 he joined the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

(IAS), becoming

District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reve ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

during 1982–85.Rina » Yellow Journalism Is A Shameful Point For The Community
Rina.in (2011-06-13). Retrieved on 2013-01-08.

References

India MPs 2009–2014 Indian National Congress politicians Indian Administrative Service officers Living people 1945 births Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh People from Jhajjar district Chairmans of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election People from Barabanki district Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh {{UttarPradesh-INC-politician-stub