Dr. Ramjilal
(Samajweekly) It is a well known fact that the Speaker (Chairman) of the Indian Lok Sabha or State Assembly is addressed as Speaker in English. Like the Speaker of the House of Commons of England, the Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha or State Assembly is a prominent person. He or she is regarded as the first member of the House. He is the representative of pride, honour and dignity of the House. Jawaharlal Nehru said about the Speaker of the House of Representatives, (The Indian Lok Sabha ), ‘’The Speaker represents the House. He represents the pride and independence of the House because the House is a symbol of the nation in a special way and the Speaker is a symbol of the independence and freedom of the nation.’’Almost, the above views are applicable to the Speaker of the Assembly as well. Haryana was established on 1st November, 1966. From 1966 to 2024, 15 elections of Haryana Legislative Assembly have been completed. A Speaker is required to run the Assembly program smoothly. The Chairman of the Legislative Assembly is called Speaker in English language, but in reality, the Speaker is the person who speaks the least in the Assembly. From 1966 to 2024, 20 persons have been Speakers of the Assembly. The credit of being the first Speaker of Haryana Legislative Assembly (first woman Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in India) goes to Mrs. Shanno Devi (Kaithal) who held this post from 6th December, 1966 to 17th March, 1966. Kaithal district was established on 1st November, 1989. Earlier, it was a subdivision of Karnal district. The credit of being the first Speaker from Karnal district also goes to Mrs. Shanno Devi. This seems to be an amazing achievement in the then society of Haryana because after this, till date, no woman has been elected as Speaker in Haryana. At present, there are 13 women MLAs in the Haryana Assembly, but not a single woman has been elected Speaker or Deputy Speaker. On 25th October, 2024 Gharaunda MLA, Harvinder Singh Kalyan, was unanimously elected as the Speaker. Harvinder Kalyan is the third person from Karnal district and the second person from the Ror community to be elected Speaker of the Haryana Assembly. It is important to mention here that apart from Mrs. Shanno Devi and Ch. Ishwar Singh (Ror community), some speakers have been, directly or indirectly, related to Karnal district. For example, S. Tara Singh (MLA Shahabad— Residence Karnal— 24th June, 1982- 9th July, 1987-, S. Harmohinder Singh Chattha (MLA Pehowa and former student of Dyal Singh College, Karnal—9th July, 1987 to 9th July, 1996, and 28th October, 1909 to 28th January, 2011) have been on the post of Speaker. Similarly, Ch. Ishwar Singh (MLA Pundri—9th July, 1991 to 22nd July, 1996),and Kuldeep Sharma (MLA Ganaur, Residence and Advocate Karnal—4th March, 2011 to 2nd November, 2014) have been in this post.
Political Background
Harvinder Singh Kalyan belongs to a famous political family of Karnal district. His grandfather Ch. Multan Singh was the Deputy Speaker of Haryana Assembly four and a half decades ago. Ch. Multan Singh was associated with the then national leaders–Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sir Chhotu Ram, Ranvir Singh Hooda, Devi Lal, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Jawaharlal Nehru had sent Mrs. Indira Gandhi to meet Ch. Multan Singh during the Indo-China War (1962). He was a well-known and famous Bhu-Daani in Haryana region of the Bhudan movement run under the leadership of Vinoba Bhave. Kalyan’s father Ch. Devi Singh was also a player in politics. He had personal relations with the then Chief Minister of Haryana Bhajan Lal. During the tenure of Ch. Bhajan Lal as Chief Minister, Ch. Devi Singh was Chairman of Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Limited (Haryana Government). What we mean to say is that politics is embedded in the DNA of Harvinder Kalyan. Besides, his wife Mrs. Reshma Kalyan also belongs to a famous political family of Maharashtra and his only daughter, Aishna is also married into a political family of Maharashtra. His wife, Mrs. Reshma’s (writer, painter, story writer), father Manohar Raju Singh Naik is a famous and popular politician of the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra. The Naik family has continuously won Pusad (Pusad – Vidhan Sabha constituency) since 1952 and Manohar Naik has won elections from 1995 to 1999, 2004-2009, 2009- 2014, and 2014-2019 and has also been a minister in the Maharashtra government. He is the nephew of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vasantrao Naik and brother of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sudhakar Rao Naik. As a matter of fact, Kalyan has the dedicated support of his wife and daughter in active politics.
