
Arjun Singh was a prominent figure in the Indian political domain and a member of the
Indian National Congress. He was also the former Chief Minister of
Madhya Pradesh. Singh was the Union Minister of Human Resource Development in the
Manmohan Singh Government from 2004-09. Arjun Singh was associated with the Churhat Jagir under ex-Princely State of
Rewa, in Madhya Pradesh. He had introduced reservation systems for the backward class people. Singh had become minister first in the
P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1991. But he resigned from the position after the
Babri Mosque demolition.
Early Life of Arjun Singh
Arjun Singh was born on 5th November 1930 in Madhya Pradesh to father Rao Shiv Bahadur Singh and mother Mohini Devi. He belonged to a Jagirdaar family, as his father was a Former Jagirdaar of Churhat Jagir under Ex Princely State of Rewa. His father was sent to jail in 1950 for forging documents. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment and he died in jail in 1953.
Political Career of Arjun Singh
Arjun Singh formed the All India Indira Congress along with
Narayan Dutt Tiwari, former Union minister and Chief Minister of
Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand. The newly formed party by Arjun Singh lost at the
Lok Sabha Elections of the year 1996. He returned to the Congress party and lost again from
Hoshangabad District in Madhya Pradesh. He served three times as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Union minister and Governor of
Punjab once for a short period. In April 2000, Arjun Singh got elected for
Rajya Sabha. Arjun Singh was the Human Resource Development Minister in the Government of
Dr. Manmohan Singh from 2004-09. Singh has been intimately consociated with various social and cultural organisations with his keen interest in social work. Here are the positions held by Arjun Singh in an orderly manner.
Arjun Singh has played a significant role to ensure the reservation of the backward castes. According to the 104th Amendment Bill, the State Government can ask all private unassisted educational institutes to reserve seats for designated Other Backward Classes. In early 2006, Singh attempted to increase caste-based reservation quotas for the supposed Other Backward Classes in the internationally esteemed Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management, along with other Indian central government run institutes of higher studies, from 22.5% to 49.5%. Arjun Singh also suggested that overall seats be modified over a short period of time in order to mollify the general category students, so that the absolute number of general category seats remains the same.
Personal Life of Arjun Singh
Arjun Singh married Saroj Devi of Pratapgarh and they have 2 sons and a daughter. Abhimanyu Singh, their eldest son, is a businessman in Bengaluru. Their 2nd son, Ajay Singh, is an Indian politician, MP MLA and has been a minister in M.P. Government. Veena Singh, their daughter, was an unsuccessful independent candidate from Sidhi
Lok Sabha constituency in 15th Lok Sabha elections. Arunoday Singh, an upcoming actor, is Arjun Singh`s grandson.
Death of Arjun Singh
Due to his failing health, Arjun Singh retired from active politics and died at the age of 80, on 4 March 2011. He was suffering from neurological problems in the chest and died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), in
Delhi, due to heart attack.
(Last Updated on : 28/12/2011)