Biography
Biography
PERSONAL LIFE
Prakash Javadekar was born to Shri. Keshav Krishna Javadekar and Smt. Rajani Javadekar on January 30, 1951 in Pune. His father was a journalist with the ‘Kesari’, a Marathi newspaper founded by the revolutionary leader Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. His mother was a primary school teacher. He completed his early schooling from a Zilla Parishad School and high school from the Government Aided High School in the Tehsil Town of Mahad, District Raigad in Maharashtra. Since his school days, he was influenced by the work of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and its services for the nation and thus, became a member of the RSS.
STUDENT POLITICS & BJP KARYAKARTA
Prakash Javadekar joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1969 which proved to be a stepping stone for his political journey. In 1972, under the leadership of Late Shri Gopinath Mundeji, Prakash Javadekar was the Secretary of a Committee of Students which felicitated Shri Jaiprakash Narayanji. During his college days in M.E.S. College of Commerce, Pune, he became closely acquainted with renowned Professor of History Late Shri Shreepati Shastri and RSS Pracharak Late Shri Damu Anna Date, who played a vital role in shaping his political ideology. Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar and Prof. Bal Apte of the ABVP were also great influencers in those days.
Being a proactive student leader during these days, he led various Students’ Agitations successfully. Due to his popularity amongst students owing to his selfless and dedicated work, he was elected as Senate Member of Pune University in 1975.
Under his leadership, ABVP organized a Satyagraha in 11 colleges in Pune at 11 a.m., on 11th December, 1975 to protest against the Emergency rule. As a student leader and member of the Senate, he offered Satyagraha in the premises of Pune University. Soon he was arrested and put in the Yerawada Jail, first under preventive detention, in which he was sentenced for 3 months and later under MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) for over 13 months.
The darkest period in Independent India’s history came in 1975, when the Emergency was imposed by the then Indira Gandhi Government. There was a national call to fight and restore the democracy and freedom of expression. By this time, Prakash Javadekar had graduated and was working with the Bank of Maharashtra, but he had remained active within the ABVP.
However, the authoritarian regime could not stop Prakash Javadekar’s fight for democracy. Even in jail, he along with fellow acitivists, started a weekly titled ‘Nirbhay’ which became very popular among the 400-odd political prisoners there. Influenced deeply by the then RSS Chief Shri Balasaheb Devras, who was also detained in Yerawada Jail, he organized various programs along with his colleagues inside the jail against the Emergency.
That proved to be a major turning point in the life of Prakash Javadekar. Thereafter, he has always remained active in public life. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 on its formation.
To focus and concentrate on the party work, Prakash Javadekar resigned from Bank of Maharashtra in 1981 and started working as a full-time worker of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was assigned the responsibility of General Secretary, Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morch (BJYM). He worked relentlessly in the State of Maharashtra and in the subsequent year was made the Member of National Executive of BJYM and National Convener of Unemployment Cell of BJYM. He wrote extensively on the issues relating to unemployment and organized various protests in the State and at the National level on the issue of unemployment.
Prakash Javadekar, along with other leaders, spearheaded the ‘Sangharsha Rath’ a yatra throughout Maharashtra and mobilized thousands of youth in Mumbai on March 10, 1989. This was a first of its kind ‘Rath’ deployed by the BJYM or the BJP. He was meanwhile elevated as All India Secretary and General Secretary of BJYM under the leadership of Kalraj Mishraji, Satyadev Singhji, Pramod Mahajanji and Rajnath Singhji. He was an invitee of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) in 1985. Thereafter, he shouldered a number of responsibilities in the party, as a law maker and in the Government.
NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON
Prakash Javadekar has played a crucial role as a party Spokesperson. Right from contributing to the Media strategy to drafting of Election Manifestos, his role has always been appreciated. During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, Shri Javadekar was appointed as BJP’s National Spokesperson in 2003. This was the beginning of his political leadership at the National front.