Personal life
Harvinder Singh Kalyan (born 15 January 1967) was born in Kutail village near Police Training College, Madhuban in Karnal district. His father, Choudhary Devi Singh Kalyan was also a leading politician. In1985, Harvinder Singh Kalyan enrolled for Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) degree from Babasaheb Naik College of Engineering, Pusad (BNCOE, Pusad -) from Pusad (Yavatmal District) town of Maharashtra and obtained Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) degree. Though a Civil Engineer by profession yet he is a famous signature of Karnal district in ‘social engineering in politics’. Kalyan is blessed with a great personality. His personality is attractive, cheerful and magnetic. He is very gentle, honest and popular politician. I have had discussions with him on many political matters which clearly show that he the politics not for business for him, but for public welfare service. His three-time (2014, 2019 and 2024) electoral victory proves my hypothesis.
Political Journey
Harvinder Singh Kalyan’s political journey started from Youth Congress. The main condition for achieving success in political life is that a politician should have knowledge of the people and problems of his constituency. To obtain this information, Kalyan undertook a padyatra of 104 villages in 2004 and established direct contact with the common man. There are currently 108 villages and 250 polling booths in the Gharaunda constituency. Kalyan has completed information about every village from Gadhi Khajur to Hasanpur or Khora Khedi in his constituency. He keeps visiting villages regularly. In 2009, he contested the election as a Bahujan Samajwadi Party candidate, but he did not succeed. He did not lose courage and continued public relations with a mission to serve the masses. Consequently, he continuously won the elections as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, 2019 and 2024. Harvinder Singh Kalyan's Success: Role of NGO– Varittra NGO– Varittra also plays very instrumental and significant role in Harvinder Singh Kalyan;s consecutive political victory. In\ 2018,Varittra was founded by his daughter, Ayshna and Baljeet Yadav. Both of them are the founding directors of this organization. Ayshna has studied developmental studies from England whereas Baljeet Yadav has studied social welfare from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Both of them are running this organization very well for social welfare. The author is the senior honorary director of this organization. The main objective of this organization is to improve government schools, establish libraries, run coaching classes for children in the evening, and empower women and make them self-reliant. From 2018 to 2024, this organization has established libraries in more than 20 schools of Gharaunda constituency and has tried to beautify the schools through paintings. The free coaching classes are held regularly in the evening and educated youth and girls of the village are recruited to teach the children. They are also given honorarium as per their qualification. This is a strange, but true that at present, even in rural areas, graduate and post-graduate boys and girls are unemployed. In Gharaunda constituency, more than 1,000 women have learned or are learning sewing in 100 sewing centers .The Varittra aims at women empowerment and self-reliance. Not only this, but in the year 2023 – 2024, the eyes of more than 13,000 children have been tested by eye specialists and free spectacles have been distributed to more than 1,000 children. Annual conferences are held in these centers in which people from nearby villages are also invited. As a result, social and political awareness also spreads in the area through these centers. The Varittra promotes secularism on the basis of unity in diversity. Due to this, Harvinder Singh Kalyan's daughter is a role model and most popular face in the society. Leaving a job of a multinational company worth lakhs of rupees a month and being engaged in this work is a matter of honor and respect. She plays a leading role during elections. I request the politicians to do public welfare work through non- governmental organizations in their respective constituencies so that they can make a place in the hearts of the people. Main Priorities of Harvinder Singh Kalyan: Harvinder Singh Kalyan considers the State Assembly as the ‘temple of democracy’.Being a member of the Assembly from 2014 to 2024, he has a lot of knowledge of the rules of the parliamentary system. As a result, it is expected that he will work impartially .He has also promised that he will give all the MLAs an opportunity to speak. His first priority is to organize orientation classes and workshops for the members of the Assembly so that the newly elected 40 MLAs can be made aware of the parliamentary system and the rules of the working of the Assembly. The second priority is to get the new building of Haryana Assembly constructed because with the increasing population, the number of members of the Assembly will also increase and the current Assembly is small for that change. The third priority is that he will try to bring as many schemes as possible in Karnal district, especially in his own constituency so that the youth can get employment. But, the most important challenge before him is to make the members of the Assembly regular and disciplined. Ultimately, our wish is that Harvinder Singh Kalyan will live up to public sentiments and enhance the dignity of the post of Speaker.
Dr. Ramjilal, Social Scientist, Former Principal, Dyal Singh College, Karnal (Haryana-India)
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