Thawar Chand Gehlot (born 18 May 1948) is an Indian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who is the current and 19th

Governor of Karnataka The Governor of Karnataka is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head ...

, being the first person serving as the

from

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. He assumed office of the Governor of Karnataka on July 11, 2021. He also served as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2014 to 2021. He was also the Leader of the House in the upper house of Indian Parliament. He was a member of the Parliamentary Board and the Central Election Committee of the BJP.

Early life

Gehlot was born in 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 ...

family in the village of Rupeta in

Nagda Nagda is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chambal Riv ...

in the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

of the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

, which is in present-day

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 so ...

. He is a senior member of

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

. He had assumed ministerial berth a number of times in the union government. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Vikram University Vikram University is located in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The university was named after the ruler Vikramaditya. It was established in 1957. It was evaluated by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council and was awarded B++ grade ...

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...

Career

He was a member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

representing the state of

. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences (BRAUSS) is a state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual sta ...

. He formerly represented

Shajapur Shajapur is a town in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state in west-central India. It is the headquarters of Shajapur district. Geography Shajapur is located at . It has an average elevation of . The highest peak is known as Bhairo Dungri. ...

in the lower house of Indian Parliament,

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 1996 to 2009. He served as the Union Minister for Socila Justice and Empowerement, in Modi's 2nd cabinet. He is a member of the

(BJP) and was also the general secretary of the party. Further on July 6, 2021, Thawar Chand Gehlot was appointed as the 19th

References

External links

Members of Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh – Parliament of India website

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Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
, - , - , - 1949 births Living people Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Madhya Pradesh Governors of Karnataka Vikram University alumni Leaders of the Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Lok Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Members of the Cabinet of India India MPs 1996–1997 Politicians from Ujjain Narendra Modi ministry India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 2004–2009 Rajya Sabha members from the Bharatiya Janata Party Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Karnataka {{MadhyaPradesh-BJP-politician-stub