Sikander Bakht

Sikander Bakht (August 24, 1918 - February 23, 2004) was a politician from India.

Early life

Sikander Bakht was born in Delhi, India in 1918. He attended the Anglo-Arabic School and completed his Bachelor of Science from the Anglo-Arabic College (now known as Zakir Hussain College) in Delhi. During his school and college days he was a keen hockey player and represented Delhi University and Delhi in various tournaments. He also played and captained the Independents Hockey Club.

Political career

In 1952 Bakht was elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as a Congress candidate. In 1968 he was elected as The Chairman of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking. In 1969 The Congress party split and Bakht stayed with Congress (Organisation). Bakht was then elected to The Metropolitan Council of Delhi as a Congress (O) candidate. On June 25 1975 Emergency was declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Bakht along with other opposition leaders was imprisoned on June 25 1975. He was lodged in The Rohtak Jail until his release in December 1976. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered General Elections in March 1977. As soon as the opposition leaders were released, they merged all opposition parties to form The Janta Party.

In March 1977 Bakht was elected to The "Lok Sabha" (The Lower House of Indian Parliament) as a Janta Party candidate, from Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. Morarji Desai was appointed Prime Minister and he appointed Bakht as a Cabinet Minister for Works, Housing, Supply and Rehablitation. He served in this capacity till July 1979.

In 1980 The Janta Party split and Bakht opted to be with The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was appointed as General Secretary of BJP. In 1984 he was made the Vice President of BJP. In 1990 Bakht was elected to the "Rajya Sabha" (The Upper House of the Indian Parliament). In 1992 he became the Leader of Opposition in the "Rajya Sabha". (The Leader of Opposition is equivalent to Cabinet Minister's post.) In 1996 he was reelected to the "Rajya Sabha".

In May 1996, Atal Bihari Vajpayee offered Bakht the post of Minister of Urban Affairs when he formed his government. Bakht, however, demanded a higher post, and on May 24 he was given the additional post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Vajpayee Government lasted only 13 days. Bakht was Foreign Minister for little more than a week, as he was forced to resign when Vajpayee's government collapsed on June 1, 1996. After the collapse of the Vajpayee government, Bakht became The Leader of the Opposition in the "Rajya Sabha" once again.

In 1998 Vajpayee was again appointed Prime Minister and Bakht was appointed Industry Minister. In addition he was appointed as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha.

Awards

In 2000 Bakht was awarded the "Padma Vibhushan". This is the second highest Indian civilian award. The only other person in the BJP to be awarded the "Padma Vibhushan" is Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Death

Bakht finished his term in Rajya Sabha on April 9 2002. On April 18, 2002, Bakht was sworn in as Governor of Kerala. He was highly popular and served in this post until his death.

Bakht died in the Medical College Hospital in Kerala's capital city Thiruvananthapuram on February 23, 2004, from complications of intestinal surgery which was performed on February 19. He was replaced two days later by Karnataka governor T. N. Chaturvedi. There is growing concern, particularly among BJP members, that Bakht may have died because of medical negligence, but nothing has yet been proven.Fact|date=February 2007

External links

* [http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/01-15Apr04-Print-Edition/011504200486.htm Study on Sikandar's Life]