Pandit Sukh Ram (born Sukhram Sharma; 27 July 1927 – 11 May 2022) was an Indian politician who served as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology from 1993 to 1996. He was a member of

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

from the Mandi constituency of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. He won the

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, also known as the Vidhan Sabha or the Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in each of the states and certain union territories of India. Members of the legislative assembly are often directly elected to serve fiv ...

elections five times and the Lok Sabha elections three times. He is the father of politician Anil Sharma and grandfather of actor

Aayush Sharma Aayush Sharma (born 26 October 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. He made his film debut with brother-in-law Salman Khan's production ''Loveyatri'' (2018) and ''Antim: The Final Truth'' (2021), in which he starred alo ...

. In 2011 he was sentenced to 5 years in jail for corruption when he was Communications Minister in 1996.

Early life

Sukhram Sharma was born on 27 July 1927 in a poor family of 10 children in

Kotli Kotli ( Pahari-Pothwari / ; ) is a city and headquarters of the Kotli District in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir. The city lies along the Poonch River, which is known for its natural secenary and waterfalls. According to the 2017 Census ...

. He attended the Delhi Law School and practised as a lawyer at the Mandi District law courts in 1953. In 1962, he became a Member of the Territorial Council in Himachal Pradesh.

Political career

Ram represented the Mandi Assembly seat from 1963 to 1984. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984 and served as a junior minister in the

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

government. He served as minister of state for defence production and supplies, planning and food and civil supplies. Sukh Ram was the Union minister of state (independent charge) holding the communications portfolio from 1993 to 1996. While Ram represented the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, his son contested and won the Assembly seat in 1993. Ram won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in 1996, but the two were expelled from the Congress party after the telecom scam. They formed the Himachal Vikas Congress, entered into a post-poll alliance with the BJP and joined the government. Ram contested the Assembly Elections in 1998 from Mandi Sadar and won by a huge margin of 22000+ votes; that was highest in the State. His son Anil Sharma was elected to the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

in 1998. In the 2003 Assembly poll, Ram retained the Mandi Assembly seat but joined the Congress in the run-up to the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. Sharma won the Mandi Assembly seat in 2007 and 2012 as a Congress candidate. In 2017, prior to elections, Ram joined BJP along with Sharma and grandson Aashray Sharma. It is considered as impact of Ram that BJP won 9 out of 10 seats in Mandi District and one seat i.e. Joginder Nagar was won by an independent candidate. Sharma was the Power Minister in the state of Himachal Pradesh under BJP regime. The family has a significant influence among the Himachal's brahmins, who comprise nearly 20%, or a fifth, of the state's electorate (the second-highest for any state in India, next to

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

). His other grandson

is an actor and married superstar

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

's sister. Ram crossed over to

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

in 2017 before reverting to the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in 2019.

Jail

In 1996 he was Communications Minister during a major telecom scam. In 2011 he was sentenced to 5 years in jail for corruption in this scam.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Sukh 1927 births 2022 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from Himachal Pradesh People from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh Indian politicians convicted of crimes Indian prisoners and detainees Lok Sabha members from Himachal Pradesh India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1991–1996 India MPs 1996–1997 Crime in Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Himachal Pradesh Himachal Vikas Congress politicians Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1963–1967 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1967–1972 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1972–1977 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1977–1982 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1982–1985 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 1998–2003 Himachal Pradesh MLAs 2003–2007

Early life

Political career

Jail

See also

References