Manohar Parrikar
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==2017== | ==2017== | ||
Revision as of 18:21, 18 March 2019
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Life and times
Life and times of Manohar Parrikar, March 18, 2019: The Times of India
December 13, 1955 | Born to Parra native, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin middle-class couple Gopalkrishna and Radhabai of Mapusa in North Goa
R S S prant pracharak D Nadkarni is a major influence on young Parrikar, who is made ‘mukhya shikshak’ while preparing for IIT
1973 | Joins IIT Bombay, R S S gives him charge of the Powai hostel unit of the Sangh
1978 | Graduates as BTech in metallurgical engineering, resumes work for R S S in Mapusa where he also sets up a business
June 2, 1979 | Manohar Parrikar marries Medha Kotnis in Mumbai
They have two sons—Utpal and Abhijat
1981 | Becomes R S S Mapusa unit sanghchalak
Parrikar on his R S S background: Learnt “discipline, progressiveness, gender equality, equality of all before the law, nationalism and social responsibility from the R S S”
1988 | Sangh deputes him to BJP to make the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party irrelevant
June 1991 | Makes electoral debut, contests Lok Sabha polls from North Goa constituency, loses to Congress candidate Harish Zantye
November 1994 | Wins Panaji seat, BJP debuts in Goa assembly with four members
Considered No. 13, his birth date, lucky. His vehicle number, while he was in office, was 1313
2000 | Just months before Parrikar is to take up the CM’s post, he loses his wife to cancer
October 24, 2000 | Becomes the first IITian CM
2001 | Awarded Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Bombay, announces cyberage scheme, where for the first time in the country, free computers are provided to higher secondary school students
February 27, 2002 | Dissolves state assembly
June 5, 2002'"" | Re-elected CM for second time
2004 | Gets Iffi to Goa, raises infra in record time
March 2, 2005 | His government is reduced to a minority after four BJP legislators resign
Even as CM, Parrikar lived in his ancestral house at Mapusa, 13km from Panaji
September 2009 | Parrikar in an infamous interview compares BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani to “a rancid and ageing pickle whose political innings was more or less over”
March 2012 | Elected CM after BJP gets 21 seats in 40-member House, announces popular schemes like Griha Aadhar and Laadli Laxmi
September 2012 | Suspends mining operations after Shah Commission report alleges multi-crore scam
January 2013 | Becomes first BJP CM to openly endorse Narendra Modi’s candidature for PM. Also hosts BJP national executive in Panaji, where Modi is announced as campaign committee chief and in effect the PM candidate
November 2014 | Handpicked by PM Modi as defence minister, moves to New Delhi
November 2014 | Elected to Rajya Sabha from UP
September 26, 2016 | Carries out surgical strikes across LoC after Pakistani terrorists killed 19 soldiers at Uri on September 18, 2016
March 2017 | Resigns as defence minister, sworn in as Goa CM for fourth time
February 2018 | Diagnosed with a pancreatic ailment
March 17, 2019 | Passed away
The man
From: Marcus Mergulhao, The aam aadmi: Half-sleeved shirt, sandals & scooter rides, March 18, 2019: The Times of India
Manohar Parrikar was the original aam aadmi who rose to become chief minister. His identity in politics, at least for those beyond the state’s borders, was firmly established as a man who wore half-sleeved shirts for any occasion, even his son’s wedding. A man who wore sandals wherever he went, even to Parliament, and who had no problem hopping on to the back of a two-wheeler.
The sight of Parrikar riding pillion on a bike being driven by Caetano Silva, later elected MLA of Benaulim constituency, was published in all major newspapers and websites in the country. On a high during campaigning for the assembly elections in 2012, Parrikar would hop from one constituency to another, and wherever roads were narrow, a motorcycle would remain his best bet.
In Panaji, from where he was first elected in 1994 and a seat he retained till his death, his commonness was there for all to see. He would have a chat with the local ‘poder’ (breadman), lend his ear to the fisherwomen and even ride a bicycle for fun. For many, Parrikar was one of their own.
