Bhagat Singh Koshyari Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Birth name	Hayat Singh Koshyari [1]Amarujala
Nickname	Bhagat Da [2]Amarujala
Profession(s)	Politician, Social Activist, Teacher, Journalist
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
Politics
Political Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (1980s-2019)
Political Journey	• Contested and lost the Lok Sabha elections on BJP’s ticket from the Almora constituency (1989) • Became a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (1997) • Served as Minister of Energy, Irrigation, Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs (November 2000 - October 2001) • Became the 2nd Chief Minister of Uttarakhand (30 October 2001 - 1 March 2002) • Contested and won the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha elections on BJP’s ticket from the Kapkot constituency (2002) • Contested and won the Uttarakhand assembly elections from the Kapkot constituency (2007) • Served as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand (26 November 2008 – 16 May 2014) • Contested and won the Lok Sabha elections on BJP’s ticket from the Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar constituency (2014)
Constitutional Posts
Post(s)	• 22nd Governor of Maharashtra (5 September 2019 - 12 February 2023) • Governor (additional charge) of Goa (18 August 2020 - 6 July 2021)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	17 June 1942 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2022)	80 Years
Birthplace	Palanadhura Chetabgarh, Bageshwar District, United Provinces, British India (now Uttarakhand, India)
Zodiac sign	Gemini
Signature
Nationality	• British Indian (1942-1947) • Indian (1947-present)
Hometown	Bageshwar, Uttarakhand
School	• Junior high school in Shama, Uttarakhand • High school in Kapkot, Uttarakhand • Senior Secondary in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
College/University	Almora College
Educational Qualification(s)	• BA in English • MA in English [3]MyNeta
Religion	Hinduism [4]Amarujala
Caste	Rajput [5]Hindustan Times
Food Habit	Vegetarian
Address	B-187, Sector- 4, Defence Colony, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Pin 248001
Hobbies	Reading and Trekking
Controversies	A tenure riddled with controversies: Bhagat Singh Koshyari often made headlines after assuming the governorship of Maharashtra. Many political parties often complained about his political biasedness. In 2019, when there was a conflict going on between the BJP and Shiv Sena over the selection of the Chief Ministerial candidate, Bhagat Singh was accused by many Shiv Sena politicians of adhering to the demands of the BJP and administering the hush-hush swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Devendra, however, stepped down from the post a few days later, paving way for Uddhav Thackeray to become the CM of Maharashtra. [6]The Tribune Bhagat Singh attracted controversy in 2020 when he wrote a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray, asking him to allow the Hindus to visit temples during the lockdown due to the second wave of COVID-19. In the letter, he asked if Uddhav had turned secular as he was not reopening the temples. Later, many politicians, including Sharad Pawar, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to take strict action against Bhagat Singh Koshyari for the language he used in the letter. In November 2020, Koshyari was accused by the Maharashtra government of deliberately holding his decision over the appointment of twelve nominees for the legislative council for more than a year and a half. According to sources, he withheld his decision despite orders from the Bombay High Court and reminders from the state government. According to the Indian constitution, a governor has to clear the names of the nominees recommended by the state government for the legislative council within a given time. In 2021, he once again made headlines after the staff of the Governor's official plane boarded him off on the orders of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). According to sources, Koshyari was using his official plane without seeking clearance from the Maharashtra government to attend a program in Mussoorie. Koshyari hit the headlines after he made a controversial remark about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during an event in Aurangabad in 2022. While giving a speech, Koshyari said that without his guru saint Samarth Ramdas, Shivaji would not have made his mark in the history of India. Talking about it, he said, "Many maharajas and chakravartis (emperors) were born on this land. But, who would have asked about Chandragupta had there not been Chanakya? Who would have asked about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had there not been Samarth (Ramdas)." His remark on Shivaji was criticised by many politicians and Maratha groups, who said that Shivaji was not educated and trained by Ramdas but by his mother Rajmata Jijau. He once again attracted criticism after he made fun of Savitribai Phule's child marriage while inaugurating her statue in Pune in 2022. In his statement, he said, "Savitribai was married off when she was ten years old…and her husband (Jyotiba) was 13 years old. Now imagine, what would the boy and girls have been doing after marriage. What would they have been thinking?" He was once again criticised in 2022 for saying that Mumbai would cease to exist as the financial capital of India if all the Gujaratis and Rajasthanis left Maharashtra. While giving an interview, he said, "I tell people here that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Thane, you will have no money and Mumbai will not be a financial capital." After his remark met with severe criticism, Bhagat Singh Koshyari apologized. In November 2022, while presenting Nitin Gadkari with a D.Litt degree, he once again gave a controversial remark about Shivaji Maharaj, calling him an "icon of the past." He further said that while Shivaji is an inspiration of the old days, politicians like Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari were present-day idols. Talking about it, he said, "Earlier, when you would be asked who is your icon — Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Mahatma Gandhi used to be the answers. Whereas in Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere (as) there are so many icons here… while Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of olden times, there are icons such as Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari in modern times." For the statement, Koshyari was not only criticised by senior leaders of parties like the Shiv Sena and NCP but also by BJP. While many leaders demanded his resignation, some demanded that he be transferred to a different state. [7]The Indian Express Talking about it, in an interview, a senior BJP leader named Praveen Darekar said, "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj cannot be compared with anybody. We worship him and he is our idol. He remains a great inspiration and guide to all leaders and individuals in Maharashtra, across the country, and abroad. Comparing Shivaji with Gadkari would be totally wrong…"
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Family
Wife/Spouse	N/A
Parents	Father- Gopal Singh Koshyari (deceased; farmer) Mother- Motima Devi (deceased; homemaker)
Siblings	Brother(s)- 2 • Nandan Singh Koshyari (younger; journalist) • Jagat Singh Namti (younger) Sister(s)- 8 • Parvati Koshyari (deceased)
Money Factor
Salary (approx.)	His salary as the Governor of Maharashtra was estimated to be Rs. 3.50 lakhs in 2022. [8]The Hindu
Assets/Properties	Movable Assets • Cash: Rs. 50,000 • Bank Deposits: Rs. 18,12,703 Immovable Assets • Agricultural Land: Rs. 3,00,000 • Commercial Buildings: Rs. 30,00,000 • Residential Buildings: Rs. 4,00,000 [9]MyNeta
Net Worth (approx.)	In 2014, his net worth was around Rs. 55,62,703. [10]MyNeta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bhagat Singh Koshyari

• Bhagat Singh Koshyari is an Indian teacher, journalist, activist, and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician who became the 22nd Governor of Maharashtra in 2019. He came into the limelight for resigning from the post of Governor of Maharashtra in 2023 after his remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji, whom he described as the “icon of olden times,” triggered protests from the opposition parties.

• In 1961, he was appointed as Almora College student union’s general secretary. He was a member of the student union till 1962

• From 1964 to 1965, he served as an English teacher at the R. Inter College in Raja Ka Rampur, Etah, Uttar Pradesh.

• He established Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, after he quit his job at R. Inter College. He later founded Vivekanand Vidya Mandir Inter College in Pithoragarh and Saraswati Vihar Higher Secondary School in Nainital.

• In 1966, he served as a pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Uttarakhand.

• Through Parvat Piyush, his 1975 established weekly newspaper agency, Bhagat Singh used to raise the concerns faced by the residents of Uttarakhand. He has also worked as a columnist for several regional and national newspapers.

• As an RSS volunteer, he participated in several anti-emergency protests against the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi. For his participation in the anti-emergency protests, Bhagat Singh Koshyari was jailed from 3 July 1975 to 23 March 1977 under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) at the Fatehgarh Central jail.

• In 1989, he received a ticket from the BJP to contest the general elections from the Almora constituency against the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Harish Chandra Rawat who defeated Bhagat in the polls.

• As a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), Bhagat entered the UP Vidhan Sabha in 1997.

• He served as the Petition Committee’s member from 1997 to 1999.

• From 1997 to 1998, he served on the Committee on Delegated Legislation as a member.

• In 1998, he became a member of the Committee on Government Assurances. He served on the committee till 1999.

• He became a member of the Committee on Petitions in 1999 and served till 2000.

• In 1999, he was appointed to the Senate of Kumaun University as its member. He remained a member till 2000.

• Bhagat Singh later served in the Advisory Committee, Development, and Planning, as a member.

• After the separation of Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh, in November 2000, Bhagat Singh was appointed Minister of Energy, Irrigation, Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs. He remained in the post till October 2001. After many people were displaced from their ancestral land due to the construction of a dam in the Tehri Garhwal region, Bhagat Singh Koshyari played a pivotal role in rehabilitating the displaced diaspora.

• After replacing Nityanand Swami as the second Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Bhagat Singh Koshyari served in the post from 30 October 2001 to 1 March 2002.

• He left the post of Chief Minister as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was defeated by the INC in the 2002 state assembly elections in Uttarakhand.
  

  A photograph of Bhagat Singh Koshyari with the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• After stepping down from the post, the BJP appointed him as the leader of the opposition in the assembly.

• Against an INC candidate named Pratap Singh, Bhagat Singh contested the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha elections on BJP’s ticket from the Kapkot constituency and secured registered a victory over Pratap by securing 21,255 votes.

• He was appointed to Standing Committee on Energy as a member in 2009. He served on the committee till 2014.
  

  Bhagat Singh Koshyari during conducting a rally in Uttarakhand

• He assumed the position of chairperson on the Committee on Petitions on 1 September 2014.

• Later, he became a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR).

• He was appointed to the Committee on Ethics and the Standing Committee on Energy as its member on 15 September 2014.

• He became the General Purposes Committee’s member on 29 January 2015.

• He left the membership of the parliament in 2019.
  

  A photo of Bhagat Singh Koshyari taken while he was giving a speech in Lok Sabha

• After President Ram Nath Kovind appointed him as the 22nd Governor of Maharashtra, he replaced Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao on 5 September 2019.
  

  Bhagat Singh Koshyari taking oath as the Governor of Maharashtra

• He delivered a speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which was held in New York, USA, in 2019.
  

  Bhagat Singh giving a speech at the UNGA in New York

• On 18 August 2020, Bhagat Singh Koshyari assumed the additional charge as the Governor of Goa. His governorship ended on 6 July 2021.
  

  A photo of Bhagat Singh Koshyari taken during his swearing-in ceremony as the Governor (additional charge) of Goa

• President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation as the Governor of Maharashtra on 12 February 2023. Bhagat resigned from the post after expressing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi his desire to step down from the post early. In an interview, while talking about his early retirement, he said,
  

  As Governor, I never got happiness. Only unhappiness came my way. [Yet] when I meet spiritual leaders, it elevates my mind and brings joy and peace. It was an absolute honour and privilege for me to serve as the Rajya Sevak or Rajyapal of a great state like Maharashtra – the land of saints, social reformers and valiant fighters.”

• Based on the struggle for carving out a separate state of Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) from Uttar Pradesh, Bhagat Singh Koshyari penned two books titled Uttaranchal Pradesh Kyun? and Uttaranchal: Sangharsh Evam Samadhan.

• He has been a part of several talk shows broadcasted on All India Radio (AIR).

• Bhagat Singh Koshyari is a hodophile (one who likes to travel a lot) and has visited many nations such as Nepal, Mauritius, and the United States of America.

• Bhagat Singh has been appointed three times to the Executive Council of Kumaun University.

• Bhagat Singh Koshyari was named Hayat when he was born. His parents changed his name later to avoid confusion as a cousin of his was also named Hayat.
• His favourite food is Khichdi.