Suraj Bhan (1 October 1928 – 6 August 2006) was a former Governor, Member of Parliament and an

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n politician from

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...

Personal life

Suraj Bhan Banswal was born on 1 October 1928 at Mehlanwali,

Yamuna Nagar Yamunanagar (), is a city and a municipal corporation in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. This town is known for the cluster of plywood units and paper industries. It provides timber to larger industries. The older town is ...

district of

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 ...

into

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. ...

community and studied MA and LLB at

Panjab University 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

Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (KUK) is a university established on 11January 1956 in Kurukshetra, in the Indian state of Haryana, from the capital, Delhi. It is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. History The univer ...

. He started his public life as a volunteer of the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family ...

. His son Arun Kumar is also associated with BJP and been in-charge in various municipal corp. elections in Hayana.

Political career

*He started his political career with

Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the po ...

which eventually became the

and dropped his last name "Banswal" after joining active politics. *He represented the

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

parliamentary constituency of

in the

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

(1967–1970),

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

(1977–1979), 7th (1979–1984) and the

11th Lok Sabha General elections were held in India in April–May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha. The result of the election was a hung parliament, which would see three Prime Ministers in two years and force the country back to the polls ...

s (1996–1997). *In 1987, he was elected to Haryana Legislative Assembly and served as Revenue Minister in Devi Lal's govt. (1987-1989). After the BJP broke alliance with Devi Lal's party, he served as Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly (1989–1990). *He was appointed as Haryana State President of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1984. *In 1996, he held the portfolio of Agriculture Minister under

First Vajpayee Ministry Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Minist ...

after which he served as

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha (IAST: ) is the second highest ranking legislative officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. They act as the presiding officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illne ...

(1996-1997). *He lost in 1998 Lok Sabha elections, but was appointed as the

Governor of Uttar Pradesh The following is the list of governors of Uttar Pradesh. The list also includes governors of the United Provinces of pre-independent India as well as Independent India from 15 August 1947 to 25 January 1950. The province was renamed Uttar Prade ...

(1998-2000),

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peak ...

(2000-2003), and then as

Governor of Bihar The governor of Bihar is a nominal head and representative of the President of India in the state of Bihar. The Governor is appointed by the President for a term of 5 years. Phagu Chauhan is the current governor of Bihar. Former President Zaki ...

(1999). *In 2002 Dr Suraj Bhan also joined the race for the post of Vice-President of India following re-thinking in the BJP over the candidature of former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. *In Feb. 2004, he was appointed as the National Chairman of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission. He died of cardiac arrest following multiple organ failure on 6 August 2006 in New Delhi at the age of 77.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060101023238/http://www.upgovernor.nic.in/bhanbio.htm Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Haryana Governors of Himachal Pradesh Governors of Uttar Pradesh 1928 births 2006 deaths Janata Party politicians People from Yamunanagar district Deputy Speakers of the Lok Sabha Kurukshetra University alumni India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1977–1979 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1996–1997 Agriculture Ministers of India Chairmans of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Lok Sabha members from Haryana Bharatiya Jana Sangh politicians State cabinet ministers of Haryana Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education {{Haryana-BJP-politician-stub