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Ramesh Pokhriyal
Ramesh Pokhriyal
Union Minister of Education
	In office; 29 July 2020 – 7 July 2021
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Himself as Minister of Human Resource Development
Succeeded by	Dharmendra Pradhan
Minister of Human Resource Development
	In office; 30 May 2019 – 29 July 2020
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Prakash Javadekar
Succeeded by	Himself as Minister of Education
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
	In office; 16 May 2014 – 4 June 2024
Preceded by	Harish Rawat
Succeeded by	Trivendra Singh Rawat
Constituency	Haridwar
5th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
	In office; 27 June 2009 – 11 September 2011
Preceded by	B. C. Khanduri
Succeeded by	B. C. Khanduri
Personal details
Born	15 July 1959 (age 65); Pinani, Uttarakhand, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse	Kusum Kanta Pokhriyal (m. 1985; died 2012)
Children	3 (incl. Arushi Nishank)
Residence(s)	Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Alma mater	Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University

Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank" (born 15 July 1959),^[2] is an Indian politician from Bhartiya Janta Party. He served as the Human Resource Development Minister in the Union Government of India starting from 31 May 2019. The name of his ministry was changed to Education Ministry in July 2020, following the ministry's name change, his title was changed to Minister of Education.^[3]

He represented the Haridwar Parliamentary constituency of Uttarakhand in the 17th Lok Sabha.^[4] BJP did not make him the candidate for 2024 General Elections.

He was the 5th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2009 to 2011, due to corruption allegations he was asked to resign from his post by the BJP Central Leadership.^[5]^[6]

Personal life

Pokhriyal was born in Pinani village, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand to Paramanand Pokhriyal and Vishambhari Devi. He received an M.A. degree from Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Pokhriyal married Kusum Kanta Pokhriyal on 7 May 1985, with whom he has three daughters.^[10] One of their daughters, Aarushi Nishank is a classical dancer,^[11]^[12] actress, producer and model. His wife died on 11 November 2012 in Dehradun at the age of 50.^[13]

Political career

Pokhriyal started his career as a teacher in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Saraswati Shishu Mandir.^[14] He was first elected to public office in the erstwhile undivided Uttar Pradesh as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Karnaprayag constituency in 1991, defeating a five-time Congress MLA.^[14] He was re-elected in 1993 and 1996 from the same constituency. In 1997 he was appointed to the position of Uttaranchal development minister. He was also Uttarakhand's chief minister (from 2009 to 2011) and served as a member of the Lok Sabha's 17th session and the chairman of the Assurance Committee. He is a representative of Haridwar constituency in the Lok Sabha.^[10] He was the member of the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for five consecutive terms from 1991 to 2012. He was first elected for the Karnaprayag ward in 1991 and served for three consecutive terms. In 2014, he resigned from the Doiwala, and was elected for Haridwar in the Lok Sabha.^[15] On 30 May 2019, he was sworn in as Minister of Human Resource Development in the 2nd Modi Government.^[16]^[4] Following the ministry's name change to the Ministry of Education (India) in July 2020, he served under the title of Minister of Education.^[3]

Literary career

Pokhriyal has written novels, stories and poems. He has authored more than 100 books in Hindi, some of which have been translated to English as well as other Indian languages. Most of his books were published by two private publishers – Vani Prakashan and Diamond Books, and many were published between 2009 and 2011, when he was chief minister of Uttarakhand.

One of his works was adapted into the Garhwali film Major Nirala, which was produced by his daughter Aarushi Nishank and released in 2018.^[17]

He is honoured by Hindi Writers Guild, Canada in 2021 and was conferred with the "Sahitya Gaurav Samman".^[18]

References

^ "Pokhriyal relieved from his post", News18, 7 July 2021
^ "'Because of Hindu Horoscope': HRD Minister's Clarification Over Row on Different Dates of Birth". News18. 2 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b Priscilla Jebaraj; Nistula Hebbar (31 July 2020). "Rigorous consultations done before framing new National Education Policy, says Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank gets HRD ministry in PM Modi's new cabinet". Hindustan Times. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
^ Joshi, Poornima (21 November 2010). "Uttarakhand CM at centre of two scams". India Today. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ Joshi, Poornima (11 September 2011). "Nishank fired after drama to delay exit flops". India Today. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
^ "Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank | National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015.
^ Bhatnagar, Gaurav Vivek (29 August 2019). "HRD Minister Pokhriyal Under Fire for Using 'Doctor' Prefix Without Real PhD". The Wire. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
^ "Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)):Constituency- Haridwar (Uttarakhand) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194.
^ "स्पर्श गंगा अभियानः एक साल में लगाए जाएंगे 10 लाख पौधे, दिल्ली से शुरु हुआ महाअभियान". News18 India. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^ "Arushi Nishank featured in Forbes Middle East". The Pioneer. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^ "Former Uttarakhand CM's wife dies". Hindustan Times. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Former Teacher at RSS-affiliated School, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank Now Human Resource Development Minister". Network 18. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
^ "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194.
^ "Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank: Poet-politician gets a ministerial berth | What you need to know". India Today. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
^ "उत्तराखंडी फिल्म 'मेजर निराला' का प्रोमो दिल्ली में रिलीज, भाजपा सांसद ने लिखी है पूरी कहानी" [Uttrakhand's Film 'Major Nirala' 's promo released in Delhi, BJP MP had written the script.]. Amar Ujala (in Hindi). 13 May 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
^ "Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal honoured by Canada's Hindi Writers Guild". The Hindu. PTI. 17 January 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 July 2021.

External links

Lok Sabha
Preceded by Harish Rawat	Member of Parliament for Haridwar 2014 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by B. C. Khanduri	Chief Minister of Uttarakhand 27 June 2009 – 10 September 2011	Succeeded by B. C. Khanduri
Preceded by Prakash Javadekar	Minister of Education 31 May 2019 – 7 July 2021	Succeeded by Dharmendra Pradhan