Harsh Dev Singh is the Indian politician. He was Chairman of the

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party The Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party is a socialist and secular state political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir, India. The party was founded on 23 March 1982 by Prof. Bhim Singh (politician), Bhim Sin ...

from 2012 to 2022. He won three elections serving as MLA for Ramnagar, constituency for 18 continuous years from 1996 till 2014. Under his tenure as the Minister of Education of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

from 2002 to 2008, English became a compulsory language from first grade. Harsh Dev joined

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

on 7 May 2022, and on 17 October 2022 he became chairman of the party in Jammu and Kashmir. , on 16 Feb 2023 he resigned from aam Aadmi party and joined back panthers party to revive it.

Early life

His father was Thakur Das, who died in 1996 the year Harsh Dev Singh won his first Legislative Assembly election. Harsh Dev Singh graduated from Sainik School Nagrota in 1977. He earned a Bachelor's in Commerce followed by a Masters in English from Jammu University in 1982. He returned to

Jammu University Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

to earn a Bachelors of Law in 1991.

Career

Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly

Harsh Dev Singh has won three elections from the Ramnagar constituency and served as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly continuously for 18 years from 1996 till 2014. In his first term he received the Best Legislator Award.

Minister of Education, 2002

Harsh Dev Singh was sworn in as the minister of education after the

2002 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election Elections for the former Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in September -October 2002 in four phases. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference was the single largest party but lacked majority. The Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Par ...

s. He was the first ever cabinet minister from the Panthers Party. Under Harsh Dev, English became the compulsory language from first grade in all government schools. In his term as education minister the government opened 22 new degree colleges. Prior to which 32 colleges had been established in a 100 years time. They also opened over 10,000 new schools in the state. To deal with teaching staff shortages in remote areas, Harsh Dev moved 2,800 teachers from cities back to their original rural postings.

Chairman of Panthers Party, 2012

Bhim Singh who had been the Chairman of the Panthers Party for 30 years nominated Harsh Dev Singh to the position on 27 November 2012 to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the Instrument of Accession signed between the Maharaja and India.

Protest as Opposition in Legislative Assembly, 2014

On 28 August 2014, Harsh Dev Singh led protests disturbing proceedings in the assembly house with placards demanding that the word secular be inserted into the Jammu and Kashmir constitution to bring it to parity with the Constitution of India. In the protest they also claimed that the BJP who had recently come into power in the Indian national government in May 2014 were destroying the secular fabric of the country.

House Arrest, 2019

Following Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, Harsh Dev Singh was put under house arrest for over two months.

Aam Aadmi Party, 2022

Harsh Dev Singh joined

on 7 May 2022 along with other leaders of the

, including Rajesh Pandgotra provincial president, Gagan Pratap Singh, Purushottam Parihar and Sudesh Dogra.

Dogra Heritage

He has called for the recognition of Dogra heritage and the Dogri language citing the stable governance it once provided the nation under the Maharaja from 1846 to 1947 when the Kashmir conflict based on religious differences broke out in the state.

Personal life

His uncle Bhim Singh was founder of the Panthers Party. His cousin Balwant Singh is the state President of the Panthers Party and his cousin Ankit Love is the leader of the

One Love Party The One Love Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom that identified itself as techno-progressive. The party campaigned for clean air and a federal union of the world. It was founded in 2015 and its first contest was in the 2016 Lo ...

in Great Britain.

References

External Links

Harsh Dev Singh on Headlines News via YouTubeHarsh Dev Singh on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Harsh Dev Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Leaders of the Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian politicians University of Jammu alumni Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 1996–2002 Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2002–2008 Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2008–2014