Manohar Parrikar

Manohar Parrikar was born to a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin family[8] in Mapusa, Goa.[9] He studied at Loyola High School, Margao.[10] Parrikar completed his 10th Standard Board Examination at G.S. Amonkar Vidya Mandir, Mapusa which was previously known as New Goa High school. He completed his secondary education in Marathi and went on to graduate in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay),[9] in 1978. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Bombay in 2001.[11]

Parrikar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a young age and became a mukhya shikshak (chief instructor) in the final years of his schooling. After graduating from IIT, he resumed RSS work in Mapusa while maintaining a private business, and became a sanghchalak (local director) at the age of 26. He was active in the RSS's North Goa unit, becoming a key organiser of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He was seconded by RSS to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the objective of fighting the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.[12] He is sometimes described as having been a pracharak of the RSS.[13]

Union Minister for Defence (2014–17)

Parrikar interacting with the media after taking charge as the Defence Minister, in New Delhi on 10 November 2014.

Manohar Parrikar (sitting, left) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Barack Obama at the 2015 Republic Day Parade, New Delhi

In the 2014 general elections, BJP won both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.[21] Parrikar was reluctant to leave Goa and move to Delhi in November 2014, by his own admission but was persuaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join central government.[21]

Parrikar was preceded by Laxmikant Parsekar as Goa's CM. Parrikar had represented the Panaji constituency in the Goa Legislative Assembly when he was a player in the state politics.[22]

In November 2014, Parrikar was chosen as the Minister of Defence replacing Arun Jaitley, who, till then, held additional charge of the Ministry.[13][23] His entry into the parliament was facilitated by choosing him as the party's candidate for the elected Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh.[22]

In 2001, the Parrikar government turned over fifty-one government primary schools in rural areas to Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the Sangh Parivar, inviting criticism from educationists.[24][25] He also drew criticism for approving a junket costing at least ₹8.9 million (equivalent to ₹12 million or US$150,000 in 2020) for six government MLAs from the ruling party, including three ministers, to attend the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Indian National Congress termed the trip "wasteful expenditure" and criticized the lack of other government officials or football experts in the delegation.[26][27]

Parrikar has often made remarks of controversial nature.[28] In wake of the debate on religious intolerance in India and actor Aamir Khan stating that his wife Kiran Rao had asked to move out of India, Parrikar made a controversial remark that "if anyone speaks like this, he has to be taught a lesson of his life".[29] He later clarified that he had not targeted any specific individual.[30] In August 2016, Parrikar stated that going to Pakistan is the same thing as "going to hell".[31] In November 2016, Parrikar, while serving as Minister of Defence of India, raised a question about why India should bind itself to the no first use policy.[32]

During March–June 2018, Parrikar was undergoing treatment for what would turn out to be pancreatic cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA. He returned to India and in September was admitted in the AIIMS, Delhi for treatment.[33] On 27 October 2018, the Government of Goa announced that Parrikar had pancreatic cancer.[34]

He died on 17 March 2019 at the age of 63 from pancreatic cancer at his residence in Panaji.[35][36] His death was announced by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in a tweet condoling his death.[37] His death was condoled by PM Narendra Modi, HM Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah, INC president Rahul Gandhi, and several other political leaders from all over Goa and India.

On the evening of 18 March, Parrikar was cremated with full state honours at Miramar in Panaji.[38]

In June 2020, a biography titled "An Extraordinary Life : A Biography of Manohar Parrikar" was published by Penguin Random House India. The book, penned by journalists Sadguru Patil and Mayabhushan Nagvenkar, documents Parrikar's life and ascent to power.[39]

• 2020: Padma Bhushan by Government of India
• 2018: Honorary Doctorate by National Institute of Technology Goa on 28 September 2018.[40]
• 2012: CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in politics category[41]
• 2001: Distinguished Alumnus Award IIT-Mumbai[11]

The Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses was renamed the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses in February of 2020.[42]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manohar Parrikar.

• Detailed Profile: Shri Manohar Parrikar