Manmohan Singh ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ मनमोहन सिंह
13th Prime Minister of India[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 May 2004
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Railways
In office 19 May 2011 – 13 July 2011
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Mamata Banerjee
Succeeded by	Dinesh Trivedi
Minister of Finance
In office 30 November 2008 – 24 January 2009
Preceded by	P. Chidambaram
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
In office 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996
Prime Minister	Narasimha Rao
Preceded by	Yashwant Sinha
Succeeded by	Jaswant Singh
Minister of External Affairs
In office 6 November 2005 – 24 October 2006
Preceded by	Kunwar Natwar Singh
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
In office 15 January 1985 – 31 August 1987
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	Punjala Shiv Shankar
Governor of the Reserve Bank
In office 15 September 1982 – 15 January 1985
Preceded by	Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel
Succeeded by	Amitav Ghosh
Personal details
Born	(1932-09-26) 26 September 1932 (age 79) Gah, Punjab, British India[2]
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Gursharan Kaur (1958–present)
Children	Upinder Daman Amrit
Residence	Panchavati, New Delhi (Official) Guwahati (Private)
Alma mater	Panjab University, Chandigarh St John's College, Cambridge Nuffield College, Oxford
Profession	Economist Civil servant Social worker Professor
Religion	Sikhism
Signature
Website	Prime Minister's Office

Manmohan Singh (Punjabi: ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪ́ŋɡ], Hindi: मनमोहन सिंह [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪŋɦ] ( listen); born 26 September 1932) is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term.^[3] A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Indian National Congress (Congress) party. He is a four-time Member of Parliament from the Upper House of the Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam.^[4] His term in the 14th Rajya Sabha was from 22 May 2004 to 26 February 2009. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014. On 27 May 2012, he became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Myanmar in 25 years.^[5]

Born in Gah, Punjab in British India (now Pakistan) in 1932, he migrated to India with his family at the time of Partition in 1947. Singh studied at Panjab University, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.^[6] Thereafter, while Singh was working at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Lalit Narayan Mishra, the then Indian Minister for Foreign Trade, appointed Singh as an advisor to his ministry. He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1982 and 1985,^[6] Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987 ^[6] and Secretary General of the South Commission from 1987 to 1990.^[7] Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, he was inducted into Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet as Finance Minister the same year, a post he held until 1996. His tenure as Finance Minister is best remembered for the economic reforms he carried out, which ended the Licence Raj system and helped open the Indian economy.^[8]

When the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power after the 2004 general elections, Singh became Prime Minister when Congress President Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly declined the position.^[9] In 2009, the UPA and Singh were reelected for a second consecutive five year term.

Key legislation passed during his tenure include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act, 2005. Major initiatives include the National Rural Health Mission of India and the Unique Identification Authority of India.

Early life and education[link]

Manmohan Singh was born to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur on 26 September 1932, in Gah, Punjab, British India, into a Sikh Khatri family.^[6] He lost his mother when he was very young and was raised by his paternal grandmother, to whom he was very close.

After the Partition of India, his family migrated to Amritsar, India, where he studied at Hindu College. He attended Panjab University, Chandigarh, then in Hoshiarpur,^[10][11][12] Punjab, studying Economics and got his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1952 and 1954, respectively, standing first throughout his academic career. He went on to read for the Economics Tripos at Cambridge as a member of St John's College. He won the Wright's Prize for distinguished performance in 1955 and 1957. He was also one of the few recipients of the Wrenbury scholarship. In 1962, Singh completed his studies from the University of Oxford where he was a member of Nuffield College. His doctoral thesis "India’s export performance, 1951–1960, export prospects and policy implications" which was later the base for his book "India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth".^[13]

Early career[link]

After completing his Ph.D., Singh worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1966–1969. During the 1970s, he taught at the University of Delhi and worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the former Cabinet Minister for Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra. As the Minister of Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra was one of the first to recognize Singh's talent as an economist and appointed him his advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Singh and Mishra first met, coincidentally, on a flight from India to Chile. Mishra was on his way to Santiago, Chile to attend an UNCTAD meeting.^[14]

In 1982, he was appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and held the post until 1985.^[6] He went on to become the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987.^[6] Following his tenure at the Planning Commission, he was Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland from 1987 to 1990.^[7]

Finance Minister of India[link]

In 1991, India's Prime Minister at the time, P.V. Narasimha Rao, chose Singh to be his Finance Minister. At this time, India's fiscal deficit was close to 8.5 per cent of the gross domestic product, the balance of payments deficit was huge and the current account deficit was close to 3.5 percent of India's GDP.^[15] India's foreign reserves barely amounted to US$1 billion, enough to pay for a few weeks of imports, in comparison to US$283 billion today.^[16]

