Dr.Yashwant Singh Parmar was born on 4 August 1906 in Chanalag village of Sirmour princely state. He was the first Chief Minister of the state of Himachal Pradesh. He was instrumental in the formation of the Himachal Pradesh state from 1940 to 1977. People consider him the founder or creator of Himachal Pradesh. Parmar was an Indian politician and leader of the Indian National Congress. He has also written the book Polyandry in the Himalayas. Dr. Y.S. Parmar died on 2 May 1981 at Snowdon Hospital in Shimla.
Dr.Yashwant Singh Parmar Personal Life
Yashwant Singh Parmar belonged to a simple family. His father was the secretary of the then-ruler of Sirmaur. He completed all his schooling in Nahan Sirmaur. The nahan city is now the headquarters of the district. In 1926, he obtained a BA degree from Foreman Christian College, Lahore. After this Yashwant Singh Parmar moved to Lucknow and obtained an LLB degree from the University there. After this he did MA. And after doing his MA, he did Ph.D. Did. Dr. Parmar was married twice, his first wife’s name was Chandravati Chauhan and his second wife’s name was Satyavati Dang. His first wife Chandravati died in 1969. So he got married for the second time. He has 4 sons from his first wife and 2 daughters from his second wife. Satyavati Parmar passed away in 2010. Yashwant Singh Parmar served as the magistrate of the Sirmaur court from 1930 to 1937. And served as Sessions’ Judge from 1937 to 1940.
Political Career
Dr. Y.S. served as the first Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh from 24 March 1952 to 31 October 1956. Parmar headed the Hill State People’s Conference. He led a Satyagraha movement in Suket State, which was instrumental in the creation of the Himachal Pradesh province in 1948. In 1948, he was nominated as a member of the All India Congress Committee. And later became an advisor to the Chief Commissioner of the newly formed Himachal Pradesh province. He served as the President of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee from 1948–50. He had a major role in the formation of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh was earlier a part of Punjab. Separating Punjab from the hill state was not that easy. But they did not give up and after a great struggle, finally on 25 January 1971, Himachal Pradesh became a full-fledged state of the Republic of India. The credit goes to Parmar for giving Himachal Pradesh its present form.
Parmar strongly opposed the merger of Himachal Pradesh with Punjab in 1956 as recommended by the State Reorganization Committee. In protest, he resigned from the post of Chief Minister and Himachal Pradesh became a Union Territory. Parmar again became the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1963 and remained in the post till 28 January 1977. There were also some allegations against him. Kunj Bihari Lal Butail, the then State Congress President of Kangra, alleged discrimination against the merged areas of Himachal. But the whole of Himachal knows how much he fought for a better future in Himachal Pradesh. However, towards the end of his tenure, Parmar’s differences with Sanjay Gandhi led the former to resign and returned to his hometown Baghthan in the year 1977.
