Shivraj Patil is an Indian politician and a veteran member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Minister of Home Affairs of India from 2004 to 2008. Patil has also served as the tenth speaker of Lok Sabha.
Wiki/Biography
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil , also known as Shivraj Patil Chakurkar , was born on Saturday, 12 October 1935 (age 87 years; as of 2022) in the village Chakur, Latur district, Marathwada region, the princely state of Hyderabad, British India (now in Maharashtra, India). His zodiac sign is Libra. Shivraj attended Osmania University, Hyderabad, to pursue B.Sc. Thereafter, he obtained an LL.B. and LL.M. from Bombay University, Mumbai.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Salt & Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Shivraj Patil is the son of Late Vishwanath Patil and Late Bhagiriti Bai.
Wife & Children
Shivraj Patil got married to Vijaya Patil in June 1963. He has a son named Shailesh Patil, who is a politician. Shivraj also had a daughter named Sapna B. Patil (advocate), who committed suicide at her husband’s residence in Bangalore in 2002. Sapna was 35 years old at the time of her death.
Shivraj Patil’s son, Shailesh Patil
Shivraj Patil with his family
Religion
Shivraj Patil belongs to the Lingayat community and follows Lingayatism. Based on Shaivism, Lingayatism is generally considered a Hindu sect as its beliefs include many Hindu elements. Lingayatism is very influential in South India, especially in the state of Karnataka.
Career
Law Teacher & Lawyer
After completing his post-graduation in law, Shivraj took up the job of a lecturer and taught law for around six months. He then decided to practice law in his hometown Latur. After some time, he ventured into politics.
Politician
State Politics
Shivraj Patil stepped into politics in 1967 by joining the Indian National Congress (INC) and was elected as the President of the Latur Municipality in the same year. He held the position till 1969 and was once again elected as the President of the Latur Municipality from 1971 to 1972. From 1973 to 1980, Shivraj was elected as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Latur Rural Constituency for two consecutive terms i.e., from 1973 to 1978 and from 1978 to 1980. While serving as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Shivraj held various positions like Chairman of the Public Undertakings Committee (1974-1975), Deputy Minister of Law & Judiciary, Irrigation, Protocol, Maharashtra (1975-1976), Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (1977-1978), and Speaker of the Assembly (1978-1979).
Member of Parliament
In 1980, he was elected to the seventh Lok Sabha from the Latur constituency. In the same year, from May to September, he served as a member of the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament. Later, Patil was appointed as the Chairman of the committee. From 1983-1986, he served as the vice president of CSIR India. In 1984, Shivraj was re-elected to the eighth Lok Sabha. In 1989, Patil won the Lok Sabha elections for the third time. During his third term as a Member of the Lok Sabha, Shivraj was appointed as the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Library Committee and the Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions. From 1990 to 1991, he was also a member of the General Purposes Committee and Business Advisory Committee. Within a period of two years, the V.P. Singh government dissolved and the country went to poll again to elect a new Lok Sabha. In 1991, Patil was re-elected to the tenth Lok Sabha for the fourth term. Being the natural choice for the speakership, Patil was unanimously elected to the office from 1991 to 1996. During this period, he functioned as the Chairman of several committees including Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee, General Purposes Committee, and Standing Committee of the Conference of Presiding Officers of the Legislative Bodies in India. He also served as the President of the Indian Parliamentary Group, the National Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the India Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. In 1996, he was elected as a member of the eleventh Lok Sabha (for the fifth term). From 1996 to 1998, he served as a member of the Committee on Defence. Re-elected as a member of the twelfth Lok Sabha (for the sixth term) in 1998, Shivraj Patil served as a member of the Committee on External Affairs, Rules Committee, and Consultative Committee of the Ministry of External Affairs from 1998 to 1999. In 1999, he was re-elected to the thirteenth Lok Sabha for the seventh term. During this period, he served as the Chairman of the Committee on Finance from 1999 to 2000. He also became a member of the Committee of Privileges and General Purposes Committee. From 2000 to 2004, he served as one of the members of the Consultative Committee.
