Bhim Singh (politician)

This article is about the Jammu and Kashmir politician. For the Bihar politician, see Bhim Singh (Bihar politician).

Bhim Singh
Singh in 2018
President of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party
In office
14 February 2021 – 31 May 2022
Preceded byBalwant Singh Mankotia
Succeeded byJay Mala
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party
In office
23 March 1982 – 27 October 2012
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byHarsh Dev Singh
Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council
In office
2003–2008
Member of Lok Sabha
In office
1988
ConstituencyUdhampur (declared winner after a High Court ruling)
Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
In office
1977–1987
ConstituencyChenani-Ghordi (Udhampur)
Personal details
Born(1941-08-17)17 August 1941
Bhugterian, Jammu and Kashmir, British India
Died31 May 2022(2022-05-31) (aged 80)
Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Political partyJammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (1982–2022)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress (1966–1982)
SpouseJay Mala
RelationsDogra dynasty
General Zorawar Singh (great grandfather)
Harsh Dev Singh (nephew)
Balwant Singh Mankotia (nephew)
Karan Singh (kinsman)
Children1
Alma materGGM Science College, Jammu
Aligarh Muslim University
University of London
Inns of Court School of Law
Website
Vice President of India Ansari releases Prof. Bhim Singh's book Unbelievable – Delhi to Islamabad in New Delhi, India on 8 May 2015.

Bhim Singh (17 August 1941 – 31 May 2022) was an Indian politician, activist, lawyer and author. He was the founder, president and chief patron of the socialist and secular Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).[1][2][3] Singh was Panthers Party chairman for 30 years from 1982-2012,[4] chief patron from 2012-2021, and president from 14 February 2021-31 May 2022. In effect with over 40 years of controlling leadership, he was India’s longest serving political party leader, and one of the longest serving leaders in the world.

Singh was an elected member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from 1977 until 1987, from Chenani-Ghordi (Udhampur). As party leader, he contested the 1988 Udhampur by-election to the Lok Sabha. Despite leading by over 30,000 votes at the end of the count, he was declared to have lost in a repoll, and alleged rigging by the coalition.[5][6][7] Singh had gone on hunger strike along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee against the Election Commission decision, in the poll, and brought the case before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, that overturned the result.[8][9]

Following which, he was nominated twice by Prime Ministers of India, Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh as member of the National Integration Council in 1991 and 2008.[10]

In 1985, in a landmark hearing, Singh was awarded fifty thousand rupees by the Supreme Court of India for his false imprisonment, after being suspended as a Member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.[11][12] In 2017, Singh defeated the government of India in the Supreme Court, enabling bar council elections to be held in Jammu and Kashmir for the very first time,[13] in accordance to the Advocates Act 1961.[14]

Prior to quitting the then ruling Congress party, he had reached its highest ranks. In 1973 he was appointed as president of the Youth Congress in Jammu and Kashmir by then prime minister Indira Gandhi,[15] then served in 1977 as vice president of Indian Youth Congress, and finally as a general secretary for the All India Congress Committee.[16][17]

In 1996, the party was notable in moving the Supreme Court and the Election Commission to return the democratic process to militancy-torn Jammu and Kashmir, when elections were held again in the state after a nine years hiatus.[18][19][20]

Singh had survived an assassination attempt by the senior superintendent of police, while leading the Jammu student protests of 1966.[21][22] He was known as Sher-e-Jammu (Lion of Jammu).[23][24][25][26]

From 1967-1973 he travelled to 150 countries mostly by motorbike. His book documenting the journey, "Peace Mission Around the World on Motorcycle (Vol. II)", was released by Dr. Karan Singh, the first Sadr-i-Riyasat (President) of Jammu and Kashmir.[27]

At times, he was criticized for his long standing friendships and legal counsel to socialist dictators worldwide.[28][29][1][30]

In the 2002 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative assembly elections, the Panthers Party under Bhim Singh’s leadership won all seats in its strong hold, the Udhampur district, and provided two cabinet ministers as part of a ruling collation government along with PDP and Congress party. Until his death, he was reported as a potential candidate for the 2022 Indian vice presidential election and the presidential election.[31][32][33]

