Rishang Keishing

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Rishang Keishing
6th
Raj Kumar Jaichandra Singh
Personal details
Born(1920-10-25)25 October 1920
British India
Died22 August 2017(2017-08-22) (aged 96)
Imphal, Manipur, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseKhatingla
Children6
Alma materScottish Church College,
St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College
OccupationPolitician

Rishang Keishing (25 October 1920 – 22 August 2017) was an Indian politician from

Chief Minister of Manipur from 1980 to 1988 and from 1994 to 1998. He was a former Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha
representing Manipur.

Early life and education

Rishang Keishing was born to Rungdi Keishing and Mungshingla Keishing, both from the

Tangkhul Naga community in Bungpa Khunou, Ukhrul district of Manipur.[1]

After a year at Kolkata's Scottish Church College,[2] he transferred to the St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College, from which he graduated.[3]

Positions held

Political career

Keishing participated in the Freedom Struggle; including attending meetings as a student, during the period of 1945-47. He was a member of the

Socialist Party of India, the Indian delegation to the Asian Socialist Conference held in Rangoon (Myanmar), the Indian National Congress, the Indian delegation led by the late Shri Yashwantrao Chavan to the 35th General Session of the UN held in U.S. in 1975, the Indian delegation to attend the 51st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held at Sheraton, Fiji, 2005 and Tenth Finance Commission.[citation needed
]

He was the founding Head Master of the first high school in the district of

In 1952, Keishing was elected to the first Lok Sabha representing the Socialist Party.[5] During his second term in the Lok Sabha, he informed Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he wanted to join the Indian National Congress and remained with the party until his death.[6]

He first entered Manipur State's Vidhan Sabha in 1972, winning Phungyar seat, and represented the seat for 30 years, winning the election 7 times. In 2002, he lost in the assembly polls. His son, Victor Keishing, reclaimed the seat a few years later. After his defeat in the state polls in 2002, Rishang Keishing moved to Delhi, representing the state in Rajya Sabha for two terms, 2002 to 2008, and 2008 and 2014. In 2007 he became the country's oldest parliamentarian. He retired from Rajya Sabha in 2014, at the age of 93.[citation needed]

Keishing, along with D. Athuido, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, was expelled from the Manipur Congress for six years in May 1968 for signing a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India which suggested that the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur should be merged with Nagaland.[7] In August 1972, he spearheaded an agreement between then United Naga Integration Council and the ruling Indian National Congress which recognised the vision of a Greater Nagalim, a region that would integrate Nagaland and the Naga-populated districts of Manipur under one administration.[5]

Keishing also served as the Chief Minister of Manipur from 1980 to 1988, and from 1994 to 1997.[8]

In 2014, Keishing declared that he would not contest the Rajya Sabha elections after serving two consecutive terms. He said, "I am not interested to continue now."[9]

Personal life

He married Khatingla Keishing in 1950, and the couple had two daughters and four sons. He died on 22 August 2017, aged 96 at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, Imphal, Manipur.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Detailed Profile: Shri Rishang Keishing". www.archive.india.gov.in. NIC. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Scottish Church College, Calcutta alumni". www.histropedia.com. Histropedia. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  3. ^ "A short bio about whoever hogs the limelight in a week". The Hindu. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Rishang turns to 'green' power at 95". Eastern Mirror. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  5. ^ a b Deka, Kaustubh (30 August 2017). "Rishang Keishing (1920-2017): Understanding the legacy of Manipur's longest serving chief minister". Scroll.in. Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. ^ Gupta Kashyap, Samudra (29 August 2017). "Importance of Rishang Keishing — to Manipur and Northeast". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. Times of India
    . 20 May 1968. p. 12. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Former Manipur CM Rishang Keishing dead". The Hindu. PTI. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Keishing not a contender for RS". The Morung Express. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Former Manipur Chief Minister Died". Northeast Herald. 22 August 2017.

External links