Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat

Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat
Shekhawat in 2010
First Gentleman of India
In role 25 July 2007 – 25 July 2012
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Usha Narayanan (As First Lady)
Succeeded by	Suvra Mukherjee (As First Lady)
First Gentleman of Rajasthan
In role 8 November 2004 – 23 June 2007
Governor	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Raj Khurana
Succeeded by	Jamila Kidwai
Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
In office 1985–1990
Preceded by	Surendra Chhatrapal Bhuyar
Succeeded by	Jagdish Motilal Gupta
Constituency	Amravati
Personal details
Born	c. 1934
Died	24 February 2023(2023-02-24) (aged 88–89) Pune, Maharashtra, India
Citizenship	Indian
Spouse(s)	Pratibha Patil ( m. 1965)
Children	2
Occupation	Agriculturist politician

Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat (c. 1934 – 24 February 2023) was an Indian agriculturist and politician who served as the first first gentleman of India as the husband of President Pratibha Patil. He also served as the first gentleman of Rajasthan and also as mayor of Amravati. He was a member of the Indian National Congress.

Early life

Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat, who was then a lecturer in chemistry,<ref name="sundayindian">"I had some misgivings about women in politics". The Sunday Indian. 27 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.</ref> married Pratibha Patil on 7 July 1965. The couple had a daughter and a son, Raosaheb Shekhawat, who is also a politician.<ref>"Ex Governor of Rajasthan". Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Secretariate. Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref><ref>Purohit, Kunal (11 October 2014). "In Amravati, it's about taking revenge for 2009 polls". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref>

Shekhawat was awarded a PhD from the University of Mumbai in 1972.<ref name="sundayindian" /> Prior to his wife's elevation to her presidential role, he had been principal of a college operated by his wife's Vidya Bharati Shikshan Sanstha foundation and also a First Mayor of Amravati (1991–1992). Like his wife, he was a member of the Indian National Congress party.<ref name="sundayindian" /><ref>"Patil's husband to be occasional guest at Rashtrapati Bhavan". DNA. PTI. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref><ref>"Pratibha Patil's Resume". The Times of India. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref> He was also an agriculturalist and a former member of the Legislative Assembly, being elected for the period 1985–1990 from the Amravati constituency in the Maharashtra state legislature.<ref name="sundayindian" /><ref>Kulkarni, Dhaval (15 June 2007). "Politician, farmer, husband of the next President?". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref><ref>"State Elections of Maharashtra, 1985" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 8. Retrieved 11 January 2015.</ref> He lost his deposit in the 1995 contest for that constituency.<ref>Gaikwad, Rahi (10 October 2009). "Shekhawat faces the heat in Amravati". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref>

Various accusations against Shekhawat and Patil emerged after the latter was nominated for the office of president.<ref name="TOI">Thakur, Pradeep; Mahapatra, Dhananjay (28 June 2007). "Muck refuses to move from Pratibha path". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref> Among these was the case of Kisan Dhage, a teacher in a school run by Vidya Prasarak Shikshan Mandal in Buldana district, who committed suicide in November 1998. He left a note saying that he was committing suicide because he was tired of the mental harassment caused by Shekhawat, who was chairman of the institution, and four others. When the police registered the case as "accidental death", Dhage's wife appealed to the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Jalgaon Jamod, a tehsil in Buldana district. The JMFC ordered the police to start criminal proceedings.<ref>"Fresh Scandal Plagues Pratibha". DNA. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref><ref>"Devisingh's plea to be heard on July 12". The Hindu. PTI. 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref> Shekhawat petitioned the courts seeking dismissal of charges of abetting Dhage's suicide. Two lower courts turned down this plea and by June 2007 the issue was pending in the Bombay High Court.<ref name="TOI" /> A judge at that court dismissed the charges against Shekhawat in 2009 on the grounds that there was no proof of direct involvement, although one of his co-accused remained subject to the proceedings.<ref>Ganjapure, Vaibhav (1 February 2009). "High court relief for Prez's husband". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref>

In 2009, a court ruled that Shekhawat had colluded with five relatives and local officials to illegally transfer into his ownership 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) of land in Chandrapur belonging to a Dalit farmer. This was one of several allegations of corruption and irregularities to emerge during Patil's presidency in relation to her and her family.<ref>"Her Excellency's husband a land grabber?". The Economic Times. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.</ref>

First Gentleman of Rajasthan (2004–2007)

Upon Shekhawat's wife's succession as governor of Rajasthan, he moved into Raj Bhavan, Jaipur succeeding as the first gentleman of Rajasthan for 3 years.

First Gentleman of India (2007–2012)

44th United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are greeted by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and First Gentleman Devisingh shekawat.

On 25 July 2007 Shekhawat became the first first gentleman of India upon his wife's succession as the twelfth — and first woman — President of India for a full five-year term.

Death

Shekhawat died on 24 February 2023 at the age of 89.<ref>Devisingh Shekhawat: माजी राष्ट्रपती प्रतिभाताई पाटील यांचे पती देवीसिंह शेखावत यांचं निधन (in Marathi)</ref>

External links

• Thakurdesai, Prerana; Sahgal, Priya (9 July 2007). "Embarrassing Choice: Scandals and mud-slinging have turned the presidential polls into an unseemly affair". India Today. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

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Vacant Title last held by Usha Narayanan

First Gentleman of India 2007–2012

Succeeded by Suvra Mukherjee