Hukum Singh (5 April 1938 – 3 February 2018) was an Indian politician who served as the Member of Parliament from Kairana in

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 ...

as a

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 Modi ...

(BJP) candidate. He was a member of the Panel of Chairpersons of the

16th Lok Sabha Members of the 16th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2014 Indian general election. The elections were conducted in 9 phases from 7 April 2014 to 12 May 2014 by the Election Commission of India. The results of the election were declared on 16 M ...

, and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources.

Life

Singh was born on 5 April 1938 to Maan Singh and Leelavati in

Kairana Kairana is a city and a municipal board in Shamli district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is approximately from Shamli city. Demographics As of 2011 Indian Census, Kairana had a total population of 89,000, of which 47,047 were male ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

degrees from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

. Singh married Rewati Devi on 13 June 1958, with whom he has five daughters. He was previously elected as a Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for seven terms (1974–77,1980–89,1996-2014). He has also served as a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in Uttar Pradesh governments under both BJP and the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. He died on 3 February 2018 at a private hospital in Noida, Uttar Pradesh after suffering from severe breathing difficulties for a brief period.

Education and career

A law graduate from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, he cleared PCS (J)

exams An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

in 1963. But instead of becoming a

judicial officer The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

, he joined the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

as a

Commissioned Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

after 1962

Indo-China war The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of V ...

. He participated in the 1965 Pakistan war as a captain, in the

Poonch Poonch, sometimes also spelt Punchh, may refer to: * Historical Poonch District, a district in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India, split in 1947 between: ** Poonch district, India ** Poonch Division, in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, ...

sector in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. He then took voluntary retirement in 1969. He entered active politics in 1974, becoming an MLA for the first time on a

ticket. He went on to win Assembly elections seven times and held the post of

deputy speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

of the Assembly from 1983 to 1985. He won his fourth term, as a

BJP 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 Modi ...

candidate, in 1996 and his first

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-past ...

elections in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Controversies

In September 2013, he was named in an

FIR Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

related to the Muzaffarnagar riots because he attended the mahapanchayat which was held despite prohibitory orders. He refuted allegations of inciting communal tensions by saying that he did not make any inflammatory speech and only attempted to calm down the assembled crowd. In June 2016, he released a list of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

families and alleged that there had been a mass exodus of

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

from his constituency due to the law and order situation. His claims were later partially validated by a report of the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

(NHRC).

Parliamentary performance

Being the son of a farmer father, he understood and concerned himself with important issues related to farmers, education and infrastructure. He had participated in more debates than the national average and asked significant questions in the parliament to bring attention towards problems affecting the people of his constituency. Besides being the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources, he was a Member of the Consultative Committee,

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and also a Member of the General Purposes Committee. Apart from participating in public meetings and mass movements for the cause of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

, Singh was also very active on social media and in the parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Hukum 1938 births 2018 deaths People from Muzaffarnagar district India MPs 2014–2019 Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Deputy Speakers of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh Janata Party politicians Janata Party (Secular) politicians Janata Dal politicians Indian National Congress politicians Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1974–1977 Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1980–1985 Uttar Pradesh MLAs 1997–2002