Deaths on January 2

Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1922)

Bali Ram Bhagat (7 October 1922 – 2 January 2011) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress.

Bhagat was born into a wealthy Yadav family in Patna, Bihar in October 1922. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1939 during the Indian independence movement and participated in the Quit India movement. He received a bachelor's degree from Patna College and obtained a master's degree in economics from Patna University.After independence, he served as the Member of Parliament from Arrah for six terms including the first five terms (1952-1977 & 1984-1989). Bhagat lost his seat to Chandradeo Prasad Verma in the 1977 general election, where the Congress lost power in India for the first time.Between 1963 and 1967, Bhagat served as the Minister of State for Planning as well as Finance. He was a Minister in the Ministry of Defence for a short period in 1967 before he became the Minister of State for External Affairs in the same year. Bhagat became a member of the cabinet in 1969 when he was appointed the Minister of Foreign Trade and Supply. Later, he was the Minister of Steel and Heavy Engineering for a period of eight months.Bhagat served as the Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1976 to 1977, during the turbulent final year of Indira Gandhi’s first reign as prime minister. He served as Minister for External Affairs of India under Indira's son, Rajiv Gandhi, from 1985 to 1986. He was governor of Himachal Pradesh briefly during 1993, and governor of Rajasthan from 1993 to 1998. Bali Ram Bhagat died in New Delhi on 2 January 2011.