Education Ministers of India

Ministry of Human Resource Development

An education minister is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. In India there is no such position called Education Minister till date, The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), formerly Ministry of Education is responsible for the development of human resources and education.MHRD is divided into two departments: Department of School Education and Literacy and Department of Higher Education since 26th September 1985.Department of School Education and Literacy deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education deal with the university education, technical education, scholarship etc.

Main objectives of MHRD:

• Formulating the National Policy on Education and to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit
• The planned development, including expanding access and improving the quality of the educational institutions throughout the country, including in the regions where people do not have easy access to education.
• Paying special attention to disadvantaged groups like the poor, females and the minorities
• Provide financial help in the form of scholarships, loan subsidy, etc. to deserving students from deprived sections of the society.
• Encouraging international cooperation in the field of education, including working closely with the UNESCO and foreign governments as well as Universities, to enhance the educational opportunities in the country.

List of education ministers in India till date/Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD):

1. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad(10 Years 5 Months)

Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad was an Indian scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian Independence Movement born on 11th November 1888 in Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia). He was the 1st Minister of Education under Indian National Congress party awarded with the Bharat Ratna, a highest civilian award of India. Due to his contribution to education in India, his birthday is celebrated as the National Education Day across India. He began publishing Al-Hilal, an Urdu-language weekly newspaper in Calcutta, India. He was among the leaders who negotiated for Indian Independence with the British.

2. K. L. Shrimali (4 Years, 6 Months)

Dr. Kalu Lal Shrimali was a distinguished parliamentarian and an educationist, who was born in December 1909 in Udaipur, India. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan for his contribution in the education sector. He was an editor of a monthly educational magazine called Jan Shikshan and was various educational and social welfare organizations. He also represented the State of Rajasthan in Rajya Sabha number of times. He served as the Union Education Minister for the Indian Government under Indian National Congress.

3. Humayun Kabir(3 Months)

Humayun Kabir was a Bengali politician and writer who was born on 22 February 1906 in Faridpur District (currently in Bangladesh). He was a Joint Education Advisor, Education Secretary, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (New Delhi), Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Minister of Education under Indian National Congress Party. He was also one of the co-drafter of the UNESCO 150 statement called The Race Question.

4. M. C. Chagla (2 Years, 1 Month)

Mahommedali Currim Chagla was an Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister who was born on 30 September 1900 in Bombay. He served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court for 10 years. He also worked as a secretary for Mohammed Ali Jinnah but later he separated himself from him as latter began to work for the cause of a separate Muslim state. He was part of the 1stIndian delegation to the UN, acting Governor of the then Bombay state, Indian ambassador to the USA, Indian High Commissioner in the UK and Minister for External Affairs of India. He served as the Education Minister under Indian National Congress.

5. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (5 Months)

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the 5th President of India who was born on 13 May 1905 in Old Delhi. He joined the Indian National Congress party to actively participate in the Indian freedom movement. He was elected to Rajya Sabha after Independence, awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pristina, Kosovo, President of the Assam Football and Cricket Association. In his honor, a medical college was named after him at Barpeta Assam. He was the 2nd Indian President who took his last breath in the office and is regarded as one of the greatest sons of Assam and India.

6. Triguna Sen (1 Year 5 Months)

Triguna Sen was the 1st Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University & Banaras Hindu University who was born on 24 December 1905. He was awardedPadma Bhushan in 1965. He was also the member of the Rajya Sabha.

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7. V. K. R. V. Rao (2 Years 2 Months)

Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao was a prominent Indian economist, politician, professor and educator who was born on 8 July 1908 in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. He received Ph.D. from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. In 1971 he served as the Union Minister for the Education and also received Padma Vibhushan. He also established 3 institutions in Social Science research in India- Delhi School of Economics, Institute of Economic Growth and the Institute for Social and Economic Change.

8. Siddhartha Shankar Ray (1 Year)

Siddhartha Shankar Ray was a Bengali politician of Indian National Congress, who was born on 20 October 1920 in Calcutta. He was one of the well-known barrister of Judicial Affairs of West Bengal, Education Minister of India, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Governor of Punjab, and Ambassador of India to the US. During his college life, he actively handled various departments like Student Aid Fund, Debates, Sports, etc. He also won inter-Collegiate cricket Championship in 1944 under his captaincy. On his retirement, he again started practicing law by becoming and eminent Barrister of the High Court of Calcutta.