Speaker of Lok Sabha
Patil was elected as the speaker of the 10th Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. As the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Shivraj was respected by the ruling party and the Opposition alike. There were many instances when the situation in the Lok Sabha became tense and tumultuous. However, Shivraj with his exemplary patience and extraordinary forbearance succeeded in defusing the tension and calming down the atmosphere. He is admired by various quarters for his exemplary skills with which he conducted the House during debates on various controversial issues like the criminalisation of politics and bank scams. During his tenure as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, history was created when the Lok Sabha discussed and rejected the first-ever motion for the impeachment of a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court. Since it was a matter of great importance, Shivraj ensured that proper procedures were laid down for considering the motion. He had several consultations on the matter with the leaders of various parties and groups. In 1993, as the speaker of the Lok Sabha, Patil brought the provisions mentioned in the 10th schedule of the Constitution of India and disqualified 20 Lok Sabha members. While pronouncing the disqualification of these Parliamentarians, Patil said that the provisions of the anti-defection law mentioned in the 10th schedule of the constitution should have more logical wings to annihilate the menace of floor-crossing.
Shivraj Patil during a Lok Sabha session
His another remarkable achievement was the growth of the Committee System of the Indian Parliament during his tenure as the speaker. Although the proposal for the introduction of the Committee System in the Lok Sabha had been put up several times and three Subject Committees were constituted in the eighth Lok Sabha, Patil took the initiative to discuss the matter with party leaders and Lok Sabha members and formally integrated seventeen Departmentally-related Standing Committees of Parliament on 31 March 1993. It was considered a huge step in making the Parliament more powerful in its exercise and control. Under his leadership, a large number of activities of the Lok Sabha Secretariat were computerized and a number of index-based databases of information were developed to provide reliable and authoritative data to the Lok Sabha members on a continuous and regular basis. The members of the tenth Lok Sabha were provided with notebook computers to get instant and up-to-date information on various subject matters so that the members could accomplish their duties in an effective manner. His efforts to strengthen the Parliament came to the fore when the Indian Parliamentary Group introduced an Outstanding Parliamentarian Award to be given every year to an eminent parliamentarian for his contribution to upholding the parliamentary traditions. Under his leadership, India has hosted four major international conferences, namely, the 37th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in September 1991, the 89th Interparliamentary Conference in April 1993, the Sixth Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar in January 1994, and the First Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians, in July 1995. He also took the initiative of granting two Research Fellowships, one each in Hindi and English, to selected scholars for undertaking original studies on subjects of parliamentary interest.
Ministerial Posts
Inducted in the Indira Gandhi-led government as the Minister of State for Defence from 1980 to 1982, Shivraj was given independent charge of the Commerce Ministry from 1982 to 1983. In 1983, he was appointed as the Minister of Science and Technology, Atomic Energy, Electronics, Space, and Ocean Development. He held the position till 1984. During his second term as a Member of Parliament, he served as the Union Minister of State, Science and Technology, Space, Atomic Energy, Electronics, Ocean Development, and Bio-Technology from 1984 to 1986. In 1885, Shivraj was appointed as the Union Minister of State, Personnel and Training, Public Grievances and Pensions and Administrative Reforms. In the Rajiv Gandhi government, he also served as the Minister for Defence Production and also held independent charge of Civil Aviation and Tourism from 1988 to 1989.
Home Minister of India
During the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Patil lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rupatai Patil Nilangekar. Despite losing the elections, Patil was appointed as the Minister of Home Affairs of India in 2004.
Shivraj Patil taking oath as the Home Minister of India in 2004 in the presence of the then President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
During his tenure as the Home Minister of India, Patil faced several failures (to control law and order in the state), one after the other. Beginning from the 2006 Malegaon bombings at a Muslim graveyard, during his tenure, the country faced several terror attacks like the 2008 serial blasts in Delhi and the 26/11 Mumbai attack. He was also accused of mishandling the Nandigram Violence in 2007. Apparently, Patil refused to send the Central Reserve Police Force to Nandigram to restore law and order in the area even after repeated requests from the West Bengal government. Later, the ongoing events resulted in police firing and killing of men and women in Nandigram.
Shivraj Patil addressing the media as the Home Minister of India
On 30 November 2008, just four days after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, Shivraj stepped down from his position as Home Minister, taking responsibility for the attacks in Mumbai.
Governor of Punjab
Post his resignation as the Home Minister of India, in 2010, Patil was appointed as the Governor of the Punjab and Chandigarh Administration. He upheld the post till 2015.