As the National Spokesperson, his insistence on deep study of issues brought forth the scams of the previous UPA government including the NSEL scam, 2G Scam, Coal Scam, and Maharashtra Government’s irrigation scam. One such definitive moment was when his complaint compelled the Central Vigilance Commission to seek a probe in the Coal Scam. These exposes played important role in the downfall of the UPA government and the landslide victory of the NDA in the subsequent 2014 Lok Sabha Elections
CAREER AS LEGISLATOR
Prakash Javadekar was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council from Pune Region Graduate Constituency in June 1990. He got re-elected in 1996 and continued till 2002. During this period, he was actively raising his voice on issues of criminalization of politics and corruption within and outside the House. He was also given the responsibility of a Spokesperson of BJP, Maharashtra. Acting as Chief of Publicity Wing of State BJP, he produced six very popular docu-dramas and films for various elections.
During the Shivsena-Bjp led government, Shri Javadekar was made Executive Chairman of the State Planning Board, Maharashtra between 1995 and 1999 and tasked with chalking out the IXth Five-Year Plan of the State. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the State IT Task Force where he submitted various reports and initiated dynamic computerization and citizen-friendly IT applications in the State. After his appointment as the Chairman of the Working Group on “IT for Masses” by Government of India he successfully negotiated the MIT Media Lab Asia project.
Shri Javadekar is presently in his third term as a Rajya Sabha member. First he was elected to the Upper House from Maharashtra in May, 2008. His second term as Rajya Sabha member was from Madhya Pradesh from June 2014 to March 2018. Since April 2018, Prakash Javadekar has been a member of Rajya Sabha representing Maharashtra.
As a proactive parliamentarian he has served with distinction in Parliamentary Standing Committees of Defence, HRD and Consultative Committee of Power. He was also a member of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation. During his first tenure as Member of Rajya Sabha, he vociferously raised his voice on a number of issues like farmers’ welfare, labour and pension laws, formation of Telangana, pressing economic issues before the country and most importantly he shed light on a number of scams.
UNION MINISTER
Prakash Javadekar is currently Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change (EFCC), Information & Broadcasting (I&B) and Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises (HI&PE) in the PM Narendra Modiji-led NDA Government’s second term. During the 2014-19 NDA government, Prakash Javadekar was inducted into the Council of Ministers as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting. and also Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs . He was elevated as a Cabinet Minister on July 5, 2016 and assigned the Human Resource Development portfolio.
LITERATURE & INTERESTS
A voracious reader and an articulate writer, Prakash Javadekar has written a number of bookets on several issues that affect the Common Man. In his public life he has fought against unemployment, poverty, inequality and justice and the same sentiments are visible in his writings.
His first book, ‘Bekaricha Jwalamukhi’ (1986) highlighted the grave issue of unemployment. He critiqued IMF loans in the book ‘Nanenidhiche Karz’ (1987). Farmers’ issues have taken centre stage in his political journey. He has addressed the critical issue of farm loan waivers in ‘Shetkaryanchi Karzmukti’ (1988). Higher inflation is a major problem that severely affects the poor, on which his book ‘Mahagaicha Bhasmasoor’ (1999) is based.
Prakash Javadekar has also written over 300 articles in various newspapers on diverse contemporary issues.
FAMILY
Prakash Javadekar met Prachee (Medha Dravid), a co-activist in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1974. As a student activist, she had opposed the Emergency of 1975 vehemently, for which she was jailed. They married in December 1977 and have two sons, Ashutosh and Apoorva. Dr Prachee Javadekar is a renowned Educationist and Researcher.
Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar is a popular and critically acclaimed writer and singer-music composer. While he stood first in the University of Pune while pursuing MA in English, his graduation is in dentistry and he is a practicing dentist as well. His wife, Dr. Manasi Javadekar, Ph.D. is working as a professor in a management institute. Aarohi Javadekar, their daughter, is nine years old and has been in the news recently for her handwritten news bulletin during the lockdown.
Dr Apoorva obtained his PhD in Economics from the Boston University and is currently working as Asst. Prof of Finance at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Revati, his spouse is a Law student and a national badminton player and has represented India in multiple events.
Besides having excellent academic credentials, the family has a keen interest in the literature and arts.
