(MOREPIC1) Raj Sadosh/Abohar.
Bal Ram Jakhar, one of the tallest parliamentarians and a visionary progressive farmer, who also served as Lok Sabha Speaker for two terms, was fondly remembered by people of his home constituency today. Born at Panjkosi village near here on August 23, 1923, he took his last breath at Delhi on February 3, 2016.
His grandson Sandeep Jakhar, who was last year elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha braving AAP’s unprecedented tsunami said in a social media message, “Remembering my grandfather on his death anniversary. His passion was farming, an avid reader, and loved poetry, especially Urdu & Punjabi. He was magnanimous, foresighted, & had an amazing capacity for hard work.”
People in Panjkosi and Abohar recalled that Bal Ram Jakhar got an honors degree from the prestigious Forman Christian College Lahore in 1945. He assisted uncle Chuni Lal Jakhar in collecting foreign-made clothes and set the same ablaze as a part of the Swadeshi Movement.(SUBHEAD)
Jakhar was one of the few local activists who approached the DAV Colleges Managing Committee to open a college at Abohar to provide higher education to youths who had been going to Ferozepur or Jalandhar earlier.
A close associate of Swami Keshwanand, Bal Ram Jakhar led Bangla Desh Sahayata Samiti when hundreds of people were rendered homeless during the Indo-Pak war in 1971. A year later he was elected to Punjab Vidhan Sabha and served as Deputy Minister.
In 1977 again, he was re-elected MLA despite an anti-Congress storm. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Ferozepur constituency in 1980 recording the highest margin of victory. He served as Speaker of Lok Sabha for two terms till 1989 and then as Agriculture Minister.
A recipient of the Udyan Pandit award, Bal Ram Jakhar was the first to grow fruits in Maujgarh village that was surrounded by sand dunes. He also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.