9. S. Nurul Hasan (5 Years)

Saiyid Nurul Hasan was an Indian historian, who was born on 26 December 1921 in Lucknow. He was the founder and 1st chairman of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta. He began his career as a lecturer of History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London and later joined Aligarh Muslim University. As an Education Minister of India, he founded the Indian Council of Historical Research in New Delhi. He was also the Vice-president of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Governor of West Bengal and Odisha.

10. Pratap Chandra Chunder (2 Years, 4 Months)

Pratap Chandra Chunder was a union minister of India, educationist, and author who was born on 1 September 1919. He was ranked first class first for LLB and was awarded Doctor of Philosophy in Arts from the University of Calcutta. He was also the President of the Board of Governors of the 1st MBA School, Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM) in India.

11. Karan Singh (6 Months)

Dr. Karan Singh, son of the last ruler of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh was born on 9 March 1931 in Cannes, France. He is also a poet whose poems were featured in The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India, a poetry anthology. He served as the regent of the Jammu and Kashmir state at the age of 18. He is also the youngest-ever member of the Union Cabinet, holding the portfolios of Tourism and Civil Aviation.He was the member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He also served as the Chancellor of various universities like Banaras Hindu University, Jammu and Kashmir University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and NIIT University.

12. B. Shankaranand (10 Months)

B. Shankaranand was a congress politician who was born in 1925. He represented Chikkodi, Lok Sabha constituency for about 8 times and headed 1st ever Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate Bofors scandal. He held various positions in his political career like Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Law and Justice, Water Resources, Education, Health and Family Welfare, etc.

13. S.B. Chavan (11 Months)

Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan was an Indian politician who was born on 14 July 1920. He gave up his practice of law during the Quit Court Movement and initiated the student movement. He served twice as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, banned chewing and smoking of tobacco in Government offices, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, etc. He also had the opportunity to closely watch all 3 Prime Ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi clan. In his memory, a college, Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College & Hospital in Nanded was named after him.

14. Sheila Kaul (3 Years, 8 Months)

The social democratic leader of the Indian National Congress, a stateswoman, cabinet minister and governor, Sheila Kaul was born on 7 February 1915. She is the lady who was elected as Member of Parliament for 5 times and was the oldest living former Member of Parliament in India till her death. Pranab Mukherjee, President of India also condoled her death for her distinguished service to the nation. She was the sister-in-law of the 1st Prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

15. K. C. Pant (9 Months)

Son of freedom fighter Govind Ballabh Pant, Krishna Chandra Pant was born on 10 August 1931 in Bhowali, Kumaon region of the Himalayas. Over a period of 37 years in his political career, he held various constitutional positions and was also a Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament for Government of India.

16. P.V. Narasimha Rao (3 Years, 4 Months + 3 Months +5 Months)

Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao was the 10th Prime Minster of India, who was born on 28 June 1921 in Lakkampalli village of then Hyderabad State. He spoke at least 17 languages and also became 1st and famous prime minister to hail from the non-Hindi-speaking state of India. He was famous as the Father of Indian Economic Reforms and hence responsible for the historic economic transition by appointing Dr. Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister. He was also applauded for using modern technology and resources in Latur earthquake relief operations.

17. P.Shiv Shankar (1 Year, 6 Months)

Punjala Shiv Shankar is one of the senior politicians of India who was born on 10 August 1929 in Mamidipalli, Telangana. He studied LLB from Osmania University, Hyderabad to serve as the judge in Andhra Pradesh High Court. He also served as the Minister of External Affairs, Law, and petroleum, Governor of Sikkim and Kerala, Etc.

18. V.P. Singh (1 Year)

41st nominal Raja Bahadur (ruler) of the northern kingdom of Manda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh is an Indian Politician who was born on 25 June 1931. As a Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, he cracked down on dacoit especially in rural districts of the southwest state. He also the founded the Janata Dal party by merging Jan Morcha, Janata Party, Lok Dal and Congress (S) to oppose the Rajiv Gandhi government. A close friend and an art critic, Juliet Reynolds made a short documentary of 45 minutes on him to cover his political and artistic career named The Art of the Impossible.

19. Raj Mangal Pandey (8 Months)

Late Shri Raj Mangal Pandey was a prominent minister in Uttar Pradesh who became Union HRD minister in 1990. His son Shri Rajesh Pandey was elected as the Member of the Legislative Council-Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.

