Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Biography: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was an illustrious figure in the annals of Indian politics who held a multitude of titles. Shekhawat was born on October 23, 1923, in the Jaipur princely state’s Khachariawas village.
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Biography
Early Years
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was born in the Khachariawas village of the Sikar district in Rajasthan on October 23, 1923. His parents were Shri Devi Singh Shekhawat and Smt. Banne Kanwar. He completed his formal education but was unable to pursue higher education because his father had deceased and he had to assume family responsibilities. He laboured as a farmer and as a police sub-inspector. Later, he wed Smt. Suraj Kanwar and fathered Smt. Ratan Kanwar, who is married to the BJP leader Narpat Singh Rajvi.
Career
In 1952, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat entered the political arena. He was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1952 to 1972. The alliance party of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Swatantra Party came near to a majority in the 1967 elections but was unable to form the government. From 1974 to 1977, he served as a Rajya Sabha representative. He was a member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 2002. In 1977, he won 151 out of 200 seats and became the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, a position he held until February 1980.
After his party, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and Swatantra Party, dissolved in 1980, Bhairon Singh joined the Bhartiya Janata Party and served as the Leader of the Opposition until 1990. In 1984, while Mrs Indira Gandhi was in power, BJP lost the election. Following this, the BJP-Janata Dal coalition won all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the 1989 elections, as well as 140 Assembly seats in 1990; Bhairon Singh Shekhawat became the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and held this position until 1992.
He was responsible for leading the BJP to 99 seats in the subsequent election. Thus, with the aid of independent supporters, he was able to form the government, despite opposition from Congress. In 1993, for the third consecutive term, he was elected Chief Minister of Rajasthan, a position he held until 1998. However, he again lost the elections in 1998 due to issues surrounding the onion price increase. After this, in 1999, one year after the assembly elections, the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections. This time, the BJP won 16 of Rajasthan’s 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Awards and Commendations
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was awarded an honorary D.Litt. degree by Andhra University, Visakhapatnam; Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidya Peeth, Varanasi; and Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments and attributes. The Asiatic Society of Mumbai awarded him an honorary Fellowship, and the Yerevan State Medical University of Armenia awarded him an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree and a gold medal.
Death
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died of respiratory failure on May 15, 2010, at the Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur. He was also afflicted with illness. There were thousands of mourners at his funeral, including prominent legislators.
Contribution
As Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat played a crucial role in the development of Rajasthan. He emphasised the improvement of education, the upbringing of girls, the well-being and advancement of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, minorities, backward sections, and the physically challenged. The primary objective was to expand the liberties of the poor. In addition, he educated individuals on family planning and the detrimental effects of population expansion on the development of a state.
For the people’s financial security, he enacted several new investment-friendly policies that aided the growth of industries, mines, transportation, and tourism. He theorised and implemented the outstanding concept of Heritage Hotels and Rural Tourism, which resulted in an extraordinary increase in tourism in Rajasthan. Thus, during his reign, economic and financial prosperity flourished in Rajasthan.
