Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar - Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh

Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar was an Indian politician. He was the leader of the Indian National Congress and the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. His towering personality still lives in the hearts of the older generation. His contemporaries do not tire of talking about his impeccable public conduct, sincerity, honesty and commitment to the public cause. Dr. Parmar Sahib was born on August 4, 1906, in a small village called Chanhalag in tehsil Pachhad of Sirmour district, Himachal Pradesh. He did his B.A. in 1926 from Christian College Lahore, M.A., L.L.B. and Ph.D. from Lucknow University. One thing that is most difficult to find in the political leadership across India is simplicity and absolute commitment to the masses and that was prominent in Dr. Parmar. He was a leader held in very high esteem by both Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indra Gandhi during their tenures as Prime Minister. He believed in simplicity, and his philosophy was that the capital should flow from the urban area to the villages. In the 1967 polls, the Congress party gave Rs. 4000 to him for campaigning. He distributed it among the party's other candidates, refusing to take even one rupee. He never allowed any politicians to make use of government guest houses, asking them to stay among people in the villages when they were out. He always believed in building roads as a lifeline of the state. He would trek through the villages along with officials, carrying a typewriter so that orders could be typed and signed on the spot. When he visited villages he would eat the local staple food with them, sitting with them on the ground.

At the time of his death on May 2, 1981, his bank balance was a mere Rs. 563 and 30 paise. Can you compare his personality, education, simplicity, sincerity, honesty, working behaviour and bank balance with the present politicians? Let us wish India is blessed with politicians like him in future. Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, established in 1985 in Solan is named after him. A statue of Dr. Parmar was established in Simla Mall commemorating his contributions to Himachal Pradesh. I feel proud to be a student of the College of Agriculture Solan.

Image Credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yashwant_Singh_Parmar

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