Evidently, India was facing an economic crisis. At this point, the government of India sought relief from the supranational International Monetary Fund, which, while assisting India financially, imposed several conditions regarding India's economic policy. In effect, IMF-dictated policy meant that the ubiquitous Licence Raj had to be dismantled, and India's attempt at a state-controlled economy had to end. Accordingly, Singh, who had thus far been one of the most influential architects of India's socialist economy, slowly opened the Indian economy to foreign investment and business competition.^[15][17]

Rao and Singh thus implemented policies to open up the economy and change India's socialist economy to a more capitalistic one, in the process dismantling the Licence Raj, a system that inhibited the prosperity of private businesses. They removed many obstacles standing in the way of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and initiated the process of the privatization of public sector companies. However, in spite of these reforms, Rao's government was voted out in 1996 due to non-performance of government in other areas. In praise of Singh's work that pushed India towards a market economy, long-time Cabinet minister P. Chidambaram has referred to Singh as the Deng Xiaoping of India.^[18]

In 1993, Singh offered his resignation from the post of Finance Minister after a parliamentary investigation report criticised his ministry for not being able to anticipate a US$1.8 billion securities scandal. Prime Minister Rao refused Singh's resignation, instead promising to punish the individuals directly accused in the report.^[19]

Career in the Rajya Sabha[link]

Singh was first elected to the upper house of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, in 1991^[20] by the legislature of the state of Assam, and was re-elected in 1995, 2001 and 2007.^[6] From 1998 to 2004, while the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. In 1999, he contested for the Lok Sabha from South Delhi but was unable to win the seat.^[21]

Prime ministership[link]

14th Lok Sabha[link]

Wikinews has related news: Manmohan Singh becomes the third longest serving Prime Minister of India.

A renowned economist,^[22] Singh is also regarded as one of the "greatest statesmen in Asian history".^[23] Shown here with Indian delegation at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm.

After the 2004 general elections, the Indian National Congress ended the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tenure by becoming the political party with the single largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. It formed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with allies and staked claim to form government. In a surprise move, Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declared Manmohan Singh, a technocrat, as the UPA candidate for the Prime Ministership. Despite the fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, he "has enjoyed massive popular support, not least because he was seen by many as a clean politician untouched by the taint of corruption that has run through many Indian administrations."^[24] He took the oath as the Prime Minister of India on 22 May 2004.^[25][26]

Economic policy[link]

Following the advice of International Monetary Fund in 1991, Singh as Finance Minister, freed India from the Licence Raj, source of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades. He liberalized the Indian economy, allowing it to speed up development dramatically. During his term as Prime Minister, Singh continued to encourage growth in the Indian market, enjoying widespread success in these matters. Singh, along with the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, have presided over a period where the Indian economy has grown with an 8–9% economic growth rate. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9% and became the second fastest growing major economy in the world.^[27][28]

Singh is now a strong supporter of globalization, seeing India's immense labor capacity as a path to delivering Indian goods in a worldwide market and eventually relieving large-scale poverty.^[29]

Singh's government has continued the Golden Quadrilateral and the highway modernisation program that was initiated by Vajpayee's government. Singh has also been working on reforming the banking and financial sectors, as well as public sector companies. The Finance ministry has been working towards relieving farmers of their debt and has been working towards pro-industry policies. In 2005, Singh's government introduced the value added tax, replacing sales tax. In 2007 and early 2008, the global problem of inflation impacted India.^[30]

Healthcare and education[link]

In 2005, Prime Minister Singh and his government's health ministry started the National Rural Health Mission, which has mobilised half a million community health workers. This rural health initiative was praised by the American economist Jeffrey Sachs.^[31] In 2006, his Government implemented the proposal to reserve 27% of seats in All India Institute of Medical Studies (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other central institutions of higher education for Other Backward Classes which led to 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests.

Singh has announced that eight more Indian Institutes of Technology will be opened in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The Singh government has also continued the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, begun by his predecessor, Mr. Vajpayee. The programme has included the introduction and improvement of mid-day meals and the opening of schools all over India, especially in rural areas, to fight illiteracy.

Security and Home Affairs[link]

His government has been instrumental in strengthening anti-terror laws with amendments to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), where most of provisions of POTA were reincorporated,critics however cite that the amendments make the act equally draconian. National Investigation Agency (India) (NIA) was also created soon after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. Also Unique Identification Authority of India was established in February 2009, an agency responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card with the objective of increasing national security and facilitating e-governance. His government has been criticized by some human rights organizations,that these measures could help establish a police state.

His government has also been criticized for not being able to reduce the Naxal terrorism that is menacing rural areas in Eastern and Central India. Singh's government has, however, extended the ban on the radical Islamic terror group Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Singh's administration initiated a massive reconstruction effort in Kashmir to stabilise the region but after some period of success, insurgent infiltration and terrorism in Kashmir has increased since 2009.^[32] However, the Singh administration has been successful in reducing terrorism in Northeast India.^[32]

Legislation[link]

The important National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act were passed by the Parliament in 2005 during his tenure. While the effectiveness of the NREGA has been successful at various degrees, in various regions, the RTI act has proved crucial in India's fight against corruption.^[33]

Foreign policy[link]

Manmohan Singh with American President Barack Obama at the White House. Singh is known to be a pro US leader and has contributed a lot in cementing the ties between the two countries.

