New Delhi: In 2014, as rumours of him becoming defence minister spread like wildfire, Manohar Parrikar said he would not be comfortable with shifting to central leadership. “I have too much affection towards Goa,” he was quoted as saying.
Cut to 2019, Parrikar, who had been extremely unwell for the longest time, passed away on March 17 as chief minister of Goa, his hometown.
Born in Mapusa in 1955, Parrikar joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his days in school and went on to graduate from IIT-Bombay in 1978 with a degree in metallurgical engineering. Even during his college days, where he was a batchmate of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, he was looking after the Powai hostel unit of the RSS.
According to the Sangh’s Marathi magazine, it was a first for the right-wing organisation when Parrikar became a sanghachalak when he was about 26 years of age.
His electoral debut in 1991 was not so successful but he went on to be elected to Goa’s legislative assembly in 1994. Later in 2000, he became the chief minister, but resigned in 2002 calling for fresh elections. He returned to power and brought in schemes, like reducing petrol prices and providing monthly income to housewives, which made him popular.
His term in the Goa assembly was, however, marred by several controversies, the biggest being his alleged failure to crack down on illegal mining in the state. In 2014, after the BJP came to power at the Centre, he joined Narendra Modi’s cabinet as defence minister.
As mentioned above, he was reluctant, but that unwillingness to take a position at the Centre did not deter him from doing his job as per the brief which was to completely revamp the military.
His term was as transparent as it was marred by controversies. His lowest point as defence minister was during 2017 when he came under scathing attack from several sides as India saw the lowest budget allocation to defence, a meagre 1.62% of the GDP.
That said, Parrikar had the advantage of getting things done faster than usual as he had the attention of Modi at all times as one of the latter’s most-trusted men. The 2016 cross-border surgical strike — giving a free hand to the armed forces to cross over to Pakistan — was one such action which Parrikar is said to have made happen without much delay.
His brief, as many cite, was to up the ante for the armed forces and make them battle-ready. Parrikar, however, is said to have worked with a certain empathy as he did with conviction.
Within six months of his term, he had figured out details of the one-rank-one-pension issue, striving towards achieving what was desirable for those fighting for it and is Parrikar is also credited with the defence procurement proposal.
He has also been credited for being the man to bring 'Make In India' to the defence sector. While critics say the move did not achieve as much, he has still been credited with signing deals worth billions of dollars, including investing in basics like proper helmets for the infantry.
It was under his guidance that India-US saw a deeper military relationship with India co-signing the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement allowing US and India forces to use each other’s bases.
Parrikar was also famous for having given up government facilities — he was often seen cycling to work and continued to live in his own house in Goa.
His stint at the BJP was also one where he was often lauded for blunt talk. He was one of the few ministers in the BJP, perhaps the only one, to have said that the Godhra riots was a blot on Modi’s career.
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