Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh (Hindi pronunciation: [ɾɑːd͡ʒnɑːt̪ʰ sɪŋɡʱ] ; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who serving as the 25th Defence Minister of India since 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024. He was the 8th President of Bharatiya Janata Party from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2014. He is a veteran leader of the BJP who started his career as a RSS Swayamsevak.[1]
Rajnath Singh
constituency established
10 July 1951
Bhabhaura, Uttar Pradesh, India
Bharatiya Jana Sangh (before 1977)
3, including Pankaj Singh
- Politician
- lecturer
Singh has previously served as the 19th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2000 to 2002 and a Cabinet Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the Vajpayee Government from 1999 to 2000 and the minister of Agriculture from 2003 to 2004. He was the 30th Home Minister in the First Modi Ministry from 2014 to 2019, and also was the first to serve in position born after the country's independence in 1947.[2][3] He has also served the party in the Uttar Pradesh state from where he started his political career.[4] He was the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha from 1988 to 1990.He was a member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Haidergarh (assembly constituency) twice, being Chief minister.[5] He was a member of Lok Sabha from Lucknow since 2014 and Ghaziabad from 2009 to 2014. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha from 2002 to 2008 and from 1994 to 2001.
Early life[edit]
Rajnath Singh was born in Bhabhaura village of Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh to father Ram Badan Singh and mother Gujarati Devi.[6][7][8] He was born into a family of farmers. He received his primary education from a local school of his village and went on to secure a master's degree in physics, acquiring first division results from the Gorakhpur University.[9] From childhood he was inspired by the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[10] He worked as a lecturer of Physics at K.B. Post-Graduate College Mirzapur, UP.[7] He also has a brother, Jaipal Singh.[11]
Early political career[edit]
Entry into politics[edit]
Singh had been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since 1964, at the age of 13 and remained connected with the organisation. He also became Shakha Karyavah (General Secretary) of Mirzapur in the year 1972.[7] After 2 years in the year 1974, he joined the politics.[12] Between 1969 and 1971 he was the organizational secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (the student wing of the RSS) in Gorakhpur. He became the general secretary of the RSS's Mirzapur branch in 1972.[13] In 1974, he was appointed secretary for the Mirzapur unit of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, predecessor of Bharatiya Janata Party.[14] In 1975, aged 24, Singh was appointed District President of the Jana Sangh.
JP Movement and Emergency[edit]
In the 1970s, Singh was influenced by the JP Movement of Jayaprakash Narayan. He was also arrested in the year 1975 during the state of National Emergency for associating with JP Movement and was detained for a time period of 2 years.[15]
Entry into electoral politics[edit]
After being released from jail, Singh joined the Janata Party founded by Jayprakash Narayan and contested legislative assembly elections from Mirzapur in 1977. He successfully fought the election and was elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Mirzapur.
Rise within BJP[edit]
At that time he gained the popularity in State (politics) and then joined BJP in the year 1980 and was one of the initial members of the Party.[16] He became the State President of the BJP youth wing in 1984, the National general secretary in 1986 and the National President in 1988. He was also elected into the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.[14]
Early ministerial roles[edit]
Education Minister (1991–1992)[edit]
In 1991, when Bharatiya Janata Party formed its first government in Uttar Pradesh, he was appointed Education Minister. He held the education portfolio for a tenure of two years.[17] Major highlights of his tenure as Education Minister included Anti-Copying Act, 1992, which made copying a non-bailable offence,[18] modernising science texts and incorporating vedic mathematics into the syllabus.[5]
Rise in national politics[edit]
Union Agriculture Minister (2003–04)[edit]
In 2003, Singh was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and subsequently for Food Processing in the NDA Government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and was faced with the difficult task of maintaining one of the most volatile areas of India's economy.[41] During this period he initiated a few epoch-making projects including the Kisan Call Centre and Farm Income Insurance Scheme.[42] He brought down interest rates on Agriculture loans and also established Farmer Commission and initiated Farms Income Insurance Scheme.[43]
Personal life[edit]
He married Savitri Singh on 5 June 1971, with whom he has two sons and a daughter.[110][17] His son Pankaj Singh is a politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly from Noida, Uttar Pradesh from BJP.[111] Singh is a devout Hindu and a religious man and is known for soft-spoken behaviour.[112]