For Kumaramangalam, politics is a family business
A man of many interests, P Rangarajan
Kumaramangalam creates a record of sorts by becoming a third
generation Cabinet minister in the Union government.
A trade union leader, a lawyer, a sports enthusiast, a science buff, a politician... Kumaramangalam has a finger in
every conceivable pie.
His father, Mohan Kumaramangalam, served as minister for steel
and mines in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet till his death in a plane
crash in 1973, while his grandfather, P Subbaroyan, was
communications minister from 1957 to 1962 under Jawaharlal Nehru.
His uncle, General P P Kumaramangalam, was army chief. His aunt Parvati Krishnan was a Communist member of Parliament.
Born on May 12, 1952 at Madras, Kumaramangalam graduated in
physics from the Kirori Mal college, Delhi, and then studied law.
Kumaramangalam got a head start in politics when he joined the
Youth Congress at the age of 16. He was general secretary of the
Youth Congress from 1971 to 1973, president of the National Students
Federation of India from 1973 to 1975, and later general secretary of
the Youth Congress till 1976.
He was also a special invitee to the first congress of NAM
students and youth at Cairo in 1975.
He was first returned to the Lok Sabha in 1984 as a Congress
nominee from Salem in Tamil Nadu. He made his maiden entry into the
Union council of ministers when he was appointed minister of state
for parliamentary affairs, law, justice and company affairs in 1991.
He, however, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the
1998 general election.
Kumaramangalam is one of the leading lawyers of the Madras
high court. His forte is labour disputes -- and not surprisingly, he is
secretary or president of about 90 trade unions.
UNI
Elections '98
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