Phunchog Rai

Phunchog Rai (born 1944) is a politician from Himachal Pradesh, India, and a member of the Indian National Congress Party.

Phunchog Rai
Minister of Health and Family Planning, Government of Himachal Pradesh
(1993-98)
Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of Himachal Pradesh
(1993-98)
MLA from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency
(1990-92)
ConstituencyLahaul and Spiti
Personal details
Born1944
Lari village, Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Political party Indian National Congress
Alma materPunjab University
OccupationPolitician

Personal life and education

He hails from village Lari in the Spiti valley.[1][2] He matriculated from the Government High School in Manali in 1965, and did graduation from Punjab University at Chandigarh.[1]

Political career

Rai served as an elected representative in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency from 1990 to 1998. In 1990, he was elected as an MLA, during the second tenure of Shanta Kumar as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1990-1992).

Rai was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1993, this time under the second tenure of Virbhadra Singh as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1993-1998). In this period, he served as a cabinet minister.[3] As minister, Rai held two portfolios, those of Tribal Affairs and Health and Family Planning.[4][5]

In the 11th Legislative Assembly Elections of Himachal Pradesh held in 2007, Rai lost against Dr. Ram Lal Markanda for the Lahaul and Spiti seat.[6]

Other works
  • Rai has been on the Expert Advisory Committee for the development of Buddhist/Tibetan culture and art in the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.[7]
  • In 1996, Rai was present as a minister at the 1,000th anniversary of the Tabo monastery in Spiti, whereat the 14th Dalai Lama also delivered Kalachakra teachings and initiations.[8]
  • Rai wrote the foreword to the book Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh by Manorama Sharma (1998).[9]
  • The 'Presidential Address' Rai delivered at a seminar on petroglyphs in the Spiti valley has been published in the book Rediscovering Spiti: a Historical and Archaeological Study (2017).[10][11]

References
  1. "Affidavit to be furnished by the candidate before the returning officer for election to the Vidhan Sabha". myneta.info. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  2. "Preliminary Exploration at Lari Village: A Petroglyph Site in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India" (PDF). Kalakalpa. V (1): 177. 2020.
  3. "Election results". Election Commission of India, New Delhi.
  4. Banach, Benti (2010). A Village Called Self-Awareness, Life and Times in the Spiti Valley. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications. p. 94.
  5. "Purv mantri ke ganv mein abhi bhi mobile signal nahi". Khabar Himachal. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. "Himachal Pradesh election results".
  7. "Expert Advisory Committee" (PDF). 14 August 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  8. "Per l 1000 anni del monastero di Taboo" (PDF). 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. Sharma, Manorma (1998). Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh: Gaddi folk music. APH Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7024-912-2.
  10. Service, Tribune News. "A journey to Spiti and Sutlej biosphere". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  11. Chauhan, Hari (2017). Rediscovering Spiti: A Historical and Archaeological Study. Himachal State Museum, Department of Language & Culture, Himachal Pradesh. ISBN 978-93-5279-899-5.
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