Parmar (clan)

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The Paramaras or Parmars were a prominent Rajput clan of Medieval India. The Paramaras in Haryana very often use duality in their surname, i.e., they use the word Punwar in verbal talks and the word Parmar in writing. Some Paramaras use the same word both in speech and writing, i.e., Parmar or Punwar.

The Geographical Configuration of the Paramaras

The Parmara Rajputs, known by the names of Parmar/Paramara/Punwar/Panwar/Puar/Panhwar or Pawar today, are spread all over Northern, Western and Central India. Paramaras are interalia spread throughout the nations of the former British Empire, particularly Canada and the United Kingdom. They are present in sizeable numbers in the USA, too.The Paramaras are also present in Sindh, Pakistan and constitute 40% of the population of the Dadu district of Sindh. Here they spell their name as Panhwars.

The Physiological Configuration of the Paramaras

General physical make-up reflects the Paramara clan as belonging to the Braecophyles (the race having a broad head with a narrow pointed side face). The members are of tall to medium height, medium to thin build and medium to dark complexion with a sharp-featured nose. The ones residing in mountainous regions like Himachal Pradesh have developed a fair complexion.

The Cultural Configuration of the Paramaras

The Customs and Traditions:

  • There are slight variations in the customs and traditions being followed by the Paramara Rajputs in different parts of India and the world. The Paramara Rajputs follow with great pride the Rajput social traditions and customs that have evolved over centuries in response to numerous dynamic socio-politico-econo-religio factors. For example, the members of this clan follow a peculiar novel System of Titling like Bhanwar, Kanwar and Thakur to address each male member of the clan irrespective of the age of the male member. Tha in Thakur is pronounced as Ra is pronounced in Raw. However, today, not all the members of this clan follow these time honoured Rajput traditions and customs for numerous reasons like some feel that using these titles sound as being old-fashioned, others feel that these titles are irrelevant in contemporary socio-economic scenario, etc.
  • All the Devout Paramaras make it a point to pay visit once a year to their Kul Devi or the Clan-female deity called the goddess Saraswati at Dhar to invoke her blessings. Saraswati is the ancient Indian goddess of the Learning and Wisdom.

The System of Titling:

The Rajputs have over centuries developed and refined the ingenious methodology of quickly identifying whether a given Rajput Male's father and grandfather is alive or not without offending or hurting the sentiments of the Rajput Male. This methodology involves requiring the Rajput Male to prefix to his name one of the following titles: Bhanwar, Kanwar or Thakur. The title of Bhanwar indicates that the given Rajput Male's grandfather is still alive. The title of Kanwar indicates that the given Rajput Male's father is still alive. The title of Thakur indicates that the given Rajput Male's father is dead. Thus, this System of Titling primarily serves a very useful purpose within the Rajput social milieu. Secondly, it indicates the level of family responsibility being shouldered within the Patriarchical Joint Family Mode by the given Rajput Male. In the Rajput Joint Patriarchical Family Mode, the power and responsibility structure flows from top to bottom with the eldest surviving male of the eldest surviving generation being the overall in charge of the Family Unit under his command. Females generally do the household chores and males are the ones who do a Financial Earning to run the household financially. Females generally don't venture out of the four walls of the household and remain in veils before one's elders and strangers except one's own husband and parents. Thirdly, it indicates the separate status of Rajputs within the Hindu System of Social Categorisation called the Chatur Varna (Four Categories), by immediately help identify the holder of such a title as mentioned above as belonging to the Kshatriya or the Warrior class. Fourthly, it evokes a deep sentimental, emotional and nostalgical sense of pride and belonging to the much respected higher caste of 'Rajput' within the Hindu social system.

The Paramara Males

The Paramara males generally, especially in rural areas, wear big sized turbans called Safa which come in various colours, shades, and hues.

The Paramara Females

The Paramara females wear a full sized Saaree covering their body portion below the waist fully and then wrapping it around their breasts and back with a small portion of it neatly covering their heads. They cover their faces with a Ghunghat made neatly by dropping a portion of such folded saaree from their forehead downwards. They adorn themselves with a Bindi placed firmly between both the eyebrows and bangles around their wrists. They place beautiful Moti into a minute hole drilled on the top of lower portion of their left nostril. Both the ears are pierced and decorated with fine jewellery items like earrings, etc. They like to wear fine jewellery like chain around the neck. The ankles are covered with Paajebs. In Rajasthan, they wear Ghagra – Choli and put a Borla on their forehead. In Punjab, they wear a salwaar-kameez and cover their head with a Chunni. In Maharashtra, they drape their bodies with a 9 metre Paithani saaree.

The Educational Level of the Paramaras

This clan lags educationally behind other Rajput clans like the Chauhans. However, it's an undeniable and undisputable fact that this clan has produced some of the finest brains in the world.

The Economic Configuration of the Paramaras

There is no researched data available presently to show clearly the definitive and conclusive picture of the Economic Configuration of the Paramaras. However, one may safely delineat the Economic Contours that display a great Economic Divide within the Paramara clan. For example, the Paramaras in business are quite well off financially. Those in agricultural sector are able to make both their ends meet. But, the ones inhabiting the vast Tribal belt stretching across Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat find themselves amongst the economically most marginalized sections of the contemporary Indian society.

