Sukh Ram Age, Death, Caste, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Other Name(s)	Sukhram [1]ABP Live
Full name	Sukh Ram Sharma [2]Aaj Tak
Profession(s)	Politician and Agriculturist
Names Earned	• King of Mandi [3]Hindustan Times • Kingmaker of Himachal [4]Hindustan Times • Pandit Sukh Ram [5]India Today
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet & inches- 5’ 5”
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Politics
Political Party	Indian National Congress (1962-1997), (2019-May 2022) Himachal Vikas Congress (6 July 1997-dissolved in 2004) Bharatiya Janata Party (2017–2019)
Political Journey	Political Journey 1962-63: Member, Territorial Council, Himachal Pradesh 1963-85: Member, Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly 1967-72/1980-85: Minister, Himachal Pradesh (held various portfolios) 1972-77: General Secretary, PCC(I), Himachal Pradesh 1985: Elected to Lok Sabha (Eighth) Sep 1985-Oct 1986: Union Minister of State, Defence Production and Supplies Oct 1986-Feb 1988: Union Minister of State, Planning Feb 1988-Dec 1989: Union Minister of State, Food and Civil Supplies (Independent) 1991: Re-elected to Lok Sabha (Tenth) July 1992-Jan 1993: Union Minister of State, Planning and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) and Minister of State, Non-conventional Energy Sources Jan 1993-May 1996: Union Minister of State, Communications (Independent Charge) 1996: Elected to Lok Sabha (Eleventh) for the third time 1997: Split from Congress 6 July 1997: Formed an independent political party Himachal Vikas Congress 1998: Post poll alliance with the BJP 1998: Contested the Assembly Elections from Mandi Sadar (won by a huge margin of 22000+ votes) 2004: Himachal Vikas Congress merged with Congress 2007: Announced retirement from electoral politics 2017: Joined the BJP 2019: Rejoined the Congress Party
Personal Life
Date of Birth	27 July 1927 (Wednesday)
Birthplace	Arnyana, Tungal (Kotli), Mandi, Punjab Province (British India) (now Himachal Pradesh, India)
Date of Death	11 May 2022
Place of Death	AIIMS, New Delhi
Age (at the time of death)	94 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac Arrest [6]The Tribune
Zodiac sign	Leo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Arnyana, Tungal (Kotli), Mandi, Punjab Province (British India) (now Himachal Pradesh, India)
College/University	• Panjab University, Chandigarh • Faculty of Law, Delhi University
Educational Qualification(s)	• BA from Panjab University, Chandigarh • LLB from Faculty of Law, Delhi University, Delhi [7]Hindustan Times
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Brahmin [8]The Indian Express
Address	Samkhetar Street, Mandi Town-175001, Himachal Pradesh
Controversy	Sentenced to Jail In 2002, he was convicted of causing loss of Rs 1.66 crore to the Indian government and was sentenced to three years in jail. Reportedly, the loss occurred after Sukh Ram gave the contract to supply communication equipments to a Hyderabad-based firm. Sukh Ram was again sentenced to jail for five years in 2011 for his involvement in corruption which was conducted while he was serving as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in 1996. He was convicted of taking Rs 3 lakh as a bribe from a private firm Haryana Telecom Ltd (HTL) for giving a contract of Rs 30 crore to supply 3.5 lakh conductor kilometres (LCKM) of Polythene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cables to the Telecom Department. [9]Firstpost As per a leading newspaper, during the hearing of his case in the Delhi Court, Sukh Ram said, "I(Sukhram) am an 86-year-old person and attending the trial for the past 12 to 13 years. I suffer from old age-related ailments and have lost my wife. Therefore, a lenient view may be taken. As such it is not a case where the government has lost any money. The CBI allegation was that he (Sukhram) took bribe but no financial loss has been caused to the Government exchequer.” In reply, the CBI prosecutor said, "He is a “habitual offender” and sought maximum punishment for him.” While talking to the reporters, Sukh Ram said, "Despite the fact that age is not on my side, I have not lost hope for justice. I am the victim of a political conspiracy. My fight will continue till I come out clean from the court of law.” After he was sentenced to jail, he was slapped and kicked by a man named Harvinder Singh on the premises of a Delhi court.
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Widower
Marriage Date	6 August 1953
Family
Wife/Spouse	Late Ram Devi
Children	He had two sons and three daughters. One of his sons Anil Sharma is a politician (member of the BJP), agriculturist, businessman. [10]Hindustan Times
Parents	Father- Late Bhav Dev Mother- Name Not Known
Siblings	He had nine siblings.
Other Relative(s)	Grandson(s)- 2 • Aashray Sharma (politician) • Aayush Sharma (actor; married to Arpita Khan)
Money Factor
Assets/Properties (as of 2009)	Movable Assets Cash- Rs 3.61 crore Jewelry- Rs 10.29 lakh Bank Deposits- Rs 4.29 lakh Household Articles- Rs 10.30 lakh Immovable Assets Properties: Rs 4.25 crore [11]The Economic Times

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sukh Ram

• Sukh Ram was an Indian politician and agriculturist. He is known for bringing a revolution in the telecom industry in India during his tenure as the Minister of Communications and Information Technology from 1993 to 1996.

• In 1953, after completing his graduation in law, he started practising as a lawyer at the Mandi District law courts.

• He started his political career with Congress, and later, due to a tiff in the party, he left Congress in 1997. However, he rejoined the party in 2019.

• After a successful tenure with his independent political party Himachal Vikas Congress, he merged the party with Congress in 2004.

• He had a successful political career with the BJP and served as the Power Minister, Himachal Pradesh.
  

  An old photo of Sukh Ram

• He is considered one of the key persons in bringing mobile phones to India. In an interview, he said,
  

  Once I had gone to Japan as Telecom Minister. I saw that the driver had kept the mobile phone in his pocket. Seeing this I felt that if Japan can have this technology, then why not in India.”

• He was related to Salman Khan’s family as Salman’s sister Arpita Khan is married to his grandson Aayush Sharma.

• On 4 May 2022, Sukh Ram had a brain stroke and was immediately admitted to a regional hospital in Mandi. Himachal Pradesh. His condition went critical, and he was airlifted to the AIIMS, Delhi. After being on a ventilator for two days, he died of a massive cardiac arrest on 11 May 2022.

• His grandson Aashray Sharma confirmed the news of his demise on Twitter. He tweeted,
  

  End of an era. Alvida Dada ji abi nhi bjegi phone ki ghanti (good by Dada ji, now the bell of your phone will not ring.”

• Sukh Ram’s other grandson Aayush took to Instagram to share the news.
  

  Aayush Sharma’s Instagram post for Sukh Ram