Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday led members of the Lower House of Parliament in paying tribute and homage to former union minister and veteran Congress politician Paty Ripple (P.R.) Kyndiah, who passed away on March 26, 2015.
Reading from a prepared statement, Mahajan recalled Kyndiah's significant presence and contribution to the nation and to parliament as a political leader and union minister. She recalled his laudable contributions to deliberations during the 12th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabha sessions.
Members of the Lok Sabha stood up and observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect for the departed leader.
Kyndiah, who was 86 at the time of his passing, was one of the Hill State Movement leaders who went on to occupy various positions in a long political career.
Born on May 7, 1928, Kyndiah is survived by two daughters, three sons and several grandchildren.
In the UPA-I Government (2004-2009), Kyndiah was the DoNER and Union Tribal Affairs Minister. He was the second from Meghalaya and the first among the Khasi-Jaintia community to have held the post of Mizoram Governor from 1993-1998. He was also the first among the community to become Union cabinet minister.
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Kyndiah will go down in modern Indian history as the man who piloted the bill that later became the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Reorganisation of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 in Parliament.
Before joining the Congress, Kyndiah was office-bearer of the then All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) as its general secretary and chief organiser of the Non-Violent Direct Action Corps to demand for the creation of a separate state.
In 1962, he was elected municipal ward commissioner, Shillong under the then composite state of Assam while from 1967 to 1972 he was re-elected to the civic body and became its chairman. In 1970-1972, Kyndiah had served the Meghalaya Provisional Assembly following his election through an electoral college.
From 1972 until 1993, he was an elected member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, and held the post of cabinet minister on several occasions.
From 1979-1981, he was Leader of the Opposition and in 1987, he was acting chief minister of the state. From 1989 to 1993, he held the office of Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
He was sworn in as Mizoram Governor in February 1993 and demitted the office in January 1998 to contest the 1998 Lok Sabha polls.
Kyndiah was first elected to the Lok Sabha in February 1998, representing Shillong parliamentary constituency. He was re-elected in October 1999, and again in 2004. He had served as chairman of the Northeast MPs' Forum from 1998-2009. He retired from active politics few months before the 2009 parliamentary polls.
Besides his political work, Kyndiah had authored nine books: Jawaharlal Nehru: The Thinking Dynamo, Meghalaya Yesterday and Today, Journey of Words, J.J.M. Nichols Roy: Architect of District Council Autonomy, Mizo Freedom Fighters, Walk With Me (on the virtues of walking, which was released by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008), Incredible Tribes of India and No Hill State No Rest.