Jaswant Singh

For other uses, see Jaswant Singh (disambiguation).

Major
Jaswant Singh
Singh as Defence Minister of India in 2001
21st Union Minister of Finance
In office
1 July 2002 – 21 May 2004
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byYashwant Sinha
Succeeded byP. Chidambaram
In office
16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byManmohan Singh
Succeeded byP Chidambaram
19th Union Minister of Defence
In office
16 March 2001 – 18 October 2001
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byGeorge Fernandes
Succeeded byGeorge Fernandes
23rd Union Minister of External Affairs
In office
25 March 1998 – 1 July 2002
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Succeeded byYashwant Sinha
24th Leader of House, Rajya Sabha
In office
13 October 1999 – 22 May 2004
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Rajya Sabha Chairperson
Preceded bySikander Bakht
Succeeded byManmohan Singh
11th Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha
In office
3 June 2004 – 16 May 2009
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Rajya Sabha Chairperson
Preceded byManmohan Singh
Succeeded byArun Jaitley
Member of parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
2009–2014
Preceded byDawa Narbula
Succeeded bySurendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia
ConstituencyDarjeeling
In office
1989–1991
Preceded byAshok Gehlot
Succeeded byAshok Gehlot
ConstituencyJodhpur
21st Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
In office
25 March 1998 – 4 February 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byMadhu Dandavate
Succeeded byK. C. Pant
Personal details
Born(1938-01-03)3 January 1938[1]
Jasol, Rajputana Agency, British India (present-day Rajasthan, India)
Died27 September 2020(2020-09-27) (aged 82)[2]
New Delhi, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (until 2014)[3]
Other political
affiliations		Independent (2014 – 2020)
Spouse
Sheetal Kanwar
​
(m. 1963⁠–⁠2020)​
Children2 (including Manvendra Singh)[4]
Alma mater
AwardsOutstanding Parliamentarian Award, 2001[5]

Signature
Websitejaswantsingh.com (defunct)
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army[6]
Years of service1957 – 1966
Rank Major
UnitThe Central India Horse[7]
Battles/wars

Major Jaswant Singh[a] (3 January 1938 – 27 September 2020)[8] was an officer of the Indian Army and an Indian Cabinet Minister. He was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),[9] and was one of India's longest serving parliamentarians, having been a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha almost continuously between 1980 and 2014.[10] He was NDA's Vice-presidential candidate in the 2012 Indian vice-presidential election. Singh was the only leader from Rajasthan who had the distinction of becoming the Minister Of External Affairs, Finance and Defence.[11]

He was elected on a BJP ticket to the Rajya Sabha five times (1980, 1986, 1998, 1999, 2004) and to the Lok Sabha four times (1990, 1991, 1996, 2009). During the Vajpayee administration between 1998 and 2004, he held multiple cabinet portfolios including Finance, External Affairs and Defence.[12] He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission between 1998 and 1999.[13] In the aftermath of India's nuclear tests of 1998, he was deputed by Prime Minister Vajpayee to act as India's representative to hold repeated, long-term dialogue with the United States (represented by Strobe Talbott) on matters related to nuclear policy and strategy; the outcome of the sustained engagement was positive for both countries.[14][15] After his party lost power in 2004, he served as Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 2004 to 2009.[16]

Singh incurred the displeasure of his party colleagues when, after the party suffered its second successive defeat in 2009, he circulated a note demanding a thorough discussion on the debacle.[17] Weeks later, a book authored by him was released, in which he was found to have written sympathetically about Jinnah. Post the event, Singh found himself marginalised within the party. In the elections of 2014, his party decided not to field him from any constituency. He decided to contest anyway as an independent from his native constituency of Barmer (against Col. Sonaram Chaudhary) in Rajasthan.[18] He was expelled from the BJP on 29 March 2014 when he did not withdraw his independent candidature, and went on to lose the election.[19][20]

On 7 August 2014, he suffered a fall in the bathroom of residence and suffered a serious head injury.[21] In June 2020 he was admitted to Army's Research and Referral hospital in Delhi for treatment. He remained in a state of coma for six years till his death in 2020.[22][23]

  1. ^ "Jaswant Singh Biography". Election.in. 23 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. ^ Vardhan, Anand (28 September 2020). "Jaswant Singh: The realist who reshaped India's foreign policy discourse". Newslaundry.in. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh passes away". The Times of India. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  4. ^ Rana and Singh, p. 390.
  5. ^ "Outstanding award to Jaswant Singh". The New Indian Express. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ Talbott 2010, p. 45-46.
  7. ^ Rana and Singh, p. 76.
  8. ^ "Ex-Union Minister Jaswant Singh Dies At 82. "Saddened By Demise," Says PM". NDTV. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Jaswant's expulsion is the BJP's gift to the RSS". Rediff. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  10. ^ "The Dates That Defined the Life and Times of Jaswant Singh (1938-2020)". The Wire. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Ex-Union Minister Jaswant Singh No More". Pratidin Time. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. ^ Hebbar, Nistula (27 September 2020). "Jaswant Singh: End of a long journey for the Army man-turned-parliamentarian". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  13. ^ "From the archives: Jaswant Singh through the lens of Express photographers". The Indian Express. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  14. ^ Singh, Manvendra (11 May 2018). "When the US envoy protested about the nuclear test, my father Jaswant Singh gifted a toy for his son". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Benign Fallout of India's Nuclear Tests". Economic Times Blog. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  16. ^ Varma, Gyan (27 September 2020). "Jaswant Singh, key BJP face during Vajpayee era, passes away". mint. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  17. ^ "BJP expels Jaswant Singh over Jinnah book - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Jaswant Singh rules out withdrawal from Barmer Lok Sabha seat". The Indian Express. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  19. ^ "BJP expels defiant Jaswant Singh for 6 years". Hindustan Times. 29 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Jaswant Singh loses in Barmer". Business Standard India. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Jaswant Singh in coma after severe head injury, condition 'highly critical'". Zee News. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  22. ^ "Jaswant Singh death news: Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh passes away | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Former Union minister Jaswant Singh passes away at 82". The Indian Express. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.


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