Biographical Sketch
Member of Parliament
12th Lok Sabha
JAKHAR,  DR. BAL RAM
[INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS - BIKANER (RAJASTHAN)]
Father's Name             Shri Raja Ram                           
Date of Birth             23 August 1923
Place of Birth            Panjkosi, Distt. Ferozepur (Punjab)               
Marital Status            Married in February 1937
Spouse's Name             Smt. Rameshwari Devi                    
Children                  Three sons and  two daughters
Educational Qualifications  
               B.A.(Hons.) (Sanskrit)
               Educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore (now in
               Pakistan)
Profession         
               Agriculturist and Farmer, Political and Social Worker, 
               Teacher and Educationist
Permanent Address  
               Vill. and P.O. Panjkosi                   
               Distt. Ferozepur-152001                 
               (Punjab)                                
               Tel. (01634) 2133                                                     
Present Address   
               40, Canning Lane,                   
               New Delhi-110001              
     
               Tels. (011) 3384958, 3385207   
Positions Held  
1972-79        Member, Punjab Legislative Assembly (two terms)
1973-77        Deputy  Minister, Co-operation, Irrigation and
               Power, Punjab
1977-79        Leader of the Opposition, Punjab Legislative
               Assembly
       
               Leader, Congress (Indira) Legislature Party
1980           Elected to 7th Lok Sabha
1984           Re-elected to 8th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
1980-89        Speaker, Lok Sabha (two terms)
               Chairman, (i) Business Advisory Committee; 
               (ii) Rules Committee; (iii)General Purposes Committee;
               and (iv) Standing Committee of the Conference of
               Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India
               President, (i) Indian Parliamentary Group; 
               (ii) National Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union; 
               and (iii) India Branch of the Commonwealth
               Parliamentary Association
1990-92        General-Secretary, All India Congress Committee
               (Indira) [A.I.C.C.(I)]
1991-96        Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (3rd term)
        
               Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture
1992 onwards   Member, Congress Working Committee
1998           Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (4th term)
                
               Chairman, Committee on Petroleum and Chemicals
1998-99        Member, Committee of Privileges*
               Member, General Purposes Committee
                Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Agriculture
Books Published  
(i)"People, Parliament and Administration"; and (ii)"New
Horizons in Agriculture in India"
Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments  
Contributed several articles on agriculture, irrigation,
power and  cooperation, etc.; conferred (i) D. Sc. (Honorary) 
by Haryana Agriculture University, Hissar; (ii) Vidya
Martand (Honorary) by Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya;
(iii) Krishi Ratna  Award of W.A.F.M. Trust, New Delhi; and
(iv) India Udyan Pandit Award, 1975
Social and Cultural Activities  
Associated with a number of social, cultural and literary
organisations engaged in constructive activities such as
upliftment of the downtrodden and the weaker sections of the
society, eradication of literacy and rural development, etc.
Special Interests  
Development of agriculture, horticulture and rural areas
Favourite Pastime and Recreation  
Reading, brisk walking and playing chess
Sports and Clubs  
Cricket and volleyball
Countries Visited  
Widely travelled; as Speaker of Lok Sabha, led the Indian
Parliamentary Delegations to about 50 countries, 1980-89;
as Union Minister of Agriculture, also led several Indian
Delegations to various countries, 1991-95
Other Information  
He has the rare honour of having been elected unanimously
twice to the august office of Speaker i.e. firstly of the
Seventh Lok Sabha on 22 January, 1980 and secondly of the
Eighth Lok Sabha on 16 January 1985 and also earned the
rare distinction of being the only Speaker of Lok Sabha in
Independent India to have presided over two successive Lok
Sabhas for their full terms from 22 January 1980 to 18
December, 1989; Chairman, (i) Third World Hindi Conference,
Delhi; (ii) Bharat Krishak Samaj; (iii) Managing Committee,
Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust; and (iv) Inter-
national Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Association, 1995;
Elected Member, (i) Executive Committee, Inter-Parliamentary 
Union (IPU), 1983; (ii) Commonwealth Parliamentary Association 
since 1980; and Member, Planning Commission, 1991-96
Election Result of
Bikaner Lok Sabha Constituency  
Total electorate        16,42,091
Total votes polled      10,39,717
Votes polled in favour of the first four leading candidates
(1) Dr. Bal Ram Jakhar               (I.N.C.) 5,60,257
(2) Shri Mahendrasingh Bhati         (B.J.P.) 3,69,632
(3) Shri Dilip Singh Marwal         (B.S.P.)   39,377
(4) Shri Shopat Singh Makkasar      [C.P.I.(M)]29,390
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