Jagmohan

Jagmohan Malhotra (born 25 September 1927), known by the mononym Jagmohan, is a former Indian civil servant and politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Goa, as well as the 5th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He was also elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) and served as the Union Minister for Urban Development and Tourism.[1]

Jagmohan Malhotra
5th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
In office
19 January 1990 – 26 May 1990
Preceded byK. V. Krishna Rao
Succeeded byGirish Chandra Saxena
In office
26 April 1984 – 11 July 1989
Preceded byBraj Kumar Nehru
Succeeded byK. V. Krishna Rao
6th Lieutenant Governor of Delhi
In office
2 September 1982 – 25 April 1984
Preceded bySundar Lal Khurana
Succeeded byP. G. Gavai
In office
17 February 1980 – 30 March 1981
Preceded byDalip Rai Kohli
Succeeded bySundar Lal Khurana
9th Lieutenant Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu
In office
31 March 1981 – 29 August 1982
Preceded byP. S. Gill
Succeeded byI. H. Latif
Personal details
Born (1927-09-25) 25 September 1927
Hafizabad, Punjab, British India
Spouse(s)Uma Jagmohan
ChildrenDeepika kapoor, Manmohan
AwardsPadma Vibhushan (2016)
Padma Bhushan (1977)
Padma Shri (1971)

Early life

Jagmohan Malhotra was born in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family to Amir Chand and Dropadi Devi on 25 September 1927 in Hafizabad in Undivided India (now in Pakistan).[2] He got married in 1957 to Uma, who came to be known as Uma Jagmohan.

Career

Jagmohan first gained notoriety during his stint as vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority in the mid 1970s. During this time he grew close to Sanjay Gandhi, who began to wield increasing clout in the functioning of his mother Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government. During the Emergency (1975–77), Sanjay Gandhi entrusted Jagmohan with the "beautification" of Delhi, a task that involved large-scale demolition of slums. These beautification drives disproportionately affected Muslims, traditionally Congress-party voters, whose disenchantment contributed to Indira Gandhi's massive defeat in the 1977 general election.[3] Despite this Jagmohan, already a Padma Shri since 1971, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1977.

In 1982, as Delhi hosted the Asian Games, Jagmohan served his second term as the city's Lieutenant Governor. The games were a success and he was credited for his capable administration of the city at the time. Later Delhi hosted the Non-Aligned Summit, which was also a success.

Electoral History

Jagmohan contested the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat in 1996 for the 11th Lok Sabha, where he defeated Bollywood star Rajesh Khanna by 58,000 votes. In 1998 and 1999, Jagmohan won the seat again defeating R K Dhawan of the Indian National Congress twice. In 2004, he lost to Ajay Maken of the Indian National Congress by 12,784 votes.[4]

Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

During his tenure as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (1984–89), militancy in the troubled state was at its peak. Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a series of speeches notoriously threatened to make him "Bhagmohan" (implying he would flee out of fear) and "Ham us ko jag jag mo mo han han bana denge" (implying he would be cut/torn to pieces by militants).[5][6][7] In Jammu and Kashmir, Jagmohan is credited for bring order to one of the most revered shrines of Hindus, called Mata Vaishno Devi. He created a board that continues to provide administration for the shrine. Infrastructure was developed and that continues to facilitate pilgrims. However, allegations persist that he was involved in extra-legal crackdowns in Kashmir engineered by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.[8] In 1989, when militancy re-exploded in Kashmir, Jagmohan was as its Governor by Prime Minister V. P. Singh's government. Till then Jagmohan had enjoyed the confidence of Congress, including Indira Gandhi's other son Rajiv Gandhi. However, he fell out with them due to different views on Jammu and Kashmir, and joined their rivals the BJP.

In BJP

When the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister in 1998, Jagmohan served in his cabinet in a variety of portfolios, including communications, urban development and tourism.[9] During the 1990s, Jagmohan had served as nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha in 1990–96, and won a hat-trick of Lok Sabha elections from New Delhi (1996, 1998 and 1999).

