In a significant departure, from the 49-year-old Indian parliamentary
experience, the Eleventh Lok Sabha unanimously elected a member from the
Opposition, Shri P.A. Sangma, as the Speaker. From a humble beginning in a small
tribal village in Meghalaya, he rose to the exalted office of the Speaker of the
Lok Sabha by sheer dint of his merit, determination and industry. Affable,
friendly and more often informal in disposition and endowed with a spontaneous
sense of wit and humour, but firm when it came to ensuring orderly conduct of
the House, Speaker Sangma had a charming personality which won him unstinted
cooperation from all shades of political opinion represented in the Lok Sabha.
His quest for maintaining decorum, dignity and autonomy of the House with
meticulous impartiality, earned him approbation nationwide.Purno Agitok Sangma
was born on 1 September 1947 in village Chapahati in the picturesque West Garo
Hills District of the State of Meghalaya in North East India. Growing up in the
small tribal village, young Sangma realised early in life that he would have to
struggle hard to rise in life. Inspired by his mother who inculcated in him the
values of diligence, humility and honesty, he learnt that education was the only
way to progress in life. After completing his graduation from St. Anthony's
College, he went to Dibrugarh University in Assam for his Masters degree in
International Relations. Subsequently, he also obtained a degree in Law.Sangma
is a man of many parts, having been, in the course of his career, a lecturer, a
lawyer and a journalist before he joined politics. He started his political life
as a worker of the Congress Party and his rise through the ranks of the Party
has been phenomenal. In 1974, he became the General Secretary of the Meghalaya
Pradesh Youth Congress; he also remained its Vice-President for some time. In
recognition of his commitment to the party's ideals and also taking into account
his organisational skills, he was appointed the General Secretary of the
Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee in 1975 and held that post till 1980.Sangma
came to the national political scene in 1977 when the country was preparing for
the Sixth General Elections. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Tura
constituency in his home State on the Congress ticket. The 30-year-old Sangma
entered the portals of Parliament at a time when the nation was witnessing a
major political change with the Congress Party losing power at the Center for
the first time since Independence. It was an opportune moment for a budding
parliamentarian to make his mark and the articulate Sangma made full use of the
opportunity to make an impact as a sincere and hard-working member.In less than
two years, national politics came a full turn and the Janata Party went out of
office. The Charan Singh Government which assumed office subsequently lasted but
a few months. In the mid-term elections of 1980, the Indira Gandhi led Congress
Party returned to power at the Centre. Sangma was re-elected to the Lok Sabha
from the same constituency. In the party organisation too, Sangma moved up fast
and became the Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee in 1980,
before he was inducted into the Union Cabinet and assumed the office of the
Deputy Minister in charge of Industry in November 1980, After two years, he
shifted to the Ministry of Commerce as Deputy Minister and held that post till
December 1984.Sangma was returned to the Eighth Lok Sabha in the General
Elections of 1984. Recognising his potential and dedication to the Congress
ideals, the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi inducted him into his Cabinet,
this time as a Minister of State holding charge of Commerce and Supply. For a
short while, he also functioned as the Minister of State for Home Affairs.
Sangma took over as the Minister of State for Labour with Independent Charge in
October 1986.Ever amenable to reason and conciliatory in attitude, Sangma,
however, was uncompromising when it came to safeguarding the fundamentals of
national interests. It was no wonder then that during his tenure as the Labour
Minister, there was a sharp decline in industrial strikes and lock-outs. Known
for his meticulous homework, complete mastery of the subject at hand and
phenomenally long memory for facts and details, Sangma was one Minister who
could reply to a heated debate in Parliament without the aid of officials' slips
from the Officers' Gallery. His amiability, thorough knowledge of the
functioning of his Ministry and an inimitable sense of humour enabled him to
tackle all challenges in Parliament. The Question Hour particularly brought out
the best in him, handling the most ticklish matters with consummate ease.