20. Arjun Singh (3 Years, 6 Months +6 Years)

Shri Arjun Singh was an Indian politician under Indian National Congress party, who was born on 5 November 1930 in Madhya Pradesh. He was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2000. He served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh 3 times, Union minister and Governor of Punjab.

21. Madhavrao Scindia (1 year)

Indian politician and Congress party minister from Maratha clan, Madhavrao Scindia was born on 10 March 1945 in Mumbai. He was elected to the lower house of the parliament in 1971. He bought much-needed changes in Indian railways as a Railways Minister of India. He also served as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Civil Aviation Minister. A tragic plane crash took his life on 30 September 2001.

22. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1 Month)

Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the 1st Prime Minister from outside the Indian National Congress party under Bharatiya Janata Party to serve a full five-year term and was born on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior State, British India. He is one of the influential leaders who received many prominent awards like Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna, Lokmanya Tilak award, etc. He also began Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to provide universal elementary compulsory education, encouraged scientific research and development by increasing Government spending in the field and passed Chandrayaan-I project in 2008.­­

23. S.R. Bommai (1 Years, 9 Months)

Somappa Rayappa Bommai was an Indian Politician and 11th Chief Minister of Karnataka who was born on 6th June 1924 of then undivided Dharwad District. He was a lawyer by profession who took part in Quit India movement in 1942. He was also national president of the Janata Dal (1990-1996) and was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice.

24. Murali Manohar Joshi (5 Years, 8 Months)

Murli Manohar Joshi, a leading member, and ex-president of Bhartiya Janata Party was born on 5 January 1934 in Nainital, Uttarakhand. He has also taught Physics in Allahabad University after completing his Ph.D. He held a various position in his political careers like Union Cabinet Minister for Home Affairs, Human Resource Development, Science & Technology and Development.

25. Kapil Sibal (3 Years, 3 Months)

Kapil Sibal is an Indian politician under Indian National Congress party born on 8 August 1948 in Jalandhar, Punjab.He has completed his LL.M from Harvard Law School from in 1977. He was the only lawyer to appear in the Parliament, and successfully defended a Supreme Court judge during impeachment proceedings in 1994. He held various important positions during his political career like Additional Solicitor General of India, Member of Board of Management in Indira Gandhi National Open University, Board of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, etc. It was Kapil Sibal who announced a touchscreen tablet computer for students in 2011. He also introduced the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system in India for Secondary and Higher Secondary education.

26. M. M. Pallam Raju (2 Years, 3 Months)

Mallipudi Mangapati Pallam Raju is an Indian politician who was born on 24 January 1962in Pithapuram, East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh. He is a member of the 9th, 14th and 15th Lok Sabha of India. Being an Electronics & Communications Engineering graduate (BE) he started his career as a Research Assistant at Temple University, USA.

27. Smriti Irani (2 Years, 2 Months)

Smriti Zubin Irani is an Indian politician, a former model, television actress and producer who was born on 23rd March 1976. She was one of the finalists of the beauty pageant Miss India 1998 and won many awards for leading role in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi series of Star Plus TV channel. She is currently posted as the Minister of Textiles Department in the Government of India and represents the state of Gujarat as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. She was also appointed as the All India President of the women wing for BJP Mahila Morcha.

28. Prakash Javdekar (2 Years, 10 Months)

The official spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janta Party, Prakash Javdekar was born on 30 January 1951 in Pune, Maharashtra. During his college life, he was a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Since his college time only he was very much active in politics due to which he held various position previously in his political career like Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate change, Parliamentary Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Member of Parliament, Executive President for State Planning Board Maharashtra, Chairman for Task Force on IT, Government of Maharashtra, Member of Press Council of India, Standing Committee on HRD and Defence, etc. He was also awarded Sir Purshottam Das Thakur Memorial" National Award, for research Papers on Rural Development & Banks role in Co-ordinated approach. He is the current Union minister of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India since 5th July 2016.

29. Ramesh Pokhriyal (7 Months- Till Now)

Ramesh Pokhriyal (born 15 July 1959), known by his nom de plume Nishank is an Indian author, poet and politician serving as the Minister of Human Resource Development in the Second Modi Ministry. He represents the Haridwar Parliamentary constituency of Uttarakhand in the 17th Lok Sabha. He was the 5th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2009 to 2011. He was member of 16th Lok Sabha and chairperson, Committee on Government Assurances.