Suraj Bhan

Suraj Bhan (1 October 1928 – 6 August 2006) was a former Governor, Member of Parliament and an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party.

For the archaeologist, see Suraj Bhan (archaeologist).

Suraj Bhan
सूरज भान
Suraj Bhan
Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
In office
2004 - 2006
Succeeded byButa Singh
14th Governor of Himachal Pradesh
In office
23 November 2000 – 7 May 2003
Chief MinisterPrem Kumar Dhumal
Virbhadra Singh
Preceded byVishnu Kant Shastri
Succeeded byVishnu Sadashiv Kokje
23rd Governor of Uttar Pradesh
In office
20 April 1998 – 23 November 2000
Chief MinisterKalyan Singh
Ram Prakash Gupta
Rajnath Singh
Preceded byMohammad Shafi Qureshi (Acting)
Succeeded byVishnu Kant Shastri
Governor of Bihar
(Additional Charge)
In office
6 October 1999 – 23 November 1999
Chief MinisterRabri Devi
Preceded byB.M. Lall (Acting)
Succeeded byV. C. Pande
11th Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
In office
12 July 1996 – 4 December 1997
SpeakerP. A. Sangma
Preceded byS. Mallikarjunaiah
Succeeded byP. M. Sayeed
22nd Minister of Agriculture
In office
16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byJagannath Mishra
Succeeded byH. D. Deve Gowda
Member of Parliament- Ambala (Haryana)
In office
1967–1970;
1977–1979;
1979–1984;
1996–1997
Leader of Opposition of Haryana Assembly
In office
1989–1990
Revenue Minister (Haryana)
In office
1987–1989
Personal details
Born(1928-10-01)1 October 1928
Yamunanagar, British India
Died6 August 2006(2006-08-06) (aged 77)
Delhi, India
Cause of deathCardiac Arrest
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party

Personal life

Suraj Bhan Banswal was born on 1 October 1928 at Mehlanwali, Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana into Chamar community and studied MA and LLB at Panjab University and Kurukshetra University.[1]

He started his public life as a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.[2] His son Arun Kumar is also associated with BJP and been in-charge in various municipal corp. elections in Hayana.[3]

Political career
  • He started his political career with Bharatiya Jana Sangh which eventually became the Bharatiya Janata Party and dropped his last name "Banswal" after joining active politics.
  • He represented the Ambala parliamentary constituency of Haryana in the 4th (1967–1970), 6th (1977–1979), 7th (1979–1984) and the 11th Lok Sabhas (1996–1997).[4]
  • In 1987, he was elected to Haryana Legislative Assembly and served as Revenue Minister in Devi Lal's govt. (1987-1989). After the BJP broke alliance with Devi Lal's party, he served as Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly (1989–1990).
  • He was appointed as Haryana State President of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1984.[5]
  • In 1996, he held the portfolio of Agriculture Minister under First Vajpayee Ministry after which he served as Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha (1996-1997).
  • He lost in 1998 Lok Sabha elections, but was appointed as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh (1998-2000), Himachal Pradesh (2000-2003), and then as Governor of Bihar (1999).[6]
  • In 2002 Dr Suraj Bhan also joined the race for the post of Vice-President of India following re-thinking in the BJP over the candidature of former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.[7]
  • In Feb. 2004, he was appointed as the National Chairman of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission.[8]

He died of cardiac arrest following multiple organ failure on 6 August 2006 in New Delhi at the age of 77.

References
  1. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  2. Subhash Mishra (3 April 2000). "Family Face-Off". India Today. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. Jaskaran Singh (2 April 2019). "Ambala: Ex-MP Suraj Bhan's son Arun Kumar among BJP probables - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  4. "Biographical Sketch of Member of XI Lok Sabha". loksabhaph.nic.in. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  5. "List of Ex State Presidents". BJPHaryana.org.
  6. Surendra Kishore (17 November 1999). "Bihar Governor sacks underage minister". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  7. Yoginder Gupta (12 July 2002). "Suraj Bhan joins race for VP's post". The Tribune. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  8. "SC/ST Commission Chairman Suraj Bhan dead". DNA India. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
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