Vasant Purushottam Sathe (5 March 1925 – 23 September 2011) was an Indian politician of 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 ...

party. He was a lawyer by training and became a parliamentarian in 1972 and a cabinet minister during the 1980s. He was a socialist and came to prominence in the congress after Indira Gandhi split the party for a second time in 1978. He was also known for his tenure as Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting when he initiated the process which led to

Indian television The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programmes in many Indian languages. Nearly 87% of Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 900 channels of which 184 were Pay television, ...

moving into colour broadcasting for the Asian Games 1982 and '' Hum Log'' the first colour Indian soap-opera.

Early life

Vasant Purushottam Sathe was born on 5 March 1925 at

Nashik Nashik, formerly Nasik, is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra situated on the banks of the river Godavari, about northeast of the state capital Mumbai. Nashik is one of the Hindu pilgrimage sites of the Kumbh ...

, Maharashtra, to Purushottam Sathe. He received his early education at Bhonsla Military School,

, and did his master's in economics and political science at Nagpur Mahavidyalaya, followed by a degree in law at Morris College,

Nagpur University Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), formerly Nagpur University, is a public state university located in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It is one of India's oldest universities, as well as the second-oldest in Maharashtra. It is named ...

Political career

Sathe joined the Socialist Party upon at its inception in 1948 after which he joined the Congress. He made his debut as a Member of Parliament in 1972 for the

Akola Akola () is a major city in the Vidarbha region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The third largest city in Eastern Maharashtra after Nagpur and Amravati, it is located about east of the state capital, Mumbai, and west of the second ca ...

constituency in the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...

region of Maharashtra. In the 1980s he moved to the

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The administrative headquarter of Wardha district is situated here. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows on the northern, western ...

constituency. He won from Wardha in 1980, 1984 and 1989, but lost in 1991 and 1996. Sathe worked as a Union Cabinet minister for the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. He is known for his candidness on issues of critical concern to the country and his unconventional lifestyle. He propagated the Presidential form of government for India. He was a member of the Consultative Committee of the Planning commission in 1972 before holding key portfolios as the Union Minister of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1980, Chemicals and Fertilizers in 1982, Steel, Mines & Coal in 1985, Energy in 1986, and Communications from 1988–1989. He was also the Chairman of Indo-Japan Study Committee from 1992–95 and became President of the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...

in 1993. He has represented India at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, the World Peace Congress and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. In 2005 he released his auto-biography ''Memoirs of a Rationalist'' on his 81st birthday.

Personal life

Sathe married the late Jayshree Sathe on 7 February 1949. He has 3 children: Two daughters Suhas and Suniti and a son, Subhash who is an industrialist at Gurgaon near Delhi. He died following a heart attack on 23 September 2011 in

Gurugram Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest o ...

, India. He complained of chest pain late in the evening and was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead.Congress veteran Vasant Sathe dead

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

Books

* ''Towards Social Revolution: A Case for Economic Democracy'', Vikas Pub., 1985. . * ''Restructuring of Public Sector in India'', Vikas Pub. House, 1989. * ''National government: agenda for a new India'', UBS Publishers Distributors, 1991. . * ''Two Swords in One Scabbard: a Case for Presidential Form of Parliamentary Democracy'', NIB Publishers, 1989. * ''Tax Without Tears: For Economic Independence and National Integration'', * ''The Challenge of Change: Key Issues for a Developing Society'', Allied Publishers, 1989. * ''India to be a Global Power''. * ''Memoirs of a Rationalist'', Om Books International, 2005. .

References

External links

9th Lok Sabha: Members Bioprofile: Vasant Sathe

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 ...

Interview with Vasant Sathe
at

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sathe, Vasant 1925 births 2011 deaths Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University alumni Indian National Congress politicians from Maharashtra Indian memoirists People from Nashik Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1977–1979 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 Marathi politicians Ministers for information and broadcasting of India Ministers of power of India People from Akola district People from Wardha district Indian political writers Writers from Maharashtra Indian autobiographers 20th-century Indian writers Praja Socialist Party politicians