Throughout his Ministerial tenure, he retained the image of an honest and
conscientious executive and always steered clear of any controversy.Sangma had a
remarkable understanding of the political realities of the entire North East,
particularly of his home State. Though, starting 1977, he was in Delhi and busy
in national politics, he never cut himself off from his roots and always kept
track of political developments back home. It was this thorough understanding of
the State politics which made the Congress Party leadership to requisition his
services for Meghalaya in 1988. That year, he returned to Meghalaya politics,
this time as the Chief Minister. He headed a 48-member Coalition Government in a
tumultuous period in the State's political history. In 1990, following the
resignation of his Government, Sangma became the Leader of the Opposition in the
State Legislative Assembly.The call of the nation brought Sangma back to the
Centre soon. He returned to the Lok Sabha in 1991 following the General
Elections and was inducted into the Union Cabinet, this time by Prime Minister
P.V. Narasimha Rao. Sangma was given the Independent Charge of the Ministry of
Coal. In February 1992, he was given the additional responsibility of assisting
the Prime Minister in the Ministry of Labour. In the context of the Economic
Reforms and Liberalisation Policy announced by the Union Government, his
principal challenge was to sell the idea of economic reforms to a restive and
apprehensive labour force. Tirelessly presiding over tri-partite Industrial
Committee meetings, he made tenacious efforts at convincing the labour of the
inevitability of economic reforms. He emphasised the need for a new Management
and Work Culture, the hallmark of which was generation of wealth through
efficiency, productivity and modernisation and sharing of wealth equitably.
Sangma assumed the Independent Charge of the Ministry of Labour in January 1993.
He was elevated to the Cabinet rank (the first tribal to be elevated as such) in
the Ministry of Labour in February 1995. As the Union Labour Minister, he headed
the Tripartite Indian Delegation to the International Labour Conference in
Geneva six times where he proved his mettle repeatedly. He was also elected the
Chairman of the Asia and Pacific Region for the International Labour Ministers'
Conference, 1994-95. When foreign investors had just begun to favour India as
their destination and a furore was raised in some quarters over the so-called
'social clause' issue, Sangma, as Labour Minister, organised a Conference of
Labour Ministers from Non-aligned and other Developing Countries in 1994-95. He
brought about unanimity amongst them to hold the position that the leverage of
international trade should not be used in respect of social issues like labour
standards as that would be coercive.In September 1995, Sangma took over as the
Minister of Information and Broadcasting, the post he held till the General
Elections to the Eleventh Lok Sabha.As a parliamentarian, Sangma, by virtue of
his interest as well as the offices he held, was active in several Committees.
He was a member of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Committee on
Communications and Committee on Government Assurances and Chairman of the
Parliamentary Consultative Committees on Labour, Coal and Communications.Sangma
was elected to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time from the Tura constituency in
the 1996 General Elections. On 23 May 1996, he was unanimously elected the
Speaker of the Eleventh Lok Sabha with universal support cutting across all
political parties. In half a century of Indian parliamentary history, he was the
first member from the Opposition to hold the office of the Speaker.Sangma,
undoubtedly, had all the credentials for the august office—legal training, long
experience as a parliamentarian as well as a Minister, reputation for
impartiality, transparency, humility and wit and wisdom. From the time he
assumed the office of the Speaker, he executed his responsibility with such
flair and assurance, it seemed that expertise of the job came to him
instinctively. He had a unique approach to parliamentary reforms. As a Speaker,
he ensured that rules were observed by the members even in the midst of stormy
debates. Parliamentary democracy, he observed, meant free debate, objective
deliberations and healthy criticism and it was for the Speaker to ensure that
these objectives were achieved. As one who went beyond holding the balance
between the Treasury and the Opposition benches to holding the balance of every
individual member. Speaker Sangma won the admiration of both the ruling
Coalition and the Opposition within a short span of time. He also displayed a
tremendous sense of timing and history when he took laudable initiatives towards
facilitating greater partnership between men and women in politics and in
stressing the importance of ethics and probity in public life. With this in
view, during his Speakership, he guided the formation of a Standing Joint
Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women and also the constitution of a
Joint Parliamentary Committee for considering the Constitution (Eighty-first
