Balwant Singh Mankotia
Balwant Singh Mankotia is an Indian politician and the former President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party. He has been twice elected member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, holding office for 12 years. He is a leading campaigner for secular values against the terrorist insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. On 8 April 2022 he joined the Aam Admi Party, and was seen as a forntrunner to be its leader in Jammu and Kashmir. Early life. His parents are Thakur Ram Das and Surju Devi. His father, Sh.Mast Ram Mankotia was an Indian  military commander in Operation Polo 1948, that ousted "Nizam" (King) Osman Ali Khan and led to the annexation of Hyderabad to India. He graduated with a BSc from Jammu University in 1992. Career. Member of government, 2002. He won his first election in 2002 from Udhampur, and was a part of the coalition government in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, with the PDP and Congress Party. In 2002, Balwant Singh was the first MLA to give oath in the Dogri language in the name of Vaishno Devi, a trend that was adopted by other Hindu MLAs in Jammu and  Kashmir. Protest leader in opposition, 2008. After he retained his seat in the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir general elections, Balwant was a vocal member of the opposition, and campaigned to end illiteracy in the state. Balwant Singh led several protests in the assembly house against Pakistan, then chief minister Omar Abdullah and demanded that the word secular be inserted into the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, to match the Constitution of India. His protests in the assembly house included leading walkouts and throwing a microphone while standing on tables in the assembly house. He was once forcefully ejected from the  legislative assembly by the security marshals and suspended. After disturbing the proceeding he demanded that Speaker Mubarak Gal, have the assembly unanimously adopt a resolution against Pakistan, for its ceasefire violations in the Kashmir conflict. President of Panthers Party & OIC-UN issue, 2010. In 2010, Balwant Singh became the President of the Panthers Party, and led a large demonstration in front of the UN peacekeeping force base in Jammu. While burning an effigy of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Balwant demanded that the United Nations secretary-general terminate recognition of the OIC, from the UN's list of recognised  groups. He alleged that the OIC, akin to Pakistan's ISI, was supporting terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir floods, 2014. He campaigned for the October 2014 Jammu and Kashmir floods, to be escalated to status of National Emergency in India to ensure that the effected residents would be compensated. Personal life. His uncle Bhim Singh, is founder of the Panthers Party and his cousin Harsh Dev Singh is its chairman. His cousin Ankit Love is the leader of the One Love Party in Great Britain.