In 2019, Jagmohan participated in BJP's Outreach Campaign to increase awareness about the advantages of revoking Article 370 & 35A.[10]

Awards and Honors

On the basis of his service record and recommendations made by top civil servants, he was honoured, on 26 January 1971, with the award of Padma Shri by the President of India, "for formulation and implementation of the Delhi Master Plan and for playing a pioneering role in planning and implementation of projects in Delhi". He was functioning as the Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority

With a meager revolving fund of just Rs. Five crore, Jagmohan launched large number of land acquisition and development schemes, showcasing how development effort could be financed by creating facilities – thus increasing value of the state land resources. For a series of innovations of this genre, good management skills, and for "his meritorious services to the country" he was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1977. In 2016, Padma Vibhushan was awarded to him. As Implementation Commissioner, and later as Vice-Chairman, Delhi Development Authority, Jagmohan executed, with his usual zeal, the various Parliament approved schemes of Clearance-cum-Resettlement-cum Redevelopment which the vested interests in politics labelled as demolition drives.

Positions held
  • 1980–81: Lt. Governor, Delhi (two times)
  • 1981–82: Lt. Governor, Goa, Daman and Diu
  • 1984–89: Governor, Jammu and Kashmir (two times) [11]
  • 1990–96: Member (nominated), Rajya Sabha

During the 1990s, Jagmohan had served as nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) from 1990 to 1996. Later, he was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) thrice from New Delhi.

  • 1996: Elected to 11th Lok Sabha from New Delhi
  • 1998: Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (2nd term) from New Delhi
  • 1998-December: Union Cabinet Minister, Communications [12]
  • 1999-June–October: Union Cabinet Minister, Urban Development
  • 1999: Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (3rd term) from New Delhi
  • 1999-October–November: Union Cabinet Minister, Urban Development
  • 1999-November: Union Cabinet Minister, Urban Development
  • 2001-September: Union Cabinet Minister, Tourism
  • 2001-November-2004-April: Union Cabinet Minister, Tourism and Culture[13]

Books authored
  • Rebuilding Shahjahanabad, the Walled City of Delhi (1975) [14]
  • Island of Truth (1978) [15]
  • My frozen turbulence in Kashmir (1993)[16]
  • The Challenge of Our Cities (1984) [17]
  • Soul and Structure of Governance in India (2005)[18]
  • Reforming Vaishno Devi and a Case for Reformed, Reawakened and Enlightened Hinduism (2010) [19]
  • Triumphs and Tragedies of Ninth Delhi (2015) [20]

References
  1. "Jag Mohan, Key Contenders for India Election 2004". Archived from the original on 20 June 2004. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  2. "13th Lok Sabha- Member's Profile". Parliament of India. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. "Slum demolitions in Delhi since the 1990s: An Appraisal" by Veronique Dupont, EPW, 12 July 2008, pages 84–85.
  4. Mahendra Singh, Rana (2006). India Votes: Lok Sabha & Vidhan Sabha Elections 2001-2005. Sarup & Sons. p. 615. ISBN 81-7625-647-1. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  5. Chitkara, M. G. (1996), Benazir, a Profile, APH Publishing, pp. 85–, ISBN 978-81-7024-752-4
  6. Jagmohan (2006), My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir (7th ed.), Allied Publishers, pp. 575–, ISBN 978-81-7764-995-6
  7. Singh, Tavleen (1995), Kashmir: a tragedy of errors, Viking, pp. 137–138, ISBN 9780670865598
  8. "Mufti and Jagmohan ordered massacres in J&K in the 90s: Omar Abdullah". India Today. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  9. "Jagmohan's removal 'celebrated'". The Hindu. 5 September 2001. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  10. "Ex-J&K Governor Joins BJP's Outreach Campaign On Scrapping Article 370". NDTV.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. "http://jklegislativeassembly.nic.in/Governor/Sh%20Jagmohan.pdf" (PDF). External link in |title= (help)
  12. "Former Ministers - Minister's Page - About Us - Department of Telecommunications". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
  13. "Biographical Sketch of Member of XII Lok Sabha".
  14. Rebuilding Shahjahanabad, the walled city of Delhi. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. 1965. p. 144. OCLC 2119109.
  15. Jagmohan (1978). Island Of Truth. ISBN 9780706906608.
  16. Jagmohan (10 May 1991). My Frozen Turbulence In Kashmir. ISBN 9788181242174.
  17. Jagmohan (1984). The Challenge of Our Cities. ISBN 9780706925692.
  18. Soul and structure of governance in India. New Delhi, India: Allied Publishers. 2005. p. 516. ISBN 8177648314. OCLC 61731896.
  19. "Reforming Vaishno Devi and a Case For Reformed, Reakenened and Enlightened Hinduism". Good Reads. Rupa Co. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  20. Triumphs and tragedies of ninth Delhi. New Delhi: Allied Publishers Private Limited. 2015. p. 323. ISBN 9788184249811. OCLC 928593686.
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