Jagmohan

Jagmohan
5th Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
In office
19 January 1990 – 26 May 1990
Preceded by K. V. Krishna Rao
Succeeded by Girish Chandra Saxena
In office
26 April 1984 – 11 July 1989
Preceded by Braj Kumar Nehru
Succeeded by K. V. Krishna Rao
6th Lieutenant Governor of Delhi
In office
2 September 1982 – 25 April 1984
Preceded by Sundar Lal Khurana
Succeeded by P. G. Gavai
In office
17 February 1980 – 30 March 1981
Preceded by Dalip Rai Kohli
Succeeded by Sundar Lal Khurana
9th Lieutenant Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu
In office
31 March 1981 – 29 August 1982
Preceded by P. S. Gill
Succeeded by I. H. Latif
Personal details
Born 25 September 1927 (age 86)
Hafizabad, Punjab, India
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party

Jagmohan Malhotra (born 25 September 1927 in Hafizabad), known by the mononym Jagmohan, is a former Indian politician and civil servant. Formerly a loyalist of the Nehru–Gandhi family associated with the Indian National Congress, later in his career he switched allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Jagmohan first gained notoriety during his stint as vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority in the mid 1970s. During this time he grew close to Sanjay Gandhi, who began to wield increasing clout in the functioning of his mother Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government. During the Emergency (1975–77), Sanjay Gandhi entrusted Jagmohan with the "beautification" of Delhi, a task that involved large-scale demolition of slums. These beautification drives disproportionately affected Muslims, traditionally Congress-party voters, whose disenchantment contributed to Indira Gandhi's massive defeat in the 1977 general election.[1] Despite this Jagmohan, already a Padma Shri since 1971, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1977.

In 1982, as Delhi hosted the Asian Games, Jagmohan served his second term as the city's Lieutenant Governor. The games were a success and he was credited for his capable administration of the city at the time. Later Delhi hosted the Non-Aligned Summit, which was also a success.

During his tenure as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (1984–89), Kashmir was very peaceful and the local masses liked him for his no-nonsense approach. However when he was appointed the Governor again in 1990, the state was in grip of militancy; he was appointed against the wishes of the Chief Minister of the state Faroq Abdullah who resigned from his post in protest. Jagmohan was expected to be received warmly by the local people owing to his previous record, but unfortunately he got embroiled into controversies from his very beginning; More than 50 people were killed in firing on protestors in Gawkadal area of Srinagar on the second day of Jagmohans appointment. This was followed by more such incidents in which unarmed civilians were killed in firing by security forces personnel. Jagmohan became very unpopular for all these as it was felt that he had given the security forces unlimited powers to quell the revolt that was raging in the state against Indian rule. Eventually, he had to be removed by the central government for his failure in tackling the insurgency-- it was thought that he had alienated the local masses more . He created a board that continues to provide administration for a shrine Mata Vaishnao Devi, one of the most revered religious places of Hindus . Infrastructure was developed and that continues to facilitate pilgrims. However, allegations persist that he was involved in extra-legal crackdowns in Kashmir engineered by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.[2] In 1989, when militancy re-exploded in Kashmir, Jagmohan was removed as its Governor by Prime Minister V. P. Singh's government. Till then Jagmohan had enjoyed the confidence of Congress, including Indira Gandhi's other son Rajiv Gandhi. However, he fell out with them due to different views on Jammu and Kashmir, and joined their rivals the BJP.

When the BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister in 1998, Jagmohan served in his cabinet in a variety of portfolios, including communications, urban development and tourism. During the 1990s, Jagmohan had served as nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha from 1990–96, and won a hat-trick of Lok Sabha elections from New Delhi (1996, 1998 and 1999).

Positions held

Books authored

References

  1. ↑ , "Slum demolitions in Delhi since the 1990s: An Appraisal" by Veronique Dupont, EPW, 12 July 2008, pages 84–85.
  2. ↑ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mufti-and-jagmohan-ordered-massacres-in-j&k-in-the-90s-omar-abdullah/1/188759.html