Amendment) Bill, 1996 which sought to provide for 33-1/3 per cent reservation
for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. In order to
maintain high traditions in parliamentary life, Sangma believed, members of
Parliament were expected to maintain standards of conduct, both inside the House
and outside. He was of the considered view that the ethical values that ought to
permeate the legislative, the executive and the judicial wings of the
constitutional system had a deep and lasting Impact on the character, direction,
credibility and future of democratic governance. During Sangma's tenure as
Speaker, in a move which won encomiums from all quarters, an 8-member Study
Group of the Committee of Privileges was constituted to report on Ethics and
Standards in Public Life, The Study Group's report was considered by the
Committee of Privileges and adopted with some amendments. The report was later
presented to the Twelfth Lok Sabha.Another major initiative taken by Speaker
Sangma was the convening of a Special Session of both the Houses of Parliament
from 26 August to 1 September 1997 as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of
India's Independence. The Session took stock of the achievements and also set a
National Agenda for the future. Opening the Special Session, for the first time
in the Indian parliamentary history, the Speaker addressed the House and
stressed the need for a second freedom struggle—"freedom from our own internal
contradictions, between our prosperity and poverty, between the plenty of our
resource endowments and the scarcity of their prudent management, between peace
and tolerance and the current conduct sliding towards violence, intolerance and
discrimination".As Speaker, Sangma led the Indian Parliamentary Delegations to
the 42nd and 43rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conferences in Kuala
Lumpur in August 1996, and in Port Louis in September 1997, respectively. He
also led the Indian Parliamentary Delegations to the 96th Inter-Parliamentary
Union Conference in Beijing in September 1996 and the 98th Conference in Cairo
in September 1997. Sangma also headed the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the
Second Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians held
in Islamabad in October 1997. He chaired the Inter-Parliamentary Specialised
Conference of the IPU on "Towards Partnership between Men and Women in Politics"
hosted by the Indian Parliament in New Delhi in February 1997. The first ever
Conference of the Chairmen and Members of the Public Accounts Committees of
SAARC Parliaments was also held in New Delhi in August 1997 during his eventful
tenure. Sangma was an extremely popular Presiding Officer, respected for his
knowledge of rules and even more for his innate understanding of parliamentary
traditions. He was equally at his best outside the House. He participated in
many social gatherings and intellectual interactions organised by activist
groups with great enthusiasm, guided objective and non-partisan debates on
national issues and added a new social and public dimension to the office of the
Speaker.Sangma has been closely associated with various social organisations and
educational institutions. He was the Editor of a Meghalaya daily, Chandambeni
Kalrang. He has also edited two volumes of the book India in ILO.Sangma received
the Michael John Roll of Honour of the Tata Workers' Union for "Distinguished
Contribution to the Cause of Labour and to the Parliamentary System" in March
1997. He also received from the President of India in May 1997 the Golden
jubilee Award of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) for
outstanding contribution to the cause of the working class. Sangma is a
multi-faceted personality. His concern for decorum, freedom and dignity of the
House earned him the reputation of an outstanding parliamentarian. What,
however, made Sangma acceptable to political parties of all shades, as a
Speaker, was his ability to earn the confidence of people on both sides of the
House. His abiding concern for the underprivileged and his tireless endeavors to
eradicate poverty and remove socio-economic inequalities have endeared him to
the masses. Indeed, he is a man of the masses with an international standing. It
is the human side of Sangma which has brought him a large number of friends
amongst the people at large.In a short span of less than two years, Sangma left
an indelible impress of his personality on the office of the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha. His cherubic face, hearty laugh, quick wit, boundless enthusiasm,
impeccable demeanour and earthy wisdom made him a household name, with people
from all over the country showering compliments for the rare skill with which he
conducted the proceedings of the House. In the media too, his tenure as Speaker
was highly appreciated. The General Elections of 1998 saw Sangma returning to
the Lok Sabha once again and presently, he is one of the most articulate and
dignified speakers in the Opposition benches, listened to by all with respect
and attention.


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