Defence Minister of India: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister of India - Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister of India - Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister of India (May 2019 – Present): Rajnath Singh

Date of Birth: July 10, 1951.

Place of Birth: Bhabhaura, located in the district of Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Parents: He was born in a family of farmers. His mother was Gujarati Devi and father was Ram Badan Singh.

Spouse: His wife is Savitri Singh. Together they have 3 children – Pankaj Singh, Neeraj Singh, and Anamika Singh.

Political Party: Rajnath Singh is a member of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). However, before 1977, he was affiliated to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which is the predecessor of BJP.

Education: Rajnath Singh is an alumnus of the Gorakhpur University from where he acquired a Master’s degree in physics with a first division.

Career: He has worked as a Physics lecturer in Mirzapur.

Political Milestones: In a glittering political career, Rajnath Singh has adorned several posts. He is right now the Union Minister of Defence, a post that he assumed on May 31, 2019. He has served as the Union Minister of Home Affairs from May 26, 2014 to May 30, 2019. He was the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) during two separate periods–from January 23, 2013 to July 8, 2014 and from December 24, 2005 to December 24, 2009.

He served as the Union Minister of Agriculture from May 24, 2003 to May 22, 2004. He was also the 19th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from October 28, 2000 to March 8, 2002. He also served two terms as an Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in UP. From May 16, 2009 till May 16, 2014, he represented the Ghaziabad constituency. From May 16, 2014 he has represented the Lucknow constituency.

The political career of Rajnath Singh started in 1975 when he was 24 years old. This was the time when he was appointed as the District President of Jana Sangh. In 1977 he was elected to the UP legislative assembly from the Mirzapur constituency. In 1984, he became the State President of the youth wing of BJP. In 1986, he became the National General Secretary of the party. In 1988, he assumed charge as the National President of the party as well. In the meantime, he was also elected to the legislative council of UP.

In 1991, when BJP formed its first government in UP, Rajnath Singh was the choice for the Education Minister. During this period, he took some major steps such as passing the Anti-Copying Act, 1992, thus making copying a non-bailable offence. He also oversaw the rewriting of history texts and included Vedic mathematics in the syllabus. It was in April 1994 that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He also became a part of the Advisory Committee on Industry in the same year and remained there till 1996. He also served on several other committees in this period such as the following:

–  Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture
–  Business Advisory Committee
–  House Committee
–  Committee on Human Resource Development

Related Links:

List of Ministers of India

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