Shivraj Patil as the governor of Punjab presenting a report on Farmer-Industry Partnership to the then President of India Pratibha Patil
Author
Apart from being a politician, Shivraj Patil is also an author and has published the books Reminiscences and Reflections, Vision of India, Ecstasy and Agony of a Presiding Officer, Fragrance of inner self, and Dialogues. In 2014, he released his autobiography ‘Odyssey of My Life.’ In the book, he did not mention anything about the controversy that arose after the Delhi bombings in 2008 for changing his clothes thrice for public appearances on the night of the serial blasts.
Shivraj Patil’s autobiography The Odyssey of My Life
Controversies
The Nero of India
On 13 September 2008, when the Delhi serial blasts killed almost 22 people and several victims were fighting for their lives in hospitals, the then Union Home Minister of India Shivraj Patil was busy raiding his wardrobe for clothes, to get perfectly suited for the occasion. Patil changed his suits at least three times during the course of his visits to the blast sites and hospitals. He was sported in a white suit at the CWC meeting at 6:30 pm and soon after hearing the news of the blasts, he seemed to have rushed to his home to don a dark-coloured suit. By 10:30 pm, when Patil moved to the blast site for a customary inspection, he was again sported in a white suit (not the one that he wore at the CWC meeting). Following the incident, he was criticised by the media for changing three different clothes when the country was suffering from a terrorist attack. His actions were compared to Nero who played his violin while the city burned. Later, during a media conversation, when he was asked to comment on the controversy, Patil said,
I live in a clean, neat manner. If I don’t get angry with people; if I keep my cool when it is necessary to keep cool when such incidents happen, you find fault with me. And if they are doing it, do you expect me to reply to that kind of criticism against me? I will leave it to the people to judge. You judge yourself. Is this the correct way of criticising a politician? You criticise his policies, you don’t criticise his clothes.”
Controversial Statement on Gita-Quran
In October 2022, during Mohsina Kidwai’s book launch event in Delhi, Shivraj Patil attracted controversy for comparing Krishna’s teachings to Arjuna in the Gita to Jihad. He stated that ‘Jihad’ which Shri Krishna taught Arjuna is not only in the Quran but also in the Bible, spoken by Jesus Christ. He said,
It’s said there is a lot of discussion on Jihad in Islam religion…even after all efforts if someone doesn’t understand clean ideas, then power can be used. It is not just in the Quran Sharif, but also in Mahabharata of which Gita is a part. Shri Krishna also talks to Arjuna about Jihad. It is not like this is only in the Quran Sharif or Gita but in Christianity also it is written…Christ has said that I have not come here to establish peace but I have come here with sword.”
He further added,
If even after explaining everything, people do not understand and they are arriving with weapons then you cannot run, you cannot call that jihad and you cannot call it wrong, this is what must be understood, there should not be this concept of making people understand with weapons in hand.”
His remarks were criticised by the media and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Reacting to his comments during a media conversation, BJP leader Atul Bhatkhalkar said that what else could be expected from the leader of a party that denied the existence of Lord Rama. Further stating that Patil has lost his mental balance, he said,
Shivraj Patil’s mental balance has been disturbed. What else is expected from Congress leader Shivraj Patil, who denied the existence of Rama, mistreated minorities, and supported terrorists and Naxalites? His head is rotten. The ideology of Congress is rotten.”
Address
“DEO GHAR,” Sadbhavna Nagar, Ausha Road, Latur, Maharashtra, 413512
Salary
In 2015, as the governor of Punjab, Shivraj was entitled to a monthly salary of Rs. 5,00,000 and some other allowances.
Facts/Trivia
- Shivraj loves reading, writing, swimming, horse riding, shooting, painting, and farming in his leisure time.
- He is an ardent follower of Sathya Sai Baba.
Shivraj Patil seeking blessings of Sathya Sai Baba
- Besides being a politician and an author, Shivraj Patil is also an advocate, agriculturist, and professor of Law.
- Patil has the rare distinction of being unanimously elected as the speaker of the 10th Lok Sabha.
- Shivraj is often described by his fellow politicians as ‘fair.’
- In 2007, Shivraj Patil was likely a candidate for the presidential election. However, after the Left opposed his candidacy, Congress President Sonia Gandhi proposed the name of Pratibha Patil, the then Governor of Rajasthan, for the seat. His name was also proposed for the position of Vice President.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education