The Professions of the Paramaras

The Females in Rajasthan and Haryana as a rule are not allowed to step outside the house to work. In Punjab and Maharashtra, the Paramara females work shoulder to shoulder in various walks of life like Agriculture, etc.

The Males in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa generally tend to go in for a career in Uniform Services like the Military, Police and Para-Military forces. Those in Gujarat tend to take up the Business as a profession. The Paramara Rajputs in Rajasthan,Sindh take government and police jobs though most are agrarian.The ones in Haryana are basically an agrarian community. The Maharashtrian and Sindhi Paramara Male either chooses agriculture or the government services, especially the ones under the Maharashtra and Sindhi Government and has a tendency not to venture out of his state to earn a living in sharp contrast to the Paramara male in other geographical regions of India.The probable reason is that the Marathi and Sindhi and to certain extent the Punjabi Paramar has adopted the language and culture of his adopted region unlike the Hindi/urdu speaking paramars. The Paramara business people dominate the contemporary business scene in the western Maharashtra, especially the Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Sholapur districts.

The Historical Configuration of Paramaras

There are three schools of thought about the origin of the Paramara clan.

The Paramaras along with the Chauhans, the Pratiharas (Parihars) and the Solankis (Chalukyas), were one of the four agni kula ("fire born") clans of the Rajputs.

The Paramara clan is said to have been a tribe of central India who rose to political prominence as the feudatory of the Rashtrakutas.

  • The Third School of Thought:

The Paramara clan is said to have originally been an inseparable part of the Rashtrakutas. It later on branched out from the Rashtrakutas and declared themselves to be a Rajput clan distinct from the later.

  • The Paramaras established themselves as the rulers of Malwa in Central India in the ninth century, ruling from their capital at Dhar.

The Ponwar clan of the Marathas, who ruled the states of Dewas, Dhar, and Rajgarh in Malwa and Chhatarpur in Bundelkhand from the 18th century to the mid-twentieth century, claimed the same descent as the Paramaras.

The Paramara Kings of Malwa

  • Upendra (c. 800-c. 818)
  • Vairisimha I (c. 818-c. 843)
  • Siyaka I (c. 843-c. 893)
  • Vakpati (c. 893-c. 918)
  • Vairisimha II (c. 918-c. 948)
  • Siyaka II (c. 948-c. 974)
  • Vakpatiraja (c. 974-c. 995)
  • Sindhuraja (c. 995-c. 1010)
  • Bhoj or Bhoja I (c. 1010-c. 1055), author of Samarangana-sutradhara etc.
  • Jayasimha I (c. 1055-c. 1060)
  • Udayaditya (c. 1060-c. 1087)
  • Lakshmanadeva (c. 1087-c. 1097)
  • Naravarman (c. 1097-c. 1134)
  • Yasovarman (c. 1134-c. 1142)
  • Jayavarman I (c. 1142-c. 1160)
  • Vindhyavarman (c. 1160-c. 1193)
  • Subhatavarman (c. 1193-c. 1210)
  • Arjunavarman I (c. 1210-c. 1218)
  • Devapala (c. 1218-c. 1239)
  • Jaitugideva (c. 1239-c. 1256)
  • Jayavarman II (c. 1256-c. 1269)
  • Jayasimha II (c. 1269-c. 1274)
  • Arjunavarman II (c. 1274-c. 1283)
  • Bhoj or Bhoja II (c. 1283- ?)
  • Mahlakadeva (c. ? -c. 1305)
  • Sanjeev Singh Parmar (1305 - 1327)

The Paramara Pricipalities

At the time of Indian independence, there were following 20 main princely states ruled by the Panwar clan :

  • 1. Dhar(MP), maratha rajput.

2. Dewas Sr(MP), maratha rajput

The Ponwar rulers of Dewas (Senior branch):

3. Dewas Jr(MP), maratha rajput

Ponwar rulers of Dewas (Junior branch):

4. Chhatarpur (MP), panwar bundel rajput

Ponwar rulers of Chhatarpur:

  • Raja Kunwar Sone Shah (1785-1816).
  • Raja Pratap Singh (1816-1854). Son of Kunwar Sone Shah.
  • Raja Jagat Singh (1854-1867). Grandson of Kunwar Sone Shah. Born 1846, died 1867.
  • Raja (later Maharaja) Vishwanath Singh (Raja 1867-1895, Maharaja 1895-1932). Son of Jagat Singh. Born 26 August 1866, died 1932.
  • Maharaja Bhawani Singh Bahadur (1932; acceded 1950). Son of Vishwanath Singh. Born 1921.

