Panthers Party founder Bhim Singh passes away at 81 in Jammu 

By PTI

JAMMU: Founder of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party Bhim Singh handed away in Jammu on Tuesday after being unwell for a few month. He was 81. 

The former legislator hailed from Udhampur district’s Bhugterian village. He has left behind his spouse Jai Mala and son Ankit Love, who lives in London. Singh breathed his final at GMC Hospital right here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and heads of varied political events expressed their condolences on the demise of Singh, who emerged as a significant political face to reckon with within the Jammu area.

“Prof Bhim Singh Ji will be remembered as a grassroots leader who devoted his life for the welfare of Jammu and Kashmir. He was very well-read and scholarly. I will always recall my interactions with him. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti,” Modi mentioned in a tweet.

Prof Bhim Singh Ji will probably be remembered as a grassroots chief who devoted his life for the welfare of Jammu and Kashmir. He was very properly learn and scholarly. I’ll all the time recall my interactions with him. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his household and supporters. Om Shanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 31, 2022

Lieutenent Governor Manoj Sinha mentioned he was deeply saddened to study in regards to the passing away of Singh.

“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family & friends in this hour of grief. Om Shanti,” he mentioned in a tweet.

Singh was additionally a human rights activist, creator and a Supreme Court lawyer, who was re-elected unopposed as a senior government member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh mentioned he was deeply saddened by the demise of the Panthers Party’s founder-patron.

“He was probably the first leading firebrand political activist of post-Independence Jammu and Kashmir and had begun to make an impact from early years, first as a student leader and then a member of the Congress party. My respectful condolence,” he mentioned in a tweet.

“Prof.Singh was a pacesetter dedicated to secular values who fought relentlessly for the rights of downtrodden and marginalised sections of society in and out of doors the state legislature.

At a time when polarisation and divisiveness has dominated the political enviornment, he stood for communal concord and fought tooth and nail in opposition to the forces, who’re hell bent upon dividing the folks and areas into the communal traces,” CPI(M) chief M.Y.Tarigami mentioned.

Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone paid wealthy tributes to Singh and referred to as him “timeless”.

“A man of many parts. Timeless, selfless and a crusader. He was my father’s colleague and friend. From riding across Sahara on a motorcycle to Palestine to Iraq Bhim Singh Ji had friends all across. A born adventurer. May he rest in peace,” Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone mentioned.

Singh held a number of key positions within the Congress, from the president of the occasion’s Jammu and Kashmir youth unit to its nationwide common secretary, earlier than launching his personal Panthers Party in October 1982.

He studied regulation on the University of London. He was the primary Indian to be elected secretary of the University of London Union in 1971.

Singh, who contested election for the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat in 1988, was defeated by the Congress candidate.

Alleging foul play, he went on a starvation strike in opposition to the Election Commission of India.

In response to his evaluation petition in opposition to the ECI order, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court delivered the judgment in his favour 4 years later, however by then, the session of Parliament had already been dissolved.

The Supreme Court had awarded Singh Rs 50,000 compensation for his unlawful imprisonment by the then state authorities that adopted his suspension as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 1985.

In the 2002 meeting polls, his Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party gained 4 seats and have become a coalition companion within the Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed authorities.

Singh had additionally offered authorized assist to over 200 folks from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, who had been languishing for many years in numerous jails throughout the nation.

His assist noticed the discharge of most of those prisoners.

The veteran chief, who travelled to over 130 international locations around the globe on a bike, was pals with stalwarts equivalent to Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi.