Here are some of India’s most and least educated politicians
After the controversy over Union Human Resources Development Minister, Smriti Irani’s educational qualifications, soon after she was inducted into the cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ is the next in line to have his educational background. The Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party honcho, Arvind Kejriwal has been relentlessly going after the PM, calling his degrees fake, while the BJP has been backing Modi and presenting his credentials.
Politicians and their educational qualifications have constantly come under fire, and every time a new cabinet takes over, much debate happens over how qualified the members are. Here, we take a look at some of the most and least educated politicians in the country:
Dr. Manmohan Singh: Whatever be the criticism against him while he was the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh is undoubtedly one of the most educated politicians in India. Singh got his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from the Punjab University, in 1952 and 1954, securing a first position, and completed his Economics Tripos from St John’s College, University of Cambridge in 1957. Dr. Singh returned to India and started teaching at the Punjab University. He went to the University of Oxford in 1960 to pursue his doctoral degree (DPhil), where his doctoral thesis was ‘India’s export performance, 1951–1960, export prospects and policy implications’. This later became the basis of his book, titled, ‘India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth’.
P. Chidambaram: A member of the Congress party, and former Union Minister of Finance, P. Chidambaram holds a B.Sc degree in Statistics from Presidency College, Chennai, Bachelors in Law from the Madras Law College (now Ambedkar Government Law College), a Masters degree from Loyola College, Chennai, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he was part of the class of 1968.
Kapil Sibal: Lawyer, member of the Congress party, and former Minister of Law and Justice, Kapil Sibal completed his schooling from St John’s High School in Chandigarh, post which he joined St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He completed his LLB from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, and an M.A in History. Though he had also qualified for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) in 1973, Sibal did not take it up, and took up law practice, instead. He then enrolled for an LLM programme from the Harvard Law School, which he completed in 1977.
Najma Heptullah: The only Muslim member of Modi’s cabinet, the Minister of Minority Affairs and former Vice President of the BJP, Najma Heptullah holds a M.Sc Degree in Zoology, and a PhD in Zoology(Cardiac Anatomy) from Vikram University, in Ujjain.
Jairam Ramesh: Member of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh, affiliated to the Congress party, the former Minister of Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh graduated from the Indian institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering, in 1975. He received an M.Sc degree in Public Policy and Public Management in 1977. Though he started a Doctoral program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was unable to complete it because of a family emergency.
Subramaniam Swamy: The member of the Rajya Sabha and an Economist, BJP’s Subramaniam Swamy, who is known for his controversial statements, earned his Master’s degree in Mathematics from the Hindu College, University of Delhi, before going on to pursue his Master’s in Statistics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. He received a PhD in Economics from the Harvard University in 1965. While pursuing his doctoral degree, Swamy also worked as an Assistant Economics Affairs Officer at the United Nations Secretariat, in New York.
Dr Harsh Vardhan: One of the most educated members of the current cabinet, Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is the incumbent Minister of Science and Technology, holds an MBBS degree from Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, from where he graduated in 1979. The RSS member went on to complete his Master of Surgery in Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) in 1983, from the same college.
Dr Murli Manohar Joshi: The veteran BJP leader, RSS pracharak and Member of Parliament from Kanpur, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi completed his BSc from Meerut College and M.Sc from Allahabad University. He went on to pursue his doctoral degree from Allahabad University and published his thesis on Spectroscopy. Joshi also published a research paper on Physics in the Hindi language, which became a first of its kind.
Shashi Tharoor: The former international civil servant, author and Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, affiliated to the Congress, Shashi Tharoor graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He then moved to the United States in 1975, where he completed his graduate studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where he received his MA and MALD. He was also the co-founder and first Editor of the Fletcher Forum of International Affairs, and was awarded the Robert B. Stewart Prize for the Best Student. He completed his PhD at the age of 22.
Salman Khurshid: The former Minister of External Affairs and lawyer from the Congress party, Salman Khurshid completed his graduation (BA, English and Jurisprudence) from St Stephen’s College, Delhi and his Masters from St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. He was also a lecturer of Law at the Trinity College, Oxford.
Ajit Singh: The founder and chief of Rasthriya Lok Dal, and son of former Prime Minister late Choudhary Charan Singh, Ajit Singh holds a B.Sc degree from Lucknow University, a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur and M.S from Illinois Institute of Technology.
Rabri Devi: Better known as the wife of politician Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, who has also served three terms as a Chief Minister of Bihar, and is a member of the Bihar Legislative Council, has no formal education. She married Yadav at the age of 14, and was dragged into politics after he had to resign as the CM, following an arrest warrant that was issued against him on corruption charges. Her appointment as the Bihar CM came under huge controversy as Rabri neither had the qualification, nor the inclination for politics.
Vijaykanth: The Tamil actor turned politician, Vijaykanth, who is known as Captain, after his portrayal of the role of Captain Prabhakaran, won the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in 2011. He discontinued his education after the 12th standard since he had to join his father’s rice mill business.
J Jayalalitha: The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and head of AIADMK, former actress J Jayalalitha stopped her studies after matriculation, as she wanted a career in the films. This was despite the fact that she was a good student who had won a scholarship.
M. Karunanidhi: Like his political opponent, the DMK head and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, has also not completed his graduation. Karunanidhi quit after his 10th standard, to begin his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry. However, the great orator, who is also called Kalaignar (artist) by his supporters, has published six volumes of his autobiography, titled Nenjukku Neethi (Justice to the Heart) in Tamil.
Golma Devi: The only reason why she even figures in the list as a politician is because Rajasthan MLA Golma Devi is the wife of the Meena community leader Kirori Lal Meena. Devi is illiterate and was not even able to read her oath during the swearing in ceremony.
Maneka Gandhi: The Union Minister of Women and Child Development in the Modi led BJP Government, Maneka Gandhi, who is known to be a staunch animal rights activist, has only completed her education till the 12th standard. Gandhi has, however, authored a number of books in Etymology, Law and Animal Welfare.
Uma Bharti: The least educated Minister in the current Modi government is Uma Bharti, the Minister of Water Resources and Ganga rejuvenation. She has only completed her formal education till class six.
Anant Geete: The Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprise in the current government, and the leader of the Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party has just completed his Matriculation.
Jaffer Sharief: One of the senior most members of the Congress Party, and former Railway Minister, Jaffer Sharief is also one of the least educated politicians in the party. Sharief, who started off as a driver before venturing into politics, has only completed his matriculation.