STATES

  • 5. Rajgarh(MP), umat panwar rajput
  • 6. Narsinghgarh (MP), umat panwar rajput
  • 7. Dnanta(Gujarat),
  • 8. Dumraon (Bhojpur) Bihar
  • 9. Tehri garhwal (UTTARANCHAL)
  • 10. Bhagat (HP)
  • 11. Jagdishpur(Bhojpur, Bihar)
  • 12. Gangapur(orissa)
  • 13. Muli (SOorashtra, Gujarat)
  • 14. Princely state of Amarkot BY Sodha branch of Parmar Rajputs
  • 15. Sudasana
  • 16. Ranasain
  • 17. Piploda
  • 18. Bijolion
  • 19. Baghargarh
  • 20. Ittunja

Brief Write-up on the Pawars of Maharashtra:

  • The Pawars are considered to be one of the Chhanve Kulin or the 96 K or as belonging to the upper most group of the higher caste having in its ambit 96 numbers of Clans.[citation needed]
  • The Pawar and their name variations are a Rajput clan that ruled the states of Chhatarpur, Dewas, Dhar, and Rajgarh in central India. They claimed the same descent as the Paramara clan of Rajputs, who ruled Malwa from the 9th to the 14th centuries. However, it should be noted that their is some confusion that Rajput Parmaras are Agnivanshi (Scythic Fire-origin), while the Maratha Punwars/Pawars are Chandravanshi (Lunar origin).But it is most likely that Parmaar and the Pawar deriatives are one and the same agnikuls, the Pawar being the post Ujaain Maharastra settled Parmars and the Pawar with different spellings being the maratha empire Pawars trying for a definite regional identification. By the beginning of the 18th century, the family had served in the Maratha armies for several generations. Lot of villages of Jats in Delhi and western UP also have Panwar/Puar gotras.
File:Sir Tikujirao Maharaj, Dewas Senior.bmp.jpg
Sir Tukoji Maharaj, Dewas Senior

The state of Rajgarh was ruled by the Umat clan of Ponwar rulers and came into separate existence after the division of Umatwara in the 16th century. The other half-of Umatwara was ruled by the sister state of Narsingarh. The Ponwar Rawats, later Rajas, became tributaries of Sindhia in the 18th century. However, they alone are considered to be pure Pawar rulers in Malwa.

The Maratha Peshwa Bajirao invaded Malwa in 1723, and his armies were led by Maratha generals that included Udaji Rao Ponwar, Malharao Holkar and Ranoji Sindhia. Udaji Rao Ponwar established himself at Dhar in Malwa in 1728, but in 1732 fell out of favor with the Peshwa and was imprisoned; his younger brother Anand Rao Ponwar became the Raja of Dhar, and his descendants ruled the state until Indian Independence.

Two Ponwar brothers, Tukaji Rao (senior) and Jivaji Rao (junior), established themselves as rulers of Dewas in 1728; their descendants divided the state in two, ruled by senior and junior branches of the family descended from the two brothers.

The Ponwar rulers of Chhatarpur took control of the state in 1785, and became a princely state of British India in 1806. The Ponwar Maharaja acceded to the Government of India on 1 January 1950.

The royal family of Phaltan, (located in present day Maharashtra), also trace their decent from the Parmar dynasty. The family which settled in Maharashtra in 12th century A.D. is probably the oldest dynasty in Maharashtra. The current surname of the members of this family is Naik Nimbalkar. It is not genrally known except to the professional historians that this family was originally part of the Parmar dynasty. The Naik Nimbalkar family was very intimately related to Chatrapati Shivaji Bhosale, as both his maternal and paternal grandmothers were from this family as well as his daughter was married to a Naik Nimbalkar.

The Political Configuration of the Paramaras

  • The Ancient India:

The Paramaras enjoyed great political power and clout in ancient India.

  • The Medieval India:

Their political power and clout started diminishing after the conquest of Malwa by Alauddin Khilji and was reduced to abysmal depths during the consolidation of the British Empire in the pre-independence India with the Royals of this clan doing the bidding of the British conquerors.

  • The Post-independence India:

This covers period from 1947 to 1980. After the independence of India, the central Indian Government apparently realized that these Royals had no skills, training, inclination or motivation to take up jobs like any other ordinary citizens and as such were rendered unemployable. There was the added fear of these unemployable Royals becoming restless in case of any disturbance in their own lavish Royal Lifestyles and the consequent danger of these Royals organizing against the nascent Indian nation-State the subjects of their erstwhile principalities, thereby endangering the very existence of an emerging sovereign democratic India. The Rajput Royals fearing the civil mutinees and civil wars in their principalities agreed coolly to the idea of surrendering their political powers to the central Indian Government in New Delhi. In lieu of this surrender of political power by these Royals, these Royals were granted generous financial grants called the Privy Purse by the central Indian Government to help them maintain their lavish Royal Lifestyles. The other noble intention was to help these Royals (who otherwise were financially left with no royal sources of revenues) meet the financial expenditure involved in the proper maintenance and upkeep of the royal palaces, forts and other architectural marvels belonging to them. The Privy Purse was later abolished by the central Indian Government under the leadership of Mrs. Indira Gandhi after she seized upon the perception that these Royals had become too weak attitudinally and politically to create any trouble for the Indian nation-State besides her own desire to emerge the only leader in the National Congress Party by portraying her own image as a pro-people mass leader, since she was locked into an internal political power game with the contemporary National Congress Party Stalwarts like Morar Ji Desai and Kamraj who either wished her to remain a Goongi Gudia (Mute Doll) and do their political bidding or were out to destroy her fledgling political career.