Manmohan Singh has continued the pragmatic foreign policy that was started by P.V. Narasimha Rao and continued by Bharatiya Janata Party's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Singh has continued the peace process with Pakistan initiated by his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Exchange of high-level visits by top leaders from both countries have highlighted his tenure. Efforts have been made during Singh's tenure to end the border dispute with People's Republic of China. In November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India which was followed by Singh's visit to Beijing in January 2008. A major development in Sino-Indian relations was the reopening of the Nathula Pass in 2006 after being closed for more than four decades. As of 2010, the People's Republic of China is the second biggest trade partner of India.^[34]

Relations with Afghanistan have also improved considerably, with India now becoming the largest regional donor to Afghanistan.^[35] During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi in August 2008, Manmohan Singh increased the aid package to Afghanistan for the development of more schools, health clinics, infrastructure, and defence.^[36] Under the leadership of Singh, India has emerged as one of the single largest aid donors to Afghanistan.^[36]

Singh's government has worked towards stronger ties with the United States. He visited the United States in July 2005 initiating negotiations over the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. This was followed by George W. Bush's successful visit to India in March 2006, during which the declaration over the nuclear agreement was made, giving India access to American nuclear fuel and technology while India will have to allow IAEA inspection of its civil nuclear reactors. After more than two years for more negotiations, followed by approval from the IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the US Congress, India and the U.S. signed the agreement on 10 October 2008 with Pranab Mukherjee representing India.^[37]

Singh had the first official state visit to the White House during the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The visit took place in November 2009, and several discussions took place, including on trade and nuclear power.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seen here with Dmitry Medvedev, Hu Jintao, Dilma Rousseff and Jacob Zuma at the 3rd 2011 BRICS Summit in Sanya, China.

Relations have improved with Japan and European Union countries, like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Relations with Iran have continued and negotiations over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline have taken place. New Delhi hosted an India–Africa Summit in April 2006 which was attended by the leaders of 15 African states.^[38] Relations have improved with other developing countries, particularly Brazil and South Africa. Singh carried forward the momentum which was established after the "Brasilia Declaration" in 2003 and the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formed.^[39]

Manmohan Singh's government has also been especially keen on expanding ties with Israel. Since 2003, the two countries have made significant investments in each other^[40] and Israel now rivals Russia to become India's defence partner.^[41] Though there have been a few diplomatic glitches between India and Russia, especially over the delay and price hike of several Russian weapons to be delivered to India,^[42] relations between the two remain strong with India and Russia signing various agreements to increase defence, nuclear energy and space cooperation.^[43]

15th Lok Sabha[link]

India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009.^[44] Strong showing in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) form the new government under the incumbent Singh, who became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after completing a full five-year term.^[45] The Congress and its allies were able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. These included those of the UPA and the external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other minor parties.^[46]

On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.^[47][48] The 2009 Indian general election was the largest democratic election in the world held to date, with an eligible electorate of 714 million.

Public image[link]

Singh has always been perceived as a man of clean background. He is seen as a man of few words. The Independent described him as "one of the world's most revered leaders" and "a man of uncommon decency and grace," noting that he drives a Maruti 800, one of the humblest cars in the Indian market. Khushwant Singh lauded Singh as the best prime minister India has had, even rating him higher than Jawaharlal Nehru. He mentions an incident in his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most things In-between where after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Singh immediately returned the 2 lakh (US$4,000) he had borrowed from the writer for hiring taxis. Terming him as the best example of integrity, Khushwant Singh stated, "When people talk of integrity, I say the best example is the man who occupies the country's highest office." ^[49]

His personal assets amount to five crore rupees (approx 1 million USD).^[50]

In 2010, Newsweek magazine recognized him as a world leader who is respected by other heads of state, describing him as "the leader other leaders love." The article quoted Mohamed ElBaradei, who remarked that Singh is "the model of what a political leader should be."^[51] Singh is number 18 on the 2010 Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.^[52] Forbes magazine described Singh as being "universally praised as India's best prime minister since Nehru".^[53]

His public image has been tarnished recently as he heads the government which is mired in some of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history.^[54][55][56] He is also accused of being a weak prime minister by several politicians and social activists.^[57][58][59]

Family and personal life[link]

Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958. They have three daughters, Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh.^[60]

Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Delhi University. She has written six books, including Ancient Delhi (1999) and A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008).^[61] Daman Singh is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, Delhi and Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, and author of The Last Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram and a novel Nine by Nine, ^[62] she is married to an I.P.S official Ashok Patnaik who is on deputation to Intelligence Bureau. Amrit Singh is a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.^[63]

Singh has undergone multiple cardiac bypass surgeries, the most recent of which took place in January 2009.^[64]

Singh and his wife both belong to the Kohli clan,^[65][66] though neither uses the name as their surname.

