During his tenure as Education Minister in Uttar Pradesh, he took some landmark decisions like introducing the Anti-Copying Act and Vedic Mathematics in the syllabus and correcting various distorted portions of history textbooks.
In March 1997, when he became State President of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP, he provided exemplary leadership in expanding the party’s base and strengthening the organisation. He played a key role in saving the BJP-led Government twice during the political crisis.
In November 1999, he became Union Minister of Surface Transport in Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. He subsequently became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, in October 2000.
In 2003, Shri Rajnath Singh became Minister of Agriculture in Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet at the Centre.
In his role as Minister of Union Surface Transport, he initiated the NHDP (National Highway Development Programme), a dream project of Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
As Union Minister of Agriculture and subsequently, for Food Processing, he spearheaded epoch-making projects like the Kisan Call Centre and the Farm Income Insurance Scheme.
In his role as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and later as Union Minister with different portfolios, he worked to strengthen the democratic edifice of the country and was devoted to the welfare of people, especially the marginalised sections of society.
Similarly, as national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he worked tirelessly, in the true spirit of a dedicated organisational leader, to strengthen the party and take its ideology to every corner of the country.
As BJP National President, he travelled extensively across the country, strengthening the party’s organisational presence and engaging with people across different States. He also embarked on the Bharat Suraksha Yatra, which covered several States, taking up the cause of increasing terrorist activities and threats to internal security.
He laid emphasis on the issues of public interest like spiralling prices of essential commodities, farmers’ grievances and cynical minorityism practised by the UPA Government.
In 2014, he became Union Minister of Home Affairs in the Shri Narendra Modi government and in 2019 was made Raksha Mantri of the country.
In his entire public life, Shri Rajnath Singh has stressed the need for “credibility” in political life. In his several speeches, he has remarked that the politics in the country is facing a “crisis of credibility” due to the difference between words and deeds of the politicians, and this needs to be checked.
A firm believer in the greatness of India’s cultural heritage, he has always motivated the youth of the country to take inspiration from India’s ancient history and cultural heritage. He believes that any pursuit of modernisation is futile without knowing, acknowledging and respecting our civilisational values.
Shri Rajnath Singh believes in debates and deliberations, consensus and cooperation as the bedrock of thriving democracy. When in 1975 the National Emergency was imposed by then Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi, he vehemently opposed the move. He was arrested in 1975 and was in detention for almost two years.
Another cause that is close to his heart is the empowerment of women. In 2007, as BJP National President, he proposed a 33 per cent reservation for women in the party set-up. As Home Minister of the country, in 2015 he announced 33 per cent reservations for women in all paramilitary forces, including the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
He firmly believes that India has potential and spirit, and is destined to be the Vishwa Guru – a world leader. He believes that ‘Aatmanirbharta’—self-reliance is the path to achieving this status. So, when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave a clarion call for ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan ’, he wholeheartedly supported it.
Prompting the spirit of ‘Make in India’ and ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat ’, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in August 2020 decided to ban the import of 101 defence-related items, and in May 2021 it was decided that another set of 108 military weapons and systems, including next-generation corvettes, airborne early warning systems, tank engines and radars, will be entirely made in India.
Shri Rajnath Singh was born on 10 July 1951 in the Bhabhuara village of Uttar Pradesh. Born into a family of farmers, Rajnath Singh grew up to secure a master’s degree in physics from Gorakhpur University and served as a lecturer of Physics at K.B. Post-Graduate College, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
Even after being in politics for more than five decades, the teacher in him remains alive. And that is the reason why he loves to interact with students and the youth of the country. He never misses an invitation to be part of a convocation or interaction with the youth and students.
As Defence Minister, he has undertaken several initiatives to increase women’s participation in various departments and field operations. He proposed inducting women as soldiers into the Indian Army’s Corps of Military Police. The decision to recruit a total of 1,700 women military personnel was also made under his leadership.
Steps like increasing the tenure of women officers in SSC from 10 to 14 years and improving their promotional prospects in the Army have also been taken since he assumed the office of Raksha Mantri. As Raksha Mantri, he is working towards strengthening ‘Nari Shakti’ in the Indian Armed Forces.
His dream is to see India as a country that provides leadership to the world not only in the economic fields but in all walks of life.
Shri Rajnath Singh’s political life is a clear emulation of the idea of “Antyodaya”— the rise of the last person- the political philosophy of Shri Deendayal Upadhyaya.