Over the years, these Royals became complacent and did not upgrade their Politicalware Skills. As such, they could not adapt themselves to the parliamentary democracy and its mechanisms. Apparently, these Royals disliked the very idea of reaching the legislatures by seeking favours in terms of begging for votes before the ordinary mortals who till independence had sought favours from these Royals themselves. The ordinary Rajput remained happy with the traditional livelihood from agriculture which hardly provided any sufficient monetary returns; and despised the idea of serving under the others in government services except the military. The ordinary Rajputs by tradition followed these Royals as their leaders. Both the leaders and the followers failed to grasp the new political realities. Whereas the other castes and communities very often deprived of any land holdings realized quickly the benefits of an independent India and concentrated on joining the government services to empower themselves financially, educationally and politically. Result was that the Rajputs were left far behind in the race of Economic Development.

By mid 1980s, both the Royals and the ordinary Rajputs realized their own follies of having not taken due advantage of the new India. Now, they started eyeing the government jobs. By this time the scenario had changed drastically and the other castes/communities, now well entrenched into the Indian political system, were moving towards entrepreneurship after having empowered themselves duly on all the fronts. It was a wise step in view of the lessening role of the Government in public life and the increasing trend towards Economic liberalization. In 1990s, India proclaimed the Economic Liberalisation. The other castes/communities exploited to the hilt the Post-liberalisation in terms of setting up of the new enterprises as well as the increased job reservations in the government jobs. Thus, the merchant class Banias became more prosperous economically, the Scheduled Castes/Tribes Shudras improved their own lot by securing a bigger slice of the job-reservation pie. The intellectual classes Brahmins/Kayasthas utilized new opportunities available in fields like the Information Technology, etc. to make use of their traditionally Learning-Oriented Razorsharp brains. The only category left out from amongst the traditional Chatur Varna Hindu social system in this new- found El-Dorado of the economic prosperity was unfortunately the Warrior/Martial caste (Rajputs) besides the common muslim masses who reeled under the mass economic impoverishment and near total no education. The Rajputs have to blame none but their ownselves for their this sad plight – No job-reservation, since they belong to a higher caste – No entrepreneurship, since they lack in both the money and the financial skills – No high-end jobs like the Computer Software, since they never ever really cared to send their children to best schools and that too with an intention to get them high quality modern education (For example, even today in parts of Rajasthan and Haryana, the Rajput boys drop out immediately after high School (Xth) with the sole aim of joining defence services as foot soldiers, since it has been a tradition to do so.)

The net result of the above mentioned obsoete Politicalware possessed by the Rajputs was that they as a caste/community lost out in terms of the Political Power and Clout. The Paramara clan was no exception to this general rot.

However, a few ordinary Paramaras were quick to grasp the Post-independence Indian political scene and have done their level best to serve the Paramara clan and the Indian nation-State politically. Two names stand out prominently: Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, Shri Sharadchandra Rao Pawar who alonwith Thakur Sher Singh Parmar are considered to be the Tri-Ratna or the Three-Jewells in the crown of the Paramara clan.

Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar
Years active1988 - present
Websitehttp://groups.msn.com/geography
  • Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar

He rose to serve the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh as its Chief Minister. Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry is named after him only.

Shri Sharadchandra Rao Pawar
Born
Sharad
Years active1960 - present
Websitehttp://groups.msn.com/geography
  • Shri Sharadchandra Rao Pawar

Affectionately called Sharad Pawar, he rose to serve Maharashtra as its Youngest Chief Minister at the age of 38 years. He brought glory to the Paramara clan by serving interalia as the Cabinet Union Defence Minister and the Cabinet Union Agricultural Minister. He had missed by a whisker the Prime Ministership of India.

  • The Contemporary India:

This covers period from 1980 onwards. Two names stand out prominently:Sharad Pawar and Thakur Sher Singh Parmar.

Thakur Sher Singh
Born
Sher Singh
Years active1988 - present
Websitehttp://groups.msn.com/geography
  • Thakur Sher Singh Parmar/Punwar
  • He is personally not involved in any power politics. However, he has scaled-up the political stature and profile of the Paramara clan in his personal capacity as one of the outstanding leading Geo-politicians, Geo-strategicians and Political geographers in the world.
  • He has declared his intentions to run for Office of President of India after the term of present incumbent Dr. APZ Kalam is over. He has sought support for his candidature from Sonia, NCP, SP, CPI(M) and other political parties.[citation needed]The factors in his favour are: He is not affiliated to any political party, is secular & above party politics, comes from ordinary Indian middle class,is a young dynamic real life hero, a fine intellectual & a passionate humanitarian poet. It remains to be seen how far he succeeds in garnering support for his candidature.Pubilc has voiced support for his bid for top post of Presidenship of India[citation needed]

The Other Prominent Paramara Political Figures:

Maharashtra:

Ajit Dada Pawar, The Custodian Minister for Pune. He is the nephew of Shri Sharadchandra Govind Rao Pawar.