Degrees and posts held[link]

• BA (Hons) in Economics 1952; MA First Class in Economics, 1954 Panjab University, Chandigarh {was then in Hoshiarpur,Punjab}, India
• Honours degree in Economics, University of Cambridge – St John's College (1957)
  • Senior Lecturer, Economics (1957–1959)
  • Reader (1959–1963)
  • Professor (1963–1965)
  • Professor of International Trade (1969–1971)
• DPhil in Economics, University of Oxford – Nuffield College (1962)
• Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
  • Honorary Professor (1966)
• Chief, Financing for Trade Section, UNCTAD, United Nations Secretariat, Manhattan, New York
  • 1966 : Economic Affairs Officer 1966
• Economic Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade, India (1971–1972)
• Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India, (1972–1976)
• Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1976)
• Director, Reserve Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Government of India, (1977–1980)
• Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1982–1985)
• Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India, (1985–1987)
• Secretary General, South Commission, Geneva (1987–1990)
• Advisor to Prime Minister of India on Economic Affairs (1990–1991)
• Chairman, University Grants Commission (15 March 1991 – 20 June 1991)^[6]
• Finance Minister of India, (21 June 1991 – 15 May 1996)
• Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (1998–2004)
• Prime Minister of India (22 May 2004 – Present)

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

In March 1983, Panjab University, Chandigarh awarded him Doctor of Letters and in 2009 created a Dr. Manmohan Singh chair in their economics department.^[67] In 1997, the University of Alberta awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Law degree.^[68] The University of Oxford awarded him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in July 2005,^[69] and in October 2006, the University of Cambridge followed with the same honour.^[70] St. John's College further honoured him by naming a Ph.D Scholarship after him, the Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship. In 2008, he was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degree by Benaras Hindu University^[71] and later that year he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by University of Madras.^[72] In 2010, he was awarded honorary doctorate degree by King Saud University.^[73]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	India portal
	Chandigarh portal
	Politics portal

• Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship at the University of Cambridge
• Economic reforms under Manmohan Singh

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manmohan Singh

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Manmohan Singh

Official

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh official website
• Profile & Curriculum Vitae
• List of current Union Ministers

Other

• Profile at BBC News
• Profile at Forbes
• Official State Visit at the White House
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Manmohan Singh on Charlie Rose
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Works by or about Manmohan Singh in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Manmohan Singh at the Notable Names Database

Links to related articles v t e Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi Morarji Desai Charan Singh Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral Manmohan Singh v t e Current Leaders of the Group of 20 Fernández de Kirchner · Gillard · Rousseff · Harper · Hu · Barroso · Hollande · Merkel · Singh · Yudhoyono · Monti · Noda · Calderón · Putin · Abdullah · Zuma · Lee · Erdoğan · Cameron · Obama v t e BRICS leaders Brazil: Dilma Rousseff · Russia: Vladimir Putin · India: Manmohan Singh · China: Hu Jintao · South Africa: Jacob Zuma v t e EAS leaders Gillard Bolkiah Wen Hun Singh Yudhoyono Noda Thongsing Najib Thein Key Aquino Putin Lee H. Lee M. Shinawatra Obama Dung v t e SAARC leaders Karzai Hasina Thinley Singh Hassan Bhattarai Gillani Rajapaksa

Mohammad Hamid Ansari محمد حامد انصاری मोहम्मद हामिद अंसारी
Vice President of India
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 2007
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Personal details
Born	(1937-04-01) 1 April 1937 (age 75) Kolkata, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Salma Ansari
Alma mater	University of Calcutta Aligarh Muslim University
Profession	Diplomat Academician
Religion	Islam

Mohammad Hamid Ansari (Urdu: محمد حامد انصاری, Hindi: मोहम्मद हामिद अंसारी; born 1 April 1937) is the 12th and current Vice President of India. He also presently serves as President of the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Ansari worked as an ambassador and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from 2000 to 2002.^[1] Later he was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities^[1] from 2006 to 2007. He was elected as Vice President of India on 10 August 2007 and took office on 11 August 2007.

Early life and career[link]

Ansari was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on 1 April 1937 though his family belongs to Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. He is the grand nephew of former Congress President Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, a leader of the Indian independence movement. Ansari studied at Shimla's St. Edwards High School, the St. Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta and at the Aligarh Muslim University. He started his career as a civil servant in the Indian Foreign Service in 1961. He was Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1984.^[2] He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from May 2000 to March 2002. He is known for his role in ensuring compensation to the victims of the Gujarat riots and pushing for a complete re-look into the relief and rehabilitation for riot victims since 1984.^[3]

Other activities and NCM[link]

Ansari is a renowned West Asia scholar and has written trenchantly on the Palestinian issue and taken positions inconvenient to the Indian official line on Iraq and Iran. He questioned India’s vote in the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear programme where India voted against Iran. He said that though the Indian Government claimed to have acted on "its own judgment," this was not borne out by facts.^[4]

He is the author of the book Travelling Through Conflict.

