Ram Shankar Katheria

Summary

Ram Shankar Katheria (born 21 September 1964), is an Indian politician and former Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He is a member of the 17th Lok Sabha of India representing Etawah constituency of Uttar Pradesh. He represented the Agra constituency of Uttar Pradesh previously. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[2] He was a Minister of State in the Human Resource Development Ministry till 6 July 2016.[3]

Ram Shankar Katheria
Ram Shankar Katheria in 2018
Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
Assumed office
31 May 2017 - 30 May 2020 [1]
Succeeded byVijay Sampla
Minister of State for Human Resource Development
In office
26 May 2014 – 5 July 2016
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byShashi Tharoor
Succeeded byMahendra Nath Pandey
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
23 May 2019
Preceded byAshok Kumar Doharey
ConstituencyEtawah
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
16 May 2009 – 23 May 2019
Preceded byRaj Babbar
Succeeded byS.P. Singh Baghel
ConstituencyAgra
Personal details
Born (1964-09-21) 21 September 1964 (age 59)
Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India
CitizenshipIndia
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Spouse
Mridula Katheria
(m. 2001)
Children3
Residence(s)Agra and New Delhi[2]
Alma materKanpur University
ProfessionProfessor, Politician
CommitteesMember of four committees[2]

Life edit

Katheria was born in Nagriya Sarawa village, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh on 21 September 1964 to Sone Lal and Shanti Devi.[2] He spent his early years at the local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) unit, which also facilitated his education. He holds PhD from Kanpur University.[4] He worked as a pracharak of the RSS in Agra for 13 years.[5]

Before joining politics, he was a Professor of Hindi at the Agra University where he has taught Dalit Chetna (Dalit upliftment) and wrote several books on the subject.[2][5]

On 17 February 2001, he married Mridula Katheri, with whom he has two sons and one daughter.[2][6]

Political career edit

Katheria was appointed as a National General-Secretary of the BJP in August 2014 and, in October, he was made in charge of the Chhattisgarh and Punjab states.[5] However, in his November cabinet expansion, Narendra Modi inducted Katheria as a Minister of State in the Human Resource Development Ministry,[3] where he served till 6 July 2016.[7]

# From To Position
01 2009 2014 Member, 15th Lok Sabha
02 2009 2014 Member, Committee on Urban Development
03 2009 2014 Member, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table
04 2009 2014 Member, Committee on Petitions
05 2009 2014 Member, Consultative Committee on Rural Development
06 2017 2020 Chair, National Commission for Scheduled Castes[8]

Controversies edit

Katheria has been charged with forging two of his degree mark-sheets (for BA and MA) allegedly to secure a job at the Agra University. The case is being heard in an Agra court. Katheria has also listed 20 other pending cases against him in his election affidavit.[9]

Publications edit

Katheria has written four books.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Ram Shankar Katheria, former union minister, appointed as chief of NCSC". 31 May 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Katheria, Prof. (Dr.) Ram Shankar". 164.100.47.194. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b "2 profs to help Yale returned Smriti Irani". Deccan Chronicle. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b Layak, Suman (10 July 2016). "Cabinet reshuffle: Modi government's got talent but is it being fully utilised?". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "For charge of states, Amit Shah puts most faith in UP leaders". Indian Express. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Dr. Ramshankar Katheria Factsheet". Elections.in. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  7. ^ PTI (12 July 2016). "Najma Heptulla, G M Siddeshwara resign from Modi Cabinet". India Today. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Former union minister to head national commission for schedule caste". Deccan Herald. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Smriti Irani's new deputy at HRD ministry, an Agra University professor, accused of forging BA and MA marksheets". India Today. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.