Haryana:

Shashi Parmar, the MLA.

Shakuntala Parmar, the Chief, the Women's wing, the Indian National Congress

Gujarat:

Punjab:

Himachal Pradesh:

  • Parmars of Solan and shimla

Madhya Pradesh:

  • Youraj Tukojirao pawar(state cabinet minister)
  • Mr. Karan singh panwar
  • Members of Royal family of Chhattarpur,Dhar, Dewas, Rajgarh, Narsinghgarh. etc.

Orissa:

  • Members of Royal family of Gangpur in Sundergarh district.

Bihar:

  • Mr. Raghvendra Pratap singh, Parmars of Bhojpur division

Uttaranchal:

  • Maharaja Manvendra Shah (10 times Lok shaba MP)

Uttar Pradesh:

Rajasthan:

Delhi:

  • Suraj Lal Parmar, Paschim Vihar Councillor.
  • Ratan Singh Panwar,Ward Number 80, Vishwas nagar Councillor.

The Religious Configuration of the Paramaras

Most Parmaras are the Hindus, but some in Punjab are the Sikhs. In Pakistan, some Paramaras are the Muslims. A minuscule proportion is found amongst the Christians, also.

The Social Configuration of the Paramaras

Most people with the surname Parmar and its post Ujjain Pawar variations are placed very high on the social ladder in terms of being the Rajputs.There is though a taboo of "low caste" for some paramars especially in Gujarat and also in Pakistan.The reason is probably the defeat and destruction of the paramaar empire by the Gujrati kings.The captured parmaars were probably made to do menial work to humiliate them. This is also the case in pakistan. The defeated Pawar marathas were probably meted this same treatment.Most of these Paramaars dont even know they are Rajputs. The Rajput Parmaras are quite powerful socially, but "low caste" Parmaras are quite weak socially. The Parmara once again had their empire restored during the Maratha empire which had kings of the Parmar dynasty and ruled most of northern India and also Sindh and Punjab in pakistan. This is also the possible reason why the name is spelt with so many different spellings to differenciate the different Pawar/pawar rulers of the various states and/or it could be due to the different linguistic regions and therby the different accent for the word Pawar. The Parmaara/ Pawar Rajputs hold the distinction of being the last Rajput rulers of India in addition to being one of the original ones.

The Paramara Contribution to Art, Architecture, Literature and Science

The Paramaras have made invaluable contributions to numerous fields like Art, Architecture, Literature and Science, etc. as described below:

  • The famous Jain temples at Dilware on Mount Abu in Rajasthan were built by two Paramara brothers who happened to be ministers.
  • Raja Bhoja, Thakur Sher Singh Parmar, etc., have immensely enriched the fields of literature, geography and geopolitics, etc.
  • Veer Vikramaditya, Raja Bhoja, Veer Babu Kunwar, Dr. Yashwant Pawar, Shri Sharadchandra Rao Pawar, etc., have made invaluable contributions to the Indian polity.
  • This clan has produced some of the finest business-people in the world.
  • Numerous widely acclaimed techies in the field of Information Technology (IT) today belong to this clan only.
  • Lalita Pawar was the top-notch character-film actress in her times.
  • Thakur Sher Singh Parmar alias Swami Apratimanand ji, the famous Hindi literatteur.

The Medieval and Contemporary Paramara Heroines/Heroes

  • 1.Raja Bhoj Of Malwa, Bhopal; Bhojpuri Language Named After him.
  • 4.Veer Babu Kunwar Singh(Bihar):

He Was one of the greatest revolutionaries in the first war of Indian independence fought in 1857.

  • 5.Great Jagdev pawar
  • 6.Guru Jambhoji Panwar (Founder of Bishnoi Sect.Main temple at Mukam Rajasthan.)
  • 7.Dr. Yashwant Parmar (father of modern himachal pradesh)

Sharadchandra Govind Rao Pawar (Marathi: शरदचंद्र गोविंदराव पवार)(born December 12, 1940) Maratha strongman and president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he formed in 1999 in India.[1]

He achieved the distinction of being the 'Youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra.'He has carved out a special nich for himself in the annals of the modern Indian history by having founded the 'CONGRESS NATIONALIST PARTY', one of the prominent political outfits in contemporary India.

He is affectionately called Sharad Pawar. He leads its delegation in the Lok Sabha, representing his home constituency of Baramati. He has a prominent place in Indian national politics as well as regional politics of Maharashtra. He currently serves as Food and Agriculture Union Minister, with additional charge of Consumer Affairs and the Public Distribution System. Since 2005 he has also served as Chairman of the Board for Control of Cricket in India. He is from the town of Baramati in Pune district.

International accomplishments:

Pawar has been involved in United Nations and World Health Organisation. He has also represented India leading the Disaster Management Team for United Nations. He has a impressive record with United Nations for his excellent management of recovering Latur from an earthquake within a short time. His biography has been listed in Marquis Who's Who in the World, that describes influential world leaders over the last 100 years. Only three other Indian politicians i.e., P. V. Narasimha Rao , Manmohan Singh and Shankarrao Chavan have been included in this contemporary biographical library.