Ansari was the chairman of a working group on "Confidence building measures across segments of society in the State," established by the Second round Table Conference of the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir in 2006. The report of the working group was adopted by the Third round Table in April 2007. Among other things, the report advocates recognising the right of Kashmiri Pandits to return to “places of their original residence.” This right, it argued, should be recognised without any ambiguity and made a part of state policy.^[4]

Ansari became the chairman of India's National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on 6 March 2006.^[5] In June 2007, Ansari, in his capacity as NCM chairman, upheld the decision of India's premier educational institution, St. Stephens College, to earmark a small percentage of seats for Dalit Christians.^[6] Ansari resigned as NCM chairman soon after his nomination for the post of India's Vice President.

He edited a book titled Iran Today: Twenty – five Years after the Islamic Revolution (ISBN 81-291-0774-0).

2007 vice-presidential election[link]

On 20 July 2007, Ansari was named by the UPA-Left, the ruling coalition in India, as its candidate for the post of Vice President for the upcoming election. When asked, Ansari said he felt "humbled" over the UPA-Left decision naming him as their candidate. "I am humbled by the confidence reposed in me". Ansari refused to say more when asked about his prospects in the August 2007 vice Presidential election.^[7]

Ansari secured 455 votes, and won the election by a margin of 233 votes against his nearest rival Najma Heptullah.

Quotes[link]

• "The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th-Century counterpart who ordered the crusades... It surprises me because the Vatican has a very comprehensive relationship with the Muslim world." – 15 September 2006, as Chairman of the Minorities Commission of India, on the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy.^[8]
• "No citizen is apolitical; as a citizen, by definition, has to take interest in public affairs.” – 10 August 2007, after being elected Vice-President, on being asked whether he is apolitical.^[9]

See also[link]

• Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
• Sibakatullah Ansari
• Mukhtar Ansari
• Afzal Ansari
• Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences
• List of Vice-Presidents of India
• Vice-President of India

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

• Profile at Indian Government website
• Iran Today: Twenty – five Years after the Islamic Revolution (Rupa, New Delhi,2005) (ISBN 81-291-0774-0)
• Ansari:Shares Left leanings and is also close to Congress bosses
• Hamid Ansari: versatile scholar, statesman

v t e Vice Presidents of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan · Zakir Hussain · V. V. Giri · Gopal Swarup Pathak · Basappa Danappa Jatti · Muhammad Hidayatullah · R. Venkataraman · Shankar Dayal Sharma · K. R. Narayanan · Krishan Kant · Bhairon Singh Shekhawat · Mohammad Hamid Ansari

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Rajiv Radheshyam Dixit was an Indian social activist. He started social movements in order to spread awareness on topics of Indian national interest through the Swadeshi Movement, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and various other works.^[1] He served as the National Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan he is the founder of bharat swabhimaan andolan ]^[2] He was a strong believer and preacher of Bharatiyata.^[3] He had also worked for spreading awareness about Indian history, issues in the Indian constitution and Indian economic policies.^[4]

Life[link]

Dixit was born on 30 November 1967 in Naah village, Atrauli tehsil of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh . Under the tutelage of his father RadheShyam Dixit, he was educated till the 12th grade in the village schooling system in Firozabad district. In 1994, he moved to Allahabad (Prayaag) for higher studies. He pursued his M.Tech degree in Satellite Telecommunications from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and pursued his doctorate in telecommunications in France. Subsequently, he worked at CSIR as a scientist. But his passion for his motherland made him give up a paid-position for the sake of Indian culture and Swadeshi movement, serving the cause of "Rashtra Dharma". His audio cassettes on Indian Nationalism and greatness of India's past did well in 1999. He had been recording them over months traveling across India spreading his message of great optimism about India and its enormous contributions to the human civilization. He was a Brahmachari and never married. He was influenced by the ideologies of Indian revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. Later in life, he began to appreciate the early works of Mahatma Gandhi. His life was dedicated to not just ideas with high ideals, but also causes like stopping alcohol and "gutka" production, cow-butchering and social injustices. On the 9th of January 2009, he became one of the founders of "Bharat Swabhiman" movement. He died on 30 November 2010, while in Bhilai in Chattisgarh. The circumstances around his death are uncertain and the cause of his death is unknown. In his memory, the constructed Bharat Swabhiman building in Haridwar has been named "Rajiv Bhawan". He refused to take any modern medicine on his death bed, insisting instead on Ayurvedic medicine.

