Bansi Lal
Encyclopedia
Chaudhary Bansi Lal (August 26, 1927 – March 28, 2006) was an India
n freedom fighter, senior Congress
leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana
and considered by many to be the architect of modern Haryana
. He was born in a Jat
family of Golagarh village in Bhiwani
district of Haryana. He served three separate terms as Chief Minister of Haryana
: 1968–75, 1985–87, and 1996–99. Bansi Lal was considered a close confidante of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
and her son Sanjay Gandhi
during the Emergency era in 1975. He served as the Defence Minister
from December 1975 to March 1977, and had a brief stint as a Minister Without Portfolio in the Union government in 1975. He also held the Railways and Transport portfolios. Lal was elected to the State Assembly seven times, the first time in 1967. He set up Haryana Vikas Party after parting ways with the Indian National Congress
in 1996.
. In 1972, the Kurukshetra
University and the Haryana Agricultural University
awarded him honorary degrees of Doctor of Law and Doctor of Science respectively.
. He became Haryana chief minister for the first time on May 31, 1968 and remained in office till March 13, 1972. On March 14, 1972, he occupied the top post in the state for the second time and was in office till November 30, 1975. The third and fourth times he was appointed chief minister was from June 5, 1986 to June 19, 1987 and May 11, 1996 to July 23, 1999.
Bansi Lal was elected to the state assembly seven times, the first time being in 1967. After Haryana was formed in 1966, much of the state's industrial and agricultural development, especially creation of infrastructure, took place due to Lal's initiatives. He was elected to the state assembly for seven times in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1986, 1991 and 2000.
He was responsible for electrifying all villages in Haryana during his tenure as chief minister in the late sixties and seventies. He was also the pioneer of highway tourism in the state - a model later adopted by a number of states. He is regarded by many as an "Iron man" who was always close to reality and took keen interest in the upliftment of the community.
Bansi Lal did not contest the assembly elections in 2005 but his sons Surender Singh and Ranbir Singh Mahendra
were elected to the state assembly. Surrender Singh died in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur
in Uttar Pradesh in 2005.
Indira Gandhi
in 1975. He was a confidante of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi
during the controversial Emergency days in 1975. He along with Sanjay Gandhi was said to be responsible for various steps during the Emergency.
He was the defence minister
from December 21, 1975 to March 24, 1977 and a minister without portfolio in the Union government from December 1, 1975 to December 20, 1975.
, Afghanistan
, erstwhile USSR, Mauritius
, Tanzania
, Zambia
, Seychelles
, United Kingdom
, Kuwait
, Greece
, West Germany
, The Netherlands, Belgium
, France
and Italy
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n freedom fighter, senior Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
leader, former Chief Minister of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and considered by many to be the architect of modern Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
. He was born in a Jat
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...
family of Golagarh village in Bhiwani
Bhiwani
Bhiwani is a city and a municipal council in Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana, India. It is known as the city of temples. Besides being a seat of spiritual learning, the city has been the centerstage of regional politics. The city is hometown to three of Haryana's chief ministers: Bansi...
district of Haryana. He served three separate terms as Chief Minister of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
: 1968–75, 1985–87, and 1996–99. Bansi Lal was considered a close confidante of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
and her son Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
during the Emergency era in 1975. He served as the Defence Minister
Defence minister
A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...
from December 1975 to March 1977, and had a brief stint as a Minister Without Portfolio in the Union government in 1975. He also held the Railways and Transport portfolios. Lal was elected to the State Assembly seven times, the first time in 1967. He set up Haryana Vikas Party after parting ways with the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in 1996.
Education
Bansi Lal studied at the Punjab University Law College, JalandharJalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
. In 1972, the Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
University and the Haryana Agricultural University
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University popularly known as HAU, is one of Asia's biggest agricultural universities, located at Hisar in the Indian state of Haryana. It is named after India's seventh prime minister, Choudhary Charan Singh...
awarded him honorary degrees of Doctor of Law and Doctor of Science respectively.
Political career
- As a freedom fighter, He was secretary of Parja mandal in the Loharu State, from 1943 to 1944.
- Lal was president of the Bar Association, Bhiwani from 1957 to 1958. He was president of District Congress Committee, HissarHisar, IndiaHisar city, previously spelled Hissar, is the administrative headquarters of Hisar district, in the state of Haryana, in northwestern India. Hisar was founded in 1354 CE, as Hissar-e-Firoza by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. on the demolished ruins...
, from 1959 to 1962 and later became member of Congress Working Committee and Congress Parliamentary Board. - He was a member of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee between 1958 and 1962.
- He was also the chairman of the Committee of Parliament and Committee on Public Undertakings, 1980–82, and the Committee on Estimates, 1982–84.
- He became railways minister on December 31, 1984 and later minister for transport.
- He was a Rajya SabhaRajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
member from 1960 to 1966 and 1976 to 1980. He was a Lok Sabha member—1980 to 1984, 1985 to 1986 and 1989 to 1991. - After he parted company with Congress in 1996, Bansi Lal set up Haryana Vikas PartyHaryana Vikas PartyHaryana Vikas Party was a political party in the Indian state of Haryana. Its president was Bansi Lal and general secretary Surender Singh.On October 14, 2004 HVP merged with the Indian National Congress....
and his campaign against prohibition propelled him to power in the assembly polls the same year.
Chief Minister of Haryana
Lal became the Chief Minister of Haryana four times in 1968, 1972, 1986 and 1996. He was the third chief minister of Haryana after Bhagwat Dayal Sharma and Rao Birender SinghRao Birender Singh
Rao Birender Singh was an Indian politician. He served as the Chief Minister of Haryana from 24 March 1967 until 2 November, 1967, and also served in the union cabinet...
. He became Haryana chief minister for the first time on May 31, 1968 and remained in office till March 13, 1972. On March 14, 1972, he occupied the top post in the state for the second time and was in office till November 30, 1975. The third and fourth times he was appointed chief minister was from June 5, 1986 to June 19, 1987 and May 11, 1996 to July 23, 1999.
Bansi Lal was elected to the state assembly seven times, the first time being in 1967. After Haryana was formed in 1966, much of the state's industrial and agricultural development, especially creation of infrastructure, took place due to Lal's initiatives. He was elected to the state assembly for seven times in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1986, 1991 and 2000.
He was responsible for electrifying all villages in Haryana during his tenure as chief minister in the late sixties and seventies. He was also the pioneer of highway tourism in the state - a model later adopted by a number of states. He is regarded by many as an "Iron man" who was always close to reality and took keen interest in the upliftment of the community.
Bansi Lal did not contest the assembly elections in 2005 but his sons Surender Singh and Ranbir Singh Mahendra
Ranbir Singh Mahendra
Ranbir Singh Mahendra is a politician from Haryana, India and was president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2004 to 2005....
were elected to the state assembly. Surrender Singh died in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur District as well as Saharanpur Division...
in Uttar Pradesh in 2005.
Role in emergency
Bansi Lal was in the limelight when Emergency was imposed by the then Prime MinisterPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
in 1975. He was a confidante of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
during the controversial Emergency days in 1975. He along with Sanjay Gandhi was said to be responsible for various steps during the Emergency.
He was the defence minister
Defence minister
A defence minister is a person in a cabinet position in charge of a Ministry of Defence, which regulates the armed forces in some sovereign nations...
from December 21, 1975 to March 24, 1977 and a minister without portfolio in the Union government from December 1, 1975 to December 20, 1975.
A widely traveled person
Bansi Lal visited a number of countries, including MyanmarMyanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, erstwhile USSR, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, The Netherlands, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.