Despite being elected CM for four terms, he remained aam for many. During Parrikar’s first stint in office, he was stopped in the middle of the night by local policemen who demanded to know why he was out so late. According to reports in local newspapers at that time, the policemen on nakabandi duty didn’t recognise the CM. Not their fault. Someone moving without the red beacon atop his official car, without a police van ahead of him, and seated in the front seat could not be CM. This was a ‘common man’, and deserved to be questioned!
Policemen — whose boss Parrikar was as home minister — were not the only ones taken in. Security guards are known to have stopped him while he was entering a famous five-star hotel on the outskirts of Panaji. A guard stopped Parrikar for a routine security check, like everyone else, after he stepped inside without his police escort. A ‘hurt’ Parrikar returned to his vehicle, summoned the lone police security officer and let it be known to the guard he was the CM. “My ego was hurt,” he admitted during the official function at the hotel, which was attended, among others, by the owner. The poor security guard was worried for his job, but Parrikar said he was not to be blamed.
At weddings, engagements and parties, Parrikar never sought special preference. He stood in queues to wish couples at weddings, never hesitated to wait for his turn in line while casting his vote, even as the country’s defence minister, and always travelled economy class. He carried his own bags, too.
In Goa, it was always easy to spot the IIT graduate. You could find Parrikar inside little-known government offices where he would pursue a file, or at a local hotel you could be seated next to the table where he would be enjoying pao bhaji and mirchi pakora. Many have seen him eating a fruit platter at a rustic roadside stall in Mapusa and gorging on bhajias during official events.
c.1978: breaking the IIT mess strike
Yogita Rao, How Parrikar ended IIT mess strike with a ladle, March 18, 2019: The Times of India
As the mess secretary of hostel 4 in IIT-Bombay, Manohar Parrikar was very strict with students and even the mess workers in those days. The Goa chief minister’s hostel mate and friend Bakul Desai, who was four years junior to him, remembers how he fined himself when his relative plucked a flower from the hostel compound one day.
Desai, who is based in Hyderabad, said that Parrikar was a stickler for accounts. “His accounts were very neat. His only focus as the mess secretary was to bring down the bills for us,” said Desai.When Desai reached the IIT-B hostel for the first time in 1978, Parrikar saved him from being ragged by seniors and that’s how they became friends.
“Mess workers decided to go on a flash strike one day during our lunch time. Parrikar decided to get into the kitchen with 40 of us and cooked for the entire hostel. It was the best meal ever. The workers returned to their work immediately after that,” said Desai.
Politics
Manohar Parrikar — The man who changed Goan politics, March 18, 2019: The Times of India
From: Manohar Parrikar — The man who changed Goan politics, March 18, 2019: The Times of India
A master strategist, who could anticipate other people’s moves and a man of his own, Manohar Parrikar’s chutzpah couldn’t be matched by anyone. You could love him or hate him, but you couldn’t ignore him. Whether he was in the government or outside, Parrikar was synonymous with BJP and as he took those giant steps, so did the party. From a mere 4,000 members in 1989, when Parrikar plunged into full-time politics, today there are 4.2 lakh members in a state that has a 15 lakh population.
A disciplined Sangh member, Parrikar’s tryst with the R S S started from his childhood and continued through his days at IIT-Bombay. Returning to Goa, after dropping out while doing post-graduation at IIT-Bombay, Parrikar continued as a sanghchalak before he was pushed into politics.
Parrikar’s political start was far from smooth. It was in 1988 that the Sangh decided to depute Parrikar to the party. In 1991, BJP, which hardly had any presence in the state, asked him to contest for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat.
“His first election as a Lok Sabha candidate secured him nearly 25,000 votes, which prompted the party to bring him into active politics. When I was the party president in 1991, he was given the charge of general secretary,” says Union Ayush minister and North Goa MP Shripad Naik.
Parrikar, the consummate politician, mastered the art quickly and within three years, this Mapusa resident had taken over the capital city of Panaji as its elected representative, wresting the seat from Congress. Since 1994, Panaji has been impenetrable, with Parrikar guarding it for BJP. It was also the first time that BJP entered the Goa assembly with four members, and it was the first-time MLA from Panaji who rewrote Goa’s political history as the anti-corruption crusader.
“Parrikar’s firebrand personality, confidence to take on the ruling front in the assembly and exposing their scams gained him popularity among the masses,” says Naik.