Work[link]

Dixit suggested that the Indian supreme court should declare money held by Indians in Swiss banks as national property so that foreign banks would have to legally hand over this money to India.^[5]

He fought various MNCs like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Colgate as he considered that these companies are draining wealth in their country making India poorer.^[6]

Initiated and supported movements[link]

• Dixit supported the movement of opening a chain of Swadeshi General Stores, where only Indian-made goods are sold.

He believed in swadeshi. He initiated movements like the Swadeshi Movement and Azadi Bachao Andolan and became their spokeperson.^[7] He addressed a rally of over 50,000 people under the leadership of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in New Delhi.^[8] He also took leadership of the programme held at Calcutta which was supported and promoted by various organizations and prominent personalities and was celebrated all over India on the eve of the 150th Anniversary of the 1857 war of Indian Independence.^[8]

• He demanded decentralization of taxation system, saying that the current system is the core reason for the corruption in bureaucracy. He said that 80% of taxes is being used to pay the politicians and bureaucrats and just 20% for development purposes for the people. He compared the current budget system of the Indian government to the earlier British budget system in India, presenting statistics to show that they are the same. Recently he was working with Swami Ramdev in Bharat Swabhiman Trust as national secretary.^[9]

• He also doubted the terrorist attack on the United States Twin Towers, claiming that it was stage managed by U.S. Government itself, and supported the claims of the Lone Lantern Society of the U.S.^[10]

• He also said that "liberalization, privatization and globalization, the three evil faces staring at us today, have pushed us towards a suicidal state."^[1]

• He argued that modern thinkers have neglected agricultural sectors and farmers have been left to feed themselves and commit suicide.^[1] Expressing his views on the Indian judiciary and legal system, he said that India is still following the laws and acts enacted during the British era and had not taken the burden of changing them as per the requirement of Indian people.^[2]

• He accused the current Indian Government (Congress person Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India) of being an agent for USA. He claimed a huge stock of radio-active elements is buried in Indian sea below Setu Samudram, also known as Sri Ram Setu. These radio-active elements could be used to produce electricity and Nuclear weapons for coming 150 years. He also accused that Indian government is trying to break that bridge, which is more than 700,000 years old. ^[1]

Sudden death[link]

Dixit was in Bhilai to deliver lecture as a part of his Bharat Swabhiman Yatra, where he died on 30th November 2010. His death was unexpected. The cause of death is still unknown, though it was initially believed that he died of a cardiac arrest.

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Media silent on the death of Rajiv Dixit
• [2] Rajiv Dixit and his Articles (New Website)
• Rajiv Dixit and his Articles
• mp3-of-rajiv-dixit-lectures
• Complete Mp3 Lectures on History of Ancient & Modern India
• [3]
• Swabhiman Yatra Videos

Sushma Swaraj
Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha)
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 December 2009
Preceded by	Lal Krishna Advani
Constituency	Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 30 September 2000 – 29 January 2003
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Chief Minister of Delhi
In office 13 October 1998 – 3 December 1998
Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications
In office 19 March 1998 – 12 October 1998
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
Prime Minister	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Haryana State Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies
In office 1987–1990
Haryana State Minister of Labour and Employment
In office 1977–1979
Personal details
Born	(1952-02-14) 14 February 1952 (age 60) Palwal, Haryana
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Swaraj Kaushal
Residence	New Delhi
Alma mater	Punjab University, Chandigarh
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Awards	Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2004 and 2010

Sushma Swaraj (Hindi: सुष्मा स्वराज pronunciation (help·info)) (born 14 February 1952) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Member of Parliament. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She is a former union cabinet minister of India and a former Chief Minister of Delhi. Also she served as the Chairperson of the BJP's 19 member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. She was the first female Chief Minister of Delhi.

Early life[link]

She was born in Palwal, Haryana. She was educated at Sanatan Dharma College, Ambala Cantonment and earned a B.A. degree. She studied LL.B. from the Law Department of Punjab University, Chandigarh. She is an advocate by profession.^[1]

She has been associated with many social and cultural bodies in various capacities. She was President of the Sahitya Sammelan, Haryana for four years.

Political career[link]

Sushma Swaraj began her political career as a student leader in the 1970s, organizing protests against Indira Gandhi's government. She was a member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from 1987–90. As a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government, she was the Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977–1979). She joined the BJP in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987–1990). She was judged Best Speaker of Haryana State Assembly for three consecutive years.

In 1980, 1984, and 1989, she unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Karnal in Haryana. All three times, she was defeated by the Congress Party's Chiranji Lal Sharma.

She was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990. In 1996, she was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government.

She was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha for a 2nd term in 1998. Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the Information and Broadcasting ministry and had additional charge of the Ministry of Telecommunications from 19 March to 12 October 1998.

She left the Union Cabinet from October – December 1998 to serve as the first woman Chief Minister of Delhi. The BJP lost the assembly elections, and she returned to national politics.

