Buta Singh (21 March 1934 – 2 January 2021) was an Indian politician and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the Union Home Minister of India, Governor of Bihar and was chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes from 2007 to 2010.

Early life

Buta Singh was born on 21 March 1934 in Mazhabi Sikh family at Mustafapur, Jalandhar district, Punjab, British India. He was educated at Lyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar, from where he was awarded a B.A. (Hons), and at

Guru Nanak Khalsa College Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a " mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverent ...

in Bombay, where he earned a M.A. Singh then gained a Ph.D. from Bundelkhand University. He married Manjit Kaur in 1964; the couple had three children. He worked as journalist before entering politics. He fought his first elections as an

Akali Dal The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (translation: ''Supreme Akali Party'') is a centre-right sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are man ...

member and joined the Indian National Congress in the late 1960s at the time when that party was split.

Political career

Singh was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962, for the Moga constituency. He was subsequently elected to the 4th (from Ropar in 1967), 5th, 7th, 8th (from Jalore), 10th (1991), 12th and 13th Lok Sabhas. He was involved with the Congress Party since Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and he was close to former Indian prime ministers

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

and

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

. But he was first elected to the Indian Parliament from the Moga constituency as Akali Dal candidate, defeating his Congress opponent. He switched to Ropar constituency in 1967, this time as a Congress candidate, and was elected from there to Lok Sabha a couple of times. He became

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the All India Congress Committee (AICC)

(1978–1980), Home Minister of India and later Governor of Bihar (2004–2006). Other portfolios that he has held include those for railways, commerce, parliamentary affairs, sports, shipping, agriculture, communications and housing. He was chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (ranked as Cabinet Minister) from 2007 to 2010. He wrote a book ''Punjabi Speaking State – A Critical Analysis'' and a collection of articles on Punjabi literature and Sikh history. Indira Gandhi chose him to select a new party symbol when Congress was split. He was very closely involved with her in Operation Blue Star and as a minister he oversaw reconstruction of the Golden Temple following that exercise. His name was also in the finalists for the post of President of India along with Giani Zail Singh in the Indira era. He was also the chairperson of

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

organizing committee when the competition was held in India in 1982. He contested 2014 Lok Sabha election from

Jalore (Lok Sabha constituency) Jalore Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 25 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Rajasthan state in India, which is spread over Jalore and Sirohi districts. Vidhan Sabha segments Presently, Jalore Lok Sabha constituency comprise ...

as an independent, backed by Samajwadi Party, but he came third.

Controversies

In 1998, as Communications Minister he was indicted in the JMM bribery case, and forced to resign. As the Governor of Bihar, Singh's decision to recommend the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly in 2005 was sharply criticised by the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

. The court ruled that Singh had acted in haste and misled the federal cabinet because he did not want a particular party claiming to form the government, to come to power. Singh, however, claimed that the party was resorting to unfair means to secure support to form the government. On 26 January 2006 Singh sent a fax to Abdul Kalam offering to resign his post. The next day he left office and was replaced temporarily by West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Death

Singh died in New Delhi from complications of a

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

on 2 January 2021, at age 86.

Positions held

# 1962 : Elected to 3rd Lok Sabha, from Moga seat, as Akali Dal candidate # 1966–68 : Member, Public Accounts Committee. # 1967 : Re-elected to 4th Lok Sabha (2nd term) as Congress candidate, Ropar (Lok Sabha constituency) # 1971 : Re-elected to 5th Lok Sabha (3rd term), from Ropar (Lok Sabha constituency) # 1971 : Chairman, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes # 1973–74 : Convenor, All India Congress Committee (Indira) ICC(I) Harijan Cell. # 1974–76 : Union Deputy Minister, Railways. # 1976–77 : Union Deputy Minister, Commerce. # 1978–80 : General-Secretary, AICC(I). # 1980 : Re-elected to 7th Lok Sabha (4th term), from Ropar (Lok Sabha constituency) # 1980–82 : Union Minister of State, Shipping and Transport. # 1982 : Union Minister of State, Supply and Rehabilitation (Independent Charge). # 1982–83 : Union Minister of State, Supply and Sports (Independent Charge). # 1983–84 : Union Cabinet Minister, Parliamentary Affairs, Sports and Works and Housing. # 1984 : Re-elected to 8th Lok Sabha (5th term), from

# 1984–85 : Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture and Rural Development. # 1985–86 : Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture. # 1986–89 : Union Cabinet Minister, Home Affairs. # 1991 : Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (6th term),

# 1994–95 : Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Defence. # 1995–96 : Union Cabinet Minister, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution. # 1998 : Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (7th term),

# Mar–Apr. 1998: Union Cabinet Minister, Communications. # 1998–99 : Member, Committee on Subordinate Legislation and Member, Committee on Finance. # 1999 : Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (8th term),

# 1999–2000 : Member, Committee of Privileges and Member, Committee on Communications. # 1999–2001 : Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. # 2002–2003 : Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Room No.-51, Parliament House, New Delhi. # 2004–2006 : Governor Of Bihar # 2006–2007 : Permanent Invitee Congress Working Committee # 2007–2010 : Chairman National Commission For Scheduled Castes (rank of Cabinet Minister)

References

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External links

Official biographical sketch on the Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Buta Governors of Bihar 1934 births 2021 deaths India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1998–1999 India MPs 1999–2004 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Chairmans of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Ministers of Internal Affairs of India Agriculture Ministers of India Members of the Cabinet of India United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Indian National Congress politicians Shiromani Akali Dal politicians Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India People from Rupnagar district People from Jalore district Indian Sikhs