The political history of Rajasthan is incomplete without the mention of ‘Babosa’ Late Sri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Today is the 95th birth anniversary of Rajasthan’s beloved Babosa and the ‘Rockefeller of India’. Babosa was born on October 23, 1923, in Khachariyawas village of Sikar district.

Today, on the occasion of Babosa’s birth anniversary, CM Vasundhara Raje wished the entire state by remembering his ideologies and posting his quotes on social media posts. CM Raje mentions- ‘ Late Sri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s guidance played a crucial role in my political career. I’m fortunate to get the chance to learn finer nuances of politics from him. Babosa’s efficiency and farsightedness helped modern development in not only Rajasthan but also in the country.’

पूर्व उपराष्ट्रपति, परम श्रद्धेय भैरोंसिंह शेखावत 'बाबोसा' जी की जयंती पर उन्हें सादर नमन। देश एवं प्रदेश के विकास में सदैव अग्रणी रहने वाले बाबोसा के आदर्श व सिद्धांत आज भी सबके लिए प्रेरणादायी बने हुए हैं, जिनके बताए गए मार्ग पर हम निरंतर आगे बढ़ रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/zoAxiROzgV

— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) October 23, 2018

To be more precise, Rajasthan is proud of his son of the soil, who reached to the post of Vice president of India after 3 successful tenures as Chief Minister. In between, he held many political and apolitical posts in various schemes of Government of India. In addition, World Bank president Robert McNamara gave him the title of ‘Rockefeller of India’ in the 70s, here is the reason-

Babosa as the ‘Rockefeller of India’

Sri Shekhawat became the first non-Congress chief minister of Rajasthan on June 22, 1977, Chhabra constituency on a Janata Dal ticket. During that tenure, he earned wide acclaim for his ‘Antyodaya Yojana’, a path-breaking welfare scheme for the poorest of the poor. The scheme was greatly appreciated by then World Bank president, Robert McNamara, who described Babosa as the ‘Rockefeller of India.

‘Antyodaya Yojana’ was the brainchild of Sri Shekhawat. The literal meaning of Antyodaya is ‘uplift the poorest’.  This idea of his received many accolades around the globe and adopted in many countries. He was the great admirer of arts and education.

Under his leadership, Rajasthan developed itself as an education hub. Because of Shekhawat’s vision, today Kota, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Pilani are the landmarks for higher education under various streams

A dynamic political career of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

Late Sri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the only politician who won all the elections he fought in Rajasthan. He left his job of Police Sub-Inspector and joined the Jansangh in the year 1952. This is considered as seeding of non-Congress politics in Rajasthan. Babosa contributed a lot to the growth of Sangh ideology in Rajasthan.

Positions he held-

• 1952-72 Member, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
• 1974-77 Member, Rajya Sabha
• 22 June 1977- 16 February 1980 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (First Term)
• 1980-90 Leader of Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
• 4 March 1990- 15 December 1992 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (Second Term)
• 4 December 1993- 29 November 1998 Chief Minister of Rajasthan (Third Term)
• December 1998-August 2002 Leader of Opposition, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
• 19 August 2002-21 July 2007 Vice-President of India

When not in power he was the leader of opposition in Rajasthan Assembly. That was an era, when people of Rajasthan often say, ‘Rajasthan ka Ek hi Singh, Bhairon Singh, Bhairon Singh’. Therefore, Rajasthan is going to remember his Singh…forever.