PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
Former governor of Maharashtra and former chief minister of Uttarakhand, Bhagat Singh Koshyari will be conferred with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu will confer the Padma awards for 2026 in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan on May 25,2026.
Koshyari, fondly known as ‘Bhagat Da’ in Uttarakhand is a social worker, educationist, journalist and political personality. A committed Swayamsevak of the RSS, he is known for his simplicity, discipline and political acumen.
Born on June 17, 1942 in the remote village of Palanadhura in Bageshwar district, Uttarakhand, Koshyari, completed his postgraduate degree in English literature in 1964 from Almora College, affiliated with Agra University. He began his professional career as a Lecturer in Raja Ka Rampur (Etah, Uttar Pradesh) in 1964.
In 1966, he founded ‘Saraswati Shishu Mandir’ in Pithoragarh, a border district of Uttarakhand, thereby strengthening educational opportunities in remote areas. He also played an important role in establishing Vivekanand Inter College in Pithoragarh and remained actively associated with Saraswati Vihar, Nainital. He served as the Vibhag Karyawah of the RSS for several years and later became the Secretary of the Uttaranchal Utthan Parishad.
During the emergency, he was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). Koshyari was nominated to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council in 1997.
In November 2000, he became a cabinet minister in the first cabinet of Uttarakhand and later served as the CM of Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) for a short period. He also worked as the leader of the opposition in the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha. In 2008, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha, and in 2014, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency.
He also served as the chairperson of the Petitions Committee in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, He was appointed as the governor of Maharashtra on September 05, 2019.He has written two books ‘Uttaranchal Pradesh Kyon’ and ‘Uttaranchal Pradesh: Sangharsh Evam Samadhan’.