Trivia:

He is an avid sports lover and takes interests in Kabbadi, wrestling and cricket. During his college days he was good wrestler. He has also headed various sports organization such as the

He is also adamant follower of National Saint Tukdoji Maharaj.

Political history:

He entered the Maharashtra legislative assembly for the first time in 1967 from Baramati, representing the undivided Congress Party. In 1978, Vasantdada Patil was the political mentor of Sharad Pawar. Mr. Pawar broke away from the Congress to form a coalition government with the opposition Janata party. This Progressive Democratic Front government was dismissed in February 1980, following Indira Gandhi's return to power at the Centre. In the elections that followed, the Congress party won the majority in state assembly and A.R. Antulay took over as the chief minister of the state. Sharad Pawar remained a key opposition leader in the state assembly. For the first time, he won Lok Sabha election from Baramati parliamentary constituency in 1984. He also won state assembly elections of March 1985 from Baramati and preferred to continue in state politics for a while and resigned from the Lok Sabha. In 1985 elections, his Congress (S) won 54 seats out of 288 in the state assembly and he became the leader of the opposition.

In 1987, Sharad Pawar returned to Congress(I) party after being out of it for over nine years. In June 1988, Prime Minister and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi decided to induct then Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan into Union Cabinet as Finance Minister and Sharad Pawar was chosen to replace Chavan as chief minister. Sharad Pawar had the task of checking the rise of the Shiv Sena in state politics, which was a potential challenge to the dominance of Congress party in the state. In 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Congress party won 28 seats out of 48 in Maharashtra. Though the Congress party maintained a respectable tally in the state and was not routed as in some other states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, it meant a loss of 15 seats when compared with 1984. In the state assembly elections of February 1990, the alliance between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party posed a stiff challenge to the Congress. Though the Congress managed to retain power, it fell short of an absolute majority in the state assembly for the first time, winning 141 seats out 288. Sharad Pawar was sworn in as chief minister again on March 4, 1990 with the support of 12 independent MLAs.

It is a widely acclaimed fact that the Maharashtra government's coffers were so well managed during his chiefministership that it faced no financial problems. Once he left the Chief Ministership, his succeeding chief ministers could never pull off the same financial tricks as Sharad Pawar's. Result is that the current Maharashtra government is unable to handle financial affairs of the state well.

Sharad Pawar led the campaign for the Congress for the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1991 in Maharashtra. The Congress bettered its performance by winning 38 seats out of 48 in the state. During the course of election campaign, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. There were reports in the media that Pawar's name was being considered for the Prime Minister's post along with those of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Arjun Singh. However the Congress Parliamentary Party elected P.V. Narasimha Rao as its leader and he was sworn in as Prime Minister on June 21, 1991. Rao decided to induct Pawar as Defence Minister. On June 26, 1991, Pawar took over as that portfolio, continuing till March 1993. After Pawar's successor in Maharashtra, Sudhakarrao Naik stepped down, Rao sent Pawar back as chief minister of the state.

He was sworn in as chief minister for his fourth and most controversial term on March 6, 1993. Almost immediately, Mumbai, the financial capital of India and the state capital of Maharashtra, was rocked with series of bomb blasts on March 12, 1993.

The Deputy Commissioner of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, G.R. Khairnar made a series of accusations against Pawar for being involved in corruption and protecting the criminals. Though Khairnar could not produce any evidence in support of his claims, it inevitably affected Pawar's popularity. Notable social worker Anna Hazare started a fast unto death to demand expulsion of 12 officers of the Forest department of Government of Maharashtra, who had been accused of corruption. The opposition parties accused Pawar's government of trying to shield the corrupt officers. Further, there was a sex scandal at Jalgaon in which a number of young girls were subjected to sexual abuse, which expanded to involve local municipal corporators belonging to Congress. To make matters worse for the Congress party, there was a stampede in the march of Gowari tribespeople at Nagpur on November 23, 1994, in which 123 people were killed. The march had been to demand reservations in educational institutes and jobs. Allegations were made that the mishap occurred because welfare minister Madhukarrao Pichad did not meet with the delegation of the Vanjara people in time. Though Pichad stepped down owing moral responsibility for the mishap, this incident was another setback to Sharad Pawar's government.

The elections to the Vidhan Sabha were due to be held in 1995. The Shiv Sena and BJP combine was leading the Congress in the polls, and there was widespread rebellion in the Congress party. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine won 138 seats while Congress party retained only 80 seats in the state assembly. Sharad Pawar had to step down and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi took over as chief minister on March 14, 1995.

Till the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, Sharad Pawar served as the Leader of the Opposition in State Legislative Council. In the 1996 General elections, he won from the Baramati seat and has not returned to the State Assembly since.