In 1999, she took on a high profile as she contested against the Congress party's President, Sonia Gandhi, from the Bellary constituency in Karnatka, which had returned Congress winners since India's independence. The fervent, high-pitched campaign came to an end with the expected loss of Sushma.

She returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand.^[2] She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She held these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National Democratic Alliance government lost elections.

In a heavily publicized and emotionally charged episode following the elections, Sushma Swaraj threatened to shave her head, don a white saree and eat groundnuts (symbolically mourning) if Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born Congress leader, became Prime Minister of India.

She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top contenders to be President of the BJP, following Advani's resignation from that role in late 2005. Rajnath Singh ultimately was elected to that post.

She won the 2009 election to the 15th Lok Sabha from the Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on a BJP candidacy, by a highest margin of 4.01 lakh votes. This is her 10th election.

She has been awarded by Outstanding Parliamentarian Award twice.

Leader of the opposition[link]

Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha,^[3]

Personal life[link]

She married Swaraj Kaushal Madahar on 13 July 1975 and has a daughter.

Positions held[link]

• 1977–82 and 1987–90 Member, Haryana Legislative Assembly.^[1]
• 1977–79 Cabinet Minister, Labour and Employment, Government of Haryana.^[1]
• 1987–90 Cabinet Minister, Education, Food and Civil Supplies, Government of Haryana.^[1]
• April 1990 Elected to Rajya Sabha
• 1996 Member, Eleventh Lok Sabha
• 16 May-1 June 1996 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting.^[1]
• 1998 Member, Twelfth Lok Sabha (2nd term)
• 19 March-12 Oct.1998 Union Cabinet Minister, Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications (Additional charge)
• 13 Oct.-3 Dec. 1998 Chief Minister, Delhi
• April 2000 Elected to Rajya Sabha (2nd term)^[4]
• 30 Sept. 2000–29 Jan. 2003 Minister of Information and Broadcasting
• 29 Jan. 2003 – 22 May 2004 Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
• April 2006 Re-elected to Rajya Sabha (3rd term)^[5]
• 16 May 2009 Elected to the 15th Lok Sabha.^[1]
• 3 June 2009 Elected as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.^[1]
• 18 Dec 2009 Sushma Swaraj appointed as leader of the opposition party and replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009.

External links[link]

• Official website of BJP

References[link]

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi MP AC
Chairman of the National League for Democracy
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 September 1988
Preceded by	Position established
Member of the Pyithu Hluttaw for Kawhmu
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 May 2012
Preceded by	Soe Tint
Majority	46,730 (71.38%)[1]
Personal details
Born	(1945-06-19) 19 June 1945 (age 67) Rangoon, British Burma (now Yangon)
Political party	National League for Democracy
Spouse(s)	Michael Aris (1972–1999)
Relations	Aung San (father) Khin Kyi (mother)
Children	Alexander Kim
Alma mater	University of Delhi St Hugh's College, Oxford University of London
Religion	Theravada Buddhism
Awards	Rafto Prize Nobel Peace Prize Jawaharlal Nehru Award International Simón Bolívar Prize Olof Palme Prize Bhagwan Mahavir World Peace

This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.

Aung San Suu Kyi MP AC (Burmese: ; MLCTS: aung hcan: cu. krany, IPA: [ʔàʊɴ sʰáɴ sṵ tɕì]; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese opposition politician and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma. In the 1990 general election, the NLD won 59% of the national votes and 81% (392 of 485) of the seats in Parliament.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]} She had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the elections. She remained under house arrest in Burma for almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 until her most recent release on 13 November 2010,^[9] becoming one of the world's most prominent (now former) political prisoners.^[10]

Suu Kyi received the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the government of India and the International Simón Bolívar Prize from the government of Venezuela. In 2007, the Government of Canada made her an honorary citizen of that country;^[11] at the time, she was one of only four people ever to receive the honor.^[12] In 2011, she was awarded the Wallenberg Medal.^[13]

On 1 April 2012, her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, announced that she was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Burmese parliament, representing the constituency of Kawhmu;^[14] her party also won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the lower house.^[15] The election results were confirmed by the official electoral commission the following day.^[16]

Suu Kyi is the third child and only daughter of Aung San, considered to be the father of modern-day Burma.

Name[link]

A family portrait, with Aung San Suu Kyi (in white) as a toddler, taken in 1947, shortly before her father's assassination.