An expert in social re-engineering in the state, Parrikar cut across caste and religious lines. He retained the discipline and simplicity that he learnt from the Sangh, but was pragmatic when it came to political equations. Be it going to the church to seek blessings before filing nominations or hobnobbing with the Catholic community in the state, Parrikar used his IITian tag and intellectual prowess to shed the image of an R S S man. With an uncanny ability to predict the opponents’ moves and outthink them with pre-emptive strikes, Parrikar was a man in a hurry to establish BJP’s footprints across the state.
“His educational qualifications, ability to raise voice against corruption and vision for the development of the state helped the party to grow,” says another senior party functionary, who worked closely with him.
So, in 2000 when he became the first IITian chief minister of the country at a young age of 44, it came as no surprise to many Goans. Parrikar, the man, didn’t change and that endeared him to the masses, not just in the state but across the country. His attire was simple and the trademark chappals continued to adorn his feet. His popularity soared as he stopped the traditional practice of using the beacon for his official car, started sitting next to the driver in his official vehicle, became the most accessible chief minister in the post-statehood era, launched innovative schemes and showed grit and courage to get corrupt politicians arrested.
Interestingly, Parrikar became a chief minister of a state without having any experience in the government. But it was his penchant for studying the files and issues and understanding the pulse of the people, which he perfected as an opposition leader, that made him grow in stature.
He understood the political dynamics of the state that had around 27% Christian population and immediately built bridges with the Church, adopting a stand that deviated with the party’s thinking. He consciously went out of his way to please the minorities, the tribals and the OBCs. He was the true pioneer of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ and despite continuing to be a favourite of the Nagpur-headquartered organisation, he shared a good rapport with the minorities.
No wonder that in the 2012 assembly election, when BJP got a majority of its own with 21 seats in the 40-member House, nearly one-third of the members were from the minority community. “In 2012, the Church’s stance against corruption helped BJP. It was more an endorsement for Parrikar rather than the party,” says a senior functionary.
Even now, of the 14 BJP seats, seven legislators are Catholics.
A four-time chief minister of the state, Parrikar has never been able to complete his full term of five years. But that never deterred him from staying true to his work. He was the biggest asset that BJP had and its poster boy.
Parrikar was the low command and the high command, and the void that he has left behind will be difficult for the party to fill.
2017
Manohar Parrikar returns as Goa Chief Minister for third time, Mar 14, 2017, The Times of India
The Supreme Court refused to stay the oath-taking of BJP's chief minister candidate Manohar Parrikar and ordered a floor test to be held in the Goa Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Parrikar has been Goa's chief minister twice before and has been credited with strengthening the BJP in the coastal state.
Back as Goa Chief Minister
Manohar Prabhu Parrikar will take oath as 13th chief minister of Goa on March 14, 2017. He quit as the defence minister of India, a post he had been holding since November 2014 after first reshuffle of the Narendra Modi Cabinet. At the time, he was serving his second term as the Chief Minister of Goa.
Handpicked for central role
Parrikar, 61, was handpicked by PM Modi for the coveted defence portfolio at the Centre because of his administrative and organisational skills. He has been deputed back to revive BJP's fortunes in Goa, a state which the party has been ruling since 2012. Parrikar will replace incumbent incumbent chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
Handling border skirmishes
Parrikar's term as the Defence Minister was marked by a continued period of tension on the India-Pak border, following a string of Pakistan-backed terrorist strikes and ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir. He also presided over the forces' surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), and their punitive response to ceasefire violations.
Overseeing Indo-US defence ties
Parrikar has also overseen a fundamental shift in the military relationship between India and the US, with the signing of a pact that gives both countries access to each others' military facilities for logistical purposes.
MMRCA project cleared
Parrikar steered the Defence Ministry through a string of high-profile acquisitions of weaponry, many of which had been in limbo for years. Among these was the long-delayed MMRCA project which was resolved with the purchase agreement for 36 Dassault Rafale fighter jets.
From IIT-Bombay to Goa CM
Parrikar has been a member of the R-S-S since a young age, and is an alumnus of the IIT-Bombay. His first term as Goa Chief Minister was from 2000 to 2005 and his second term began in 2012.