In June 1997, he unsuccessfully challenged Sitaram Kesri for the post of Congress President. In the mid-term parliamentary elections of 1998, Sharad Pawar not only won from his constituency, Baramati but also led the Congress to an emphatic win in Maharashtra. His move to align with the Republican Party of India (Athvale) and Samajwadi Party for the elections in the state brought rich dividents and the Congress party and allies won 37 seats out of 48 in the state. Sharad Pawar served as Leader of Opposition in 12th Lok Sabha.

After 12th Lok Sabha was dissolved and elections to 13th Lok Sabha were due, Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar demanded that the Congress Party needed to project someone born in India as the Prime Ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics and replaced Kesri as Congress President.

In June 1999, Pawar and Sangma founded the Nationalist Congress Party. His party had to align with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra as neither party could win an absolute majority on its own in the 1999 assembly elections. Pawar, however, did not return to state politics, and Vilasrao Deshmukh of the Congress was chosen as Chief Minister, with R.R.Patil representing the NCP as his deputy. The alliance has endured at the national and state level to this day.

After 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the United Progressive Alliance government headed by Manmohan Singh as the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

On November 29, 2005, he was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He is known for his excellent administrative skills.

Controversies

In October 2006, the primary accused in the stamp paper scam worth US$500 Million plus, Abdul Karim Telgi, named Sharad Pawar as one of the politicians involved. This was revealed in a leaked video-tape of Telgi's narco-anlysis test - now in the possession of the media - conducted in 2003, before the CBI took over the probe in 2004. In this tape, he named Sharad Pawar and Chaggan Bhujbal but did not specify the nature of their involvement.

Career graph

  • From 1967 to 1991, He was Member, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly;general Secretary, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC);Maharashtra Secretary, Congress Legislature Party, Maharashtra.
  • From 1972 to 1974, he was Minister of State, Home, Food, Civil Supplies, Rehabilitation, Publicity, Youth Welfare and sports, Government of Maharashtra.
  • From 1974 to 1978, he was Cabinet Minister, Education, Agriculture, Industries, Home, Labour and Youth Welfare, Government of Maharashtra.
  • From 1978 to 1980, 1988 to 1991, and 1993-1995, he was Chief Minister, Maharashtra for four terms.
  • From 1981 to 1986, he was Leader of the Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
  • From 1982 to 1987, he was President, Congress (s).
  • In 1984, he was Elected to the 8th Lok Sabha and resigned in March, 1985.
  • In 1991, he was Re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term).
  • From 1991 to 1993, he was Union Cabinet Minister for Defence.
  • From 1993 to 1995, he was Member, Maharashtra Legislative Council.
  • From 1995 to 1996, he was Leader of the Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council.
  • In 1996, he was Re-elected to the 11th Lok Sabha (3rd term).
  • From 1996 to 1997, he was Member, Committee of Science and Technology, Environment and Forests.
  • In 1998, he was Re-elected to the 12th Lok Sabha (4th term); Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha.
  • From 1998 to 1999, he was Member, General Purposes Committee; Member, Committee on External Affairs and its Sub- Committee-II; Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
  • In 1999, he was Re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha (5th term); Leader, NCP Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha.
  • From 1999 to 2000, he was Member, Committee on Agriculture; Member, General Purposes Committee.
  • From 2000 to 2001, he was Member, Committee on Ethics.
  • In 2004, he was Re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha (6th term) and became the Union Cabinet Minister for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
  • In 2005, he became the Chairman of the Board of Cricket Control, India.
Preceded by Chief Minister of Maharashtra
18 Jul 1978 – 17 Feb 1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Minister of Maharashtra
26 Jun 1988 – 25 Jun 1991 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Minister of Maharashtra
6 Mar 1993 – 14 Mar 1995 		Succeeded by

He has been hailed as the Most Influential Thinker in the 21st century.[citation needed]He is credited with having inspired the historical INDO-US Treaty of 18 July, 2005.[3]He is a prominent Academician, Author, Geographer, Geopolitician, Geostrategist, Philosopher and Poet. His prominent works include "Kyan Waqt Gujar Gayan ?" & "Gaeography, Economics and Economic Geography".His poems display a sincere deep yearning for Universal Peace, Harmony, Coexistence, Love, Religious Tolerance and Deep love for Mother India besides the deep concern for the down-trodden.

A former Indian customs officer, he is well known for The bold seizure of silver illegally landed worth 2.5 Crores effected by him under most adverse circumstances in the dead of the night at a remote sea beach on the Western Indian shores in 1991 at the young age of just 24 years.The Indian Customs authorities have this to say about this splendid accomplishment :"...Shri Sher Singh Parmar then Inspector of Customs Harnai Port...booked a seizure case of smuggled silver worth Rs. 2.50 Crores (Approx.) displaying exemplary bravery, resourcefulness and boldness on at Anjarla - Sawani (Taluka Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri) a remote western Indian Sea-Shore."[citation needed]</ref>

The Sawani-Anjarla Silver Seizure Case:

He joined the Central Excise Department as an inspector,[4] Government of India as an inspector in the year 1989. He exhibited commendable initiative in the collection of intelligence and preventive activities. While working at the Harnai Customs Office, he received an urgent call around 0030 hours on the midnight of 30 January, 1991 to seize the silver that was being landed illegally at Sawani-Anjarle beach, a remote spot some 7-8 kilometre away from the customs office. He immediately rushed to the spot with just one sepoy at his disposal. On reaching the Paj-Anjarle creek, 4 kilometre away from the customs office, with great difficulties he persuaded the Hody Owner to ferry him and his sepoy on to the other side of the creek. Nearing the Landing Spot, he noticed 25-30 smugglers. He had just one sepoy. Time was crucial. It was a no-win situation. However, he decided to take risk to his own life and ordered his sepoy to open fire in different directions at different angles. He himself opened fire from the revolver bursting the tyres of the Vehicles (a truck tempo and a Hero-Honda motorcycle) parked there that were meant to carry the contraband goods and smugglers. He shouted the names of his seniors/juniors/colleagues who were actually not present on the scene. He flashed torchlight from different positions on the beach. He boldly challenged the fleeing smugglers to face him. But, by 0130 hours the smugglers leaving the contraband goods behind fled away thinking that they were attacked by a big force of Customs Officers. This courageous step, exemplary bravery, presence of mind and resourcefulness helped him outwit a well equipped and numerically a bigger number of smugglers. At 0330 hours, he was joined by his another sepoy. He alongwith his sepoys safeguarded the contraband goods till 0700 hours in the morning when the seizure was formally effected after the arrival of a bigger force of Customs Officers on the Landing Spot. This resulted into the seizure of Silver and other contraband goods which were valued at Rupees 2.5 Crores approximately then in 1991.

A firebrand Customs Officer of Pune Customs, he was deployed at the Bankot creek, one of the most vulnerable points along the western Indian coast, in the critical period of January and February, 1993 during the hey days of RDX and other ammunitions smuggling, but he successfully ensured that there was no such incident in his charge. Whereas the Customs Officers of Mumbai Customs just across the Bankot creek fell prey to help the smugglers smuggle-in RDX and other ammunitions which ultimately was used in the inhuman serial bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai in March, 1993 causing enormous death and destruction.[5] Presently, this great Paramara Hero with a frail health but possessing A WILL of IRON and NERVES of STEEL is leading a life of abject economic poverty, deprivation and misery primarily due to unpardonable ignorance of him by Indian Government.[citation needed]

Presidentship of India?

He has declared his intentions to run for Office of President of India after the term of present incumbent Dr. APZ Kalam is over. He has sought support for his candidature from Sonia, NCP, SP, CPI(M) and other political parties.[citation needed] The factors in his favour are: He is not affiliated to any political party, is secular & above party politics, comes from ordinary Indian middle class,is a young dynamic real life hero, a fine intellectual & a passionate humanitarian poet. It remains to be seen how far he succeeds in garnering support for his candidature.Pubilc has voiced support for his bid for top post of Presidenship of India[6][citation needed]

  • 10.Pargat Singh panwar(hockey player)
  • 11.Rajendra Singh panwar (NIIT) chairman
  • 12.Shakti Singh Panwar (CEO) Bliss Intelligent
  • 13.Gurpreet Singh Parmar (CARDIOLOGIST, CANADA)
  • 14.Sanjeev Singh Parmar (CA and solicitor, Canada)
  • 15.Balbir Singh Parmar
  • 16.Arvind Parmar (born 1978 in Hitchin in Hertfordshire) is one of Britain's top tennis players.
  • 17.Monish Parmar(Born 12 April 1988, in Baroda, Gujarat) is a Right-arm offbreak bowler for India. He plays for India Under-19s and Gujarat Under-19s.
  • 18. Dr. Ashok Pawar, director of education, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Krishi Vidyapitha, Dapoli (Maharashtra)
  • 19. Chandmal Parmar, A Jain by religion, noted Jeweller & prominent social worker in Pune.[7][8]
  • 20. Ramesh Powar, Cricket player, Indian Cricket team
  • 21. Babu Amar Singh Panwar (Ujjaini) Younger brother of Veer Kunwar Singh of Bihar.
  • 22. Sri Hardbu Ji Shankla (Panwar) - Renowned Saint
  • 23. Maharaja Manvendra Shah Panwar of Tehri Garhwal (10 Times Sitting MP of Lok Sabaha)
  • 24. Youraj Tookoji Rao Pawar (Dewas), Minister in MP Govt.
  • 25. Rana Chandra Singh Sodha (Parmara)- Ex- Ruler of Amarkot in Pakistan and only Hindu Leader.
  • 26. Bhishm Narayan Singh Panwar (Former Governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam)
  • 27. Kaka Pawar,a wrestler.
  • 28. Tejaswini Sawant Uday Pawar, sports.

See also

List of Rajputs

References

  1. ^ Rediff.com article on Sharad Pawar (dated April 2004)
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ [4]
  6. ^ [5]
  7. ^ [6]
  8. ^ [7]

External links

Further reading/sources

  • 1. P. K. Ravindranath (February 1, 1992) Sharad Pawar- the making of a modern maratha South Asia Books. ISBN 81-85674-46-9


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