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Brief Bio-data
Member of Rajya Sabha

MAHENDRA PRASAD, SHRI:

Graduation with Honours in Economics; (Nominated) Congress(I); son of late Shri Bali Ram Sharma and Shrimati Muluk Rani Devi; born : at Govindpur, Jehanabad, Bihar, January 8, 1940; educated at (i) Middle School and High School, Okari and (ii) Patna College, Patna University; 3 son

Environmentalist; Horticulturist; Economist; Agriculturist; Political and Social worker; Founder of B.B.M. Inter and Degree College at Okari, Jehanabad, Bihar; Convenor, (i) Parliamentary Party Standing Committee on Finance, 1983-84 and (ii) Parliamentary Party Standing Committee on Fertilizers and Chemicals, 1991-92; Chairman, Grievance Committee and Estate Committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences; Vice-Chairman, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, February, 1992 in Japan and unanimously re-elected in October, 1993 for three years at Kualalumpur, Malaysia; Led (i) Parliamentary Delegation to Hanoi (Vietnam) to attend Executive Committee Meeting of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development held on 24th February, 1993 and 9th Meeting of Asian Population and Development Association of Japan on 25th and 26th February, 1993, (ii) Parliamentary Delegation of All Parties to Vietnam on invitation from Chairman of Social Affairs Committee of Vietnam Parliament and Government in September, 1993 and also led the delegation to a meeting with the Chairman, Standing Committee of Cambodian Parliament (which drafted the Constitution of Cambodia), (iii) Multi-Party Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia to attend 4th General Assembly of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development in October, 1993, (iv) Parliamentary Delegation to Beijing to attend 10th Meeting of Asian Population and Development Association of Japan on 2nd March, 1994 and also attended the Executive Committee Meeting of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development on 3rd and 4th March, 1994, (v) Parliamentary Delegation to DPR Korea (North Korea) from 5th to 7th March, 1994 where he discussed the population and related matters of North Korea and in Asia with the Health Minister of DPR Korea and Prof. Dr. Ryu Gyu Dong, Deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly (Member of North Korean Parliament), Member of Budget Committee of DPRK, Ho. Rector of Pyongyang University of Medicine, President of Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, (vi) Parliamentary Delegation to UNO, New York to attend Preparatory Committee Meeting of International Conference on Population and Development in April, 1994, (vii) Multi-Party Parliamentary Delegation to Japan on invitation of Asian Population and Development Association of Members of Parliament of Japan from 21st to 29th May, 1994 and (viii) Parliamentary Delegation to attend International Conference of Parliamentarian on Population and Development in Cairo (Egypt) and was also a member of Indian Delegation to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo (Egypt) in September, 1994, where he also attended the Executive Committee Meeting of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Developments; Member, (i) Seventh Lok Sabha, 198(}84, (ii) Committee on Rules, Rajya Sabha, 1986-87, (iii) Governing Body, Institute Body, Selection Committee and Finance Committee of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (iv) Consultative Committee of Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, (v) Committee on Finance, (vi) AICC (I), (vii) Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (I), (viii) Bharat Krishak Samaj (Life Member), (ix) Indian Parliamentary Delegation to Greece, France, Belgium, U.K. and Netherlands in June, 1983 and to Australia and Singapore in May-June, 1984 and to Soviet Union in May, 1988, (x) All Party Delegation of

Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development to China in June, 1985 and in September, 1991, (xi) Delegation of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development to Indonesia in October, 1986, to Thailand in February, 1987 and to China in September, 1987, (xii) Parliamentarians Action for Removal of Apartheid Delegation to West Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway in May, 1987 and (xiii) Conference of Global Forum on Environment and Development held in Moscow from 13th to 23rd January, 1990; went on Study Tour to New-Zealand in 1990, Brazil, Tanzania, Panama, Canada, U.S.A. and East Germany in 1991 and to Pakistan, Ireland, Mongolia, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in 1994; Visited, (i) Tanzania to attend 75th Anniversary of African National Congress in December, 1987, (ii) Zambia and Zimbabwe to attend the meeting of Association of West European Parliamentarians for action against Apartheid in March, 1988, (iii) Oxford (England) to attend Global Conference of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival in April, 1988, (iv) Bangkok (Thailand) to attend 3rd General Assembly of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development in October, 1990, (v) Seoul (South Korea) to attend the meeting of Asian Population and Development Association in February, 1991, (vi) Tokyo (Japan) to attend the meeting of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development in February, 1992 and (vii) Bali (Indonesia) to attend the Fourth Asian Pacific Population Conference in August, 1992; went as Party Observer during Punjab elections to Amritsar Parliamentary Constituency in September, 1985 where in Batala he narrowly escaped death when his car was blasted by a powerful magnetic time bomb planted by terrorists; made impassioned speeches as early as on July 30, 1980, March 15 and April 7, 1982 in the Lok Sabha and on March 17, 1986 in the Rajya Sabha advocating economic liberalisation in India which has become a historical necessity in the world today; Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Minister of Finance while going through those speeches observed that had the country been following the policy as advocated, today India would have been an economic power comparable to Japan; elected to the Rajya Sabha in January, 1985, re-elected in June, 1986 and nominated in August, 1993.

Travels abroad: Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium (twice), Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada (twice), China (five times), Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, Egypt (twice), Ethiopia (twice), Finland, France (thrice), West Germany (thrice), Greece, Hong Kong (9 times), Indonesia (thrice), Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan (five times), Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Laos, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malaysia (twice), Mongolia, Mauritius, Myanmar (Burma), Negara Brunei Darussalam, Nepal, Netherlands (twice), New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar (twice), Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Singapore (8 times), South Korea (4 times), Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand (7 times), Ukraine, U.A.E., U.K. (thrice), U.S.A. (thrice), U.S.S.R. (twice), Vatican City, Vietnam (thrice), Zambia and Zimbabwe; one of the most widely travelled Parliamentarians in the world in terms of number of countries visited.

Favourite pastime and recreation: Reading and gardening (has been winning first prize for the best garden in Delhi continuously for the last twelve years).

Mailing address: 67, Pataliputra Colony, Patna, Bihar.