New Delhi: It was a long journey for Paban Singh Ghatowar from his humble beginning as a leader of the tea tribe community in Assam to becoming a Minister of State with Independent charge in the Union Council of Ministers.
The five-time Dibrugarh MP first entered the Lok Sabha in 1991 after a long innings in the Indian National Trade Union Congress, Assam, where he was general secretary, working for the welfare of several lakh tea garden labourers engaged in over 1,000 tea estates.
Reacting to his appointment as Minister of State (Independent charge) in the DoNER, Ghatowar told that he would try his best to work for the welfare of the eight Northeastern states.
"I will try to bring development to every nook and corner of the Northeast. All existing projects will be expedited on a priority basis with the active cooperation of the state governments," he said.
Ghatowar, 61, first became a Deputy Minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government and was later made a Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare.
The former Assam Pradesh Congress Committee chief has been elected to the Lok Sabha continuously since 1991 barring once and after his election in 2009, he was made the Chief Whip, Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha.
Ghatowar's wife Jibontara is an MLA in Assam. Born on June 6, 1950 at Domor Dollong Tea Estate in Assam's Sibsagar district, Ghatowar graduated from Gauhati University and went on to acquire an Industrial Relations Training from the United Kingdom.
His initial foray into politics came as the general secretary of Assam Tea Tribes Students Association in 1968. He went on to hold the same post in the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangh from 1978 to 1991, and became its president in 1996.
He became a member of AICC in 1986 and got promoted as president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee in 2002.
Ghatowar has served as a member of several important committees of Parliament, including Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Government Assurances, Petroleum and Chemicals, Official language, business advisory committee, energy, privileges committee and Subordinate legislation.
A sports enthusiast with special interest in cricket and football, Ghatowar is associated with several sports associations of the state.
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