  1. ^ a b "Bhim Singh – a perpetual rebel, locally and internationally is gone". Odisha News In English. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022. He crafted his own international image as he became a strong champion of Palestinian struggle against Israel and chose to befriend the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain – the men vilified by the West and pro-Israeli lobby.
  2. ^ "Jammu & Kashmir National Panther's Party". jknationalpanthersparty.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party". JKNPP. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  4. ^ "J&K's Panthers Party gets new chief after 30 years | TwoCircles.net". twocircles.net. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  5. ^ J&K: Rigging charges against NC-Congress(I) coalition begin to pour in from Udhampur, India Today, 15 August 1988. "He was leading by more than 33,000 votes over his Congress(I) rival, Mohammed Ayub Khan, after the counting in 12 of the 15 assembly segments. But when the ballots were taken up in the remaining three segments - all in remote hill areas - he began to lose his entire lead."
  6. ^ Handoo, Bilal (3 February 2016). "Devil's Advocate". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  7. ^ Mohd. Ayub Khan v. Prof. Bhim Singh And Others, Supreme Court Of India (Mar 14, 1996), casemine.com, retrieved 18 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Bhim Singh files nomination from Udhampur Parliamentary Constituency - Scoop News Jammu Kashmir". www.scoopnews.in. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Panthers founder Bhim Singh files nomination from Udhampur". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Polls, prisoners, Palestine: J&K veteran Bhim Singh, fighter for many causes, dead". The Indian Express. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  11. ^ "False Imprisonment in India". 4 April 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  12. ^ Subramanium, Giriraj. "A Jurisprudential Analysis—Bhim Singh v. State of Jammu & Kashmir". Supreme Court Cases. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  13. ^ "SC allows Bhim Singh's writ petition to hold J&K BC election earliest in accordance with Advocates Act, 1961". Brighter Kashmir. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  14. ^ Ganai, Naseer (17 March 2017). "A Bar Set Too High". Outlook India. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Indira Gandhi:Tallest leader of world:Bhim - Scoop News Jammu Kashmir". scoopnews.in. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  16. ^ "The purpose of Gauhati AICC session was to formulate a national policy: Congress President D.K. BorooahCover Story - India Today". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Bhim greets Atal Bihari on his 84th birthday - Scoop News Jammu Kashmir". www.scoopnews.in. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  18. ^ "Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) – Party History, Symbol, Founders, Election Results and News". www.elections.in. Retrieved 26 September 2015. It was the Bhim Singh-led JKNPP which moved the Supreme Court to hold elections in the militancy-torn Jammu and Kashmir in the historic year 1996. The Chief Election Commission of India was persuaded to conduct elections in the state, only due to the efforts of JKNPP.
  19. ^ "Bhim Singh, President J&K ... vs Election Commissioner Of India ... on 4 April, 1996". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Sheila Dikshit releases Bhim Singh's book". The Hindu. 10 April 2010. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "NPP alleges Bhim Singh was poisoned in Srinagar jail in 1978". kashmirpioneer.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "South Asia Mail". www.southasiamail.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  25. ^ "NPP condoles death of Yash Sharma - Scoop News Jammu Kashmir". www.scoopnews.in. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Sher-e-Jammu Bhim Singh dead". The Pioneer. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference :29 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference :25 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ "Panthers Party founder Bhim Singh passes away at 81 in Jammu". The New Indian Express. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022. The veteran leader, who travelled to over 130 countries around the world on a motorcycle, was friends with stalwarts such as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libya's dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference :20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Report Wire - 2022 Presidential Elections: Bhim Singh must be BJP's Presidential Nominee". Report Wire. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Ankit Love wants nomination of Dr Karan Singh & Bhim Singh for President and Vice President of India". News - Cross Town News, a Leading Newspaper of J&K. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  33. ^ "Approval of Instrument of Accession by Parliament essential : Bhim Singh". News - Cross Town News, a Leading Newspaper of J&K. Retrieved 3 November 2021.