Manohar Parrikar, Goa Chief Minister and former defence minister, passed away at the age of 63 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Manohar Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and had been in and out of hospitals.
Born in 1955, Manohar Parrikar joined RSS during his days in school and went on to graduate from IIT-Bombay with a degree in metallurgical engineering.
From an RSS pracharak to a Union Minister, the technocrat-turned politician was known for his administrative acumen and clean image, which left an indelible mark on the politics of the tiny state. Among the first members of BJP in Goa, Parrikar was instrumental in raising the profile of his party from its just four members in state assembly in 1994 to its present status as a ruling party in the state assembly.
He was inducted into the Narendra Modi cabinet as the defence minister, under whose tenure India conducted the surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He returned as Goa CM in March 2017.
