M. S. Gill

Manohar Singh Gill
Gill in 2008
Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation of India
In office
19 January 2011 – 12 July 2011
PresidentPratibha Patil
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byShriprakash Jaiswal[a]
Succeeded bySrikant Kumar Jena[a]
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of India
In office
28 May 2009 – 19 January 2011
PresidentPratibha Patil
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Succeeded byAjay Maken[a]
In office
6 April 2008 – 22 May 2009[a]
Preceded byMani Shankar Aiyar
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
10 April 2004 – 9 April 2016
Succeeded byPartap Singh Bajwa
ConstituencyPunjab
11th Chief Election Commissioner of India
In office
12 December 1996 – 13 June 2001
President
Prime Minister
Preceded byT. N. Seshan
Succeeded byJ. M. Lyngdoh
Personal details
BornManohar Singh Gill,
(1936-06-14)14 June 1936
Punjab, British India
Died15 October 2023(2023-10-15) (aged 87)
Delhi, India
PartyIndian National Congress
Spouse
Vinnie Gill
​
(m. 1965)​
Children3
Alma materSt George's College, Mussoorie
(B.A.) (M.A.)
S.C.D Government College, Ludhiana
(PhD) Panjab University[1]
(Diploma) Cambridge University[2]
ProfessionCivil servant, retired IAS officer
AwardsPadma Vibhushan (2000)
a. ^ as Minister of State (Independent Charge)

Manohar Singh Gill was an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1958 batch from Punjab cadre who served as the Sports and Youth Affair minister and Statistical minister of India. He also served as the 11th Chief Election Commissioner of India. His tenure as Election commissioner saw the introduction and implementation of EVMs which were used in first time in the Elections of India.[3]

Early life and education

Manohar Singh Gill was born on 14 June 1936 in Punjab, British India. He attended St. George's College in Mussoorie for his schooling and completed his B.A. from S.C.D Government College in Ludhiana and his PhD from Panjab University. He has also completed his Diploma in Development studies from Cambridge University.[4][5][6]

Civil service and Political career

In 1958, he joined the Indian Administrative Services in Punjab cadre and served in administration at various places in different capacities in undivided Punjab until 1966 when Punjab was trisected to carve out separate states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. His various postings included sub-divisional magistrate in Mahendragarh, now in Haryana, and deputy commissioner of the then Lahaul-Spiti district, now in Himachal Pradesh. He also served as the agriculture secretary of Government of Punjab from 1985 to 1987 under Amarinder Singh, who was then the agriculture minister of Punjab.[7]

Gill was appointed as 11th Chief Election Commissioner of India from 1996 to 2001, succeeding T. N. Seshan. His major achievement was the introduction of electronic voting machines, which curbed malpractices to a large extent. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his work in this post.[8] At the 300-year anniversary of the Khalsa, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Khalsa.[9]

Upon his retirement from the election commission, he joined politics with the Indian National Congress. In 2004, he was nominated by the party for the election to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab.[10][11] He was re-elected in 2010 and continued to serve as its member until his retirement upon completion of his tenure on 9 April 2016. In a cabinet reshuffle held on 6 April 2008, he was inducted to the union council of ministers as Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.[12][13]

Following the Congress Party's victory in the 2009 Indian election, he was re-inducted into the council of ministers and held cabinet rank in the second term. He continued to serve as the minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. It was during this tenure that India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi which also contributed to concerns and controversies, including several allegations of corruption and mismanagement which later led to his removal from the ministry in a cabinet reshuffle in January 2011.[14][12][15][16]

Gill was then appointed as Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 19 January 2011 and served until his resignation on 12 July 2011.[17][18]

Death

M. S. Gill died on 15 October 2023, at the age of 87.[19][20]

Books authored

In 1972, Gill authored the book Himalayan Wonder: Travels in Lahaul and Spiti, recounting stories from his days as a young IAS officer in the Lahaul-and-Spiti district, then in Punjab.[21] He wrote another book based on that period titled Tales from the Hills: Lahaul's Enduring Myths and Legends (2014).[22]

Awards and recognition

References

  1. ^ "Manohar Singh Gill.pdf" (PDF). My Neta. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Obituaries - Reporting 6719". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Council of Ministers – Who's Who – Government: National Portal of India". india.gov.in. Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Obituaries - Reporting 6719". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Manohar Singh Gill.pdf" (PDF). My Neta. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Manohar Singh Gill Birthday: Must-Know Facts About India's Former Election Commissioner". Free Press Journal. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. ^ "MS Gill, the man who introduced EVMs, passes away". Hindustan Times. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  9. ^ Singh, Ranjit (2008). "Manohar Singh Gill". Sikh Achievers. New Delhi: Hemkunt Press. p. 122-123. ISBN 978-81-7010-365-3.
  10. ^ "Former chief election commissioner and Congress leader MS Gill passes away". The Indian Express. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Former Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill Passes Away". The Wire. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b "2010 CWG preparation is on schedule: MS Gill". The Times of India. 24 November 2008. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  13. ^ Sharma, Aman Dhall & Shantanu Nandan (4 October 2009). "I am the last batsman in: MS Gill". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Dr MS Gill: A man of many parts". The Indian Express. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  15. ^ "FACTBOX-India PM tweaks cabinet amid graft, inflation". Reuters. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Indian PM reshuffles cabinet amid rising food prices". BBC News. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Former Chief Election Commissioner M.S. Gill Passes Away". The Wire. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Dr MS Gill: A man of many parts". The Indian Express. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Former chief election commissioner and Congress leader MS Gill passes away". The Indian Express. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Manohar Singh Gill Death News: Former chief election commissioner MS Gill passes away at 87 — India News". The Times of India. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  21. ^ Gill, Manohar Singh (2010). Himalayan Wonderland: Travels in Lahaul and Spiti. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-670-08413-5.
  22. ^ "Legends of Lahaul". Deccan Herald. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
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