Aung San Suu Kyi derives her name from three relatives: "Aung San" from her father, "Suu" from her paternal grandmother and "Kyi" from her mother Khin Kyi.^[17] She is frequently called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Daw is not part of her name, but is an honorific, similar to madame, for older, revered women, literally meaning "aunt."^[18] She is also often referred to as Daw Suu by the Burmese (or Amay Suu, lit. "Mother Suu," by some followers),^[19][20] or "Aunty Suu", and as Dr. Suu Kyi,^[21] Ms. Suu Kyi, or Mrs. Suu Kyi by the foreign media. However, like other Burmese, she has no surname (see Burmese names). The pronunciation of her name is approximated as "Awn Sahn Sue Chee," although the "ch" in "Chee" is unaspirated.^[22]

Personal life[link]

Part of a series on the
Democracy movements in Burma
The fighting peacock flag
Background
Post-independence Burma
Internal conflict in Burma
Burmese Way to Socialism
State Peace and Development Council
Mass protests
8888 Uprising · Protests of 2007
Concessions and reforms
Roadmap to democracy New constitution Reforms of 2011
Elections
1990 · 2010 · 2012
Organizations
National League for Democracy · 88 Generation Students Group · Burma Campaign UK · Free Burma Coalition · U.S. Campaign for Burma · Generation Wave · All Burma Students' Democratic Front · The Irrawaddy · Democratic Voice of Burma · Mizzima News
Figures
U Nu · Aung Gyi · Tin Oo · Aung San Suu Kyi · Min Ko Naing · Thein Sein
Related topics
Human rights in Burma · Politics of Burma · Foreign relations of Burma
v t e

A portrait of Khin Kyi and her family in 1948. Aung San Suu Kyi is seated on the floor.

Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Rangoon (now named Yangon).^[23] Her father, Aung San, founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1947; he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. She grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi, and two brothers, Aung San Lin and Aung San Oo, in Rangoon. Aung San Lin died at age eight, when he drowned in an ornamental lake on the grounds of the house.^[17] Her elder brother emigrated to San Diego, California, becoming a United States citizen.^[17] After Aung San Lin's death, the family moved to a house by Inya Lake where Suu Kyi met people of very different backgrounds, political views and religions.^[24] She was educated in Methodist English High School (now Basic Education High School No. 1 Dagon) for much of her childhood in Burma, where she was noted as having a talent for learning languages.^[25] She is a Theravada Buddhist.

Aung San Suu Kyi at the age of six.

Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, gained prominence as a political figure in the newly formed Burmese government. She was appointed Burmese ambassador to India and Nepal in 1960, and Aung San Suu Kyi followed her there, she studied in the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi with a degree in politics in 1964.^[26][27] Suu Kyi continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1969. During her time in Oxford, she fell in love with a Pakistani man but the relationship ended in tears.^[28] After graduating, she lived in New York City with a family friend who was once a popular Burmese pop singer.^[28] She worked at the UN for three years, primarily on budget matters, writing daily to her future husband, Dr. Michael Aris.^[29] In 1972, Aung San Suu Kyi married Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living abroad in Bhutan.^[26] The following year she gave birth to their first son, Alexander Aris, in London; their second son, Kim, was born in 1977. Subsequently, she earned a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1985. She was elected as an Honorary Fellow in 1990.^[26] For two years she was a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) in Shimla, India. She also worked for the government of the Union of Burma.

In 1988 Suu Kyi returned to Burma, at first to tend for her ailing mother but later to lead the pro-democracy movement. Aris' visit in Christmas 1995 turned out to be the last time that he and Suu Kyi met, as Suu Kyi remained in Burma and the Burmese dictatorship denied him any further entry visas.^[26] Aris was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997 which was later found to be terminal. Despite appeals from prominent figures and organizations, including the United States, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II, the Burmese government would not grant Aris a visa, saying that they did not have the facilities to care for him, and instead urged Aung San Suu Kyi to leave the country to visit him. She was at that time temporarily free from house arrest but was unwilling to depart, fearing that she would be refused re-entry if she left, as she did not trust the military junta's assurance that she could return.^[30]

Aris died on his 53rd birthday on 27 March 1999. Since 1989, when his wife was first placed under house arrest, he had seen her only five times, the last of which was for Christmas in 1995. She was also separated from her children, who live in the United Kingdom, but starting in 2011, they have visited her in Burma.^[31]

On 2 May 2008, after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, Suu Kyi lost the roof of her house and lived in virtual darkness after losing electricity in her dilapidated lakeside residence. She used candles at night as she was not provided any generator set.^[32] Plans to renovate and repair the house were announced in August 2009.^[33] Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010.^[34]

Aung San Suu Kyi arrvies to give speech to the supporters during 2012 by-election campaign at her constituency Kawhmu township, Myanmar on 22 March 2012.

Political beginnings[link]

Coincident with Aung San Suu Kyi's return to Burma in 1988, the long-time military leader of Burma and head of the ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down. Mass demonstrations for democracy followed that event on 8 August 1988 (8–8–88, a day seen as auspicious), which were violently suppressed in what came to be known as the 8888 Uprising. On 26 August 1988, she addressed half a million people at a mass rally in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital, calling for a democratic government.^[26] However in September, a new military junta took power.