M. S. Gill

Manohar Singh Gill (14 June 1936 – 15 October 2023) was an Indian bureaucrat, politician, and writer. As a bureaucrat, he served as a member of the Indian Administrative Service from 1958 until his retirement in 2001 as 11th Chief Election Commissioner of India. Upon his retirement, he joined the Indian National Congress and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in 2004 and served as a member of the upper house until his retirement in 2016. He also served as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2008 to 2011 and as Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation in 2011.

Early life and career
Gill attended St. George's College in Mussoorie, India. In 1958, he joined the Indian Administrative Services and served in administration at various places in different capacities in undivided Punjab until 1966 when Punjab was trisected to carve out separate states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. His various postings included sub-divisional magistrate in Mahendragarh, now in Haryana, and deputy commissioner of the then Lahaul-Spiti district, now in Himachal Pradesh. He also served as the agriculture secretary of Punjab from 1985 to 1987 under Amarinder Singh, who was then the agriculture minister of Punjab.

Gill served as Chief Election Commissioner of India from 1996 to 2001, succeeding T. N. Seshan. His major achievement was the introduction of electronic voting machines, which curbed malpractices to a large extent. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his work in this post. At the 300-year anniversary of the Khalsa, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Khalsa.

Upon his retirement from the election commission, he joined politics with the Indian National Congress. In 2004, he was nominated by the party for the election to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab. He was re-elected in 2010 and continued to serve as its member until his retirement upon completion of his tenure on 9 April 2016. In a cabinet reshuffle held on 6 April 2008, he was inducted to the union council of ministers as Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Following the Congress Party's victory in the 2009 Indian election, he was re-inducted into the council of ministers and held cabinet rank in the second term. He continued to serve as the minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. It was during this tenure that India hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi which also contributed to concerns and controversies, including several allegations of corruption and mismanagement which later led to his removal from the ministry in a cabinet reshuffle in January 2011.

Gill was then appointed as Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation on 19 January 2011 and served until his resignation on 12 July 2011.

Death
M. S. Gill died on 15 October 2023, at the age of 87.

Books authored
In 1972, Gill authored the book Himalayan Wonder: Travels in Lahaul and Spiti, recounting stories from his days as a young IAS officer in the Lahaul-and-Spiti district, then in Punjab. He wrote another book based on that period titled Tales from the Hills: Lahaul's Enduring Myths and Legends (2014).

Awards and recognition

 * Padma Vibhushan (2000)