Manish Tewari

Personal life

Manish Tewari was born on 8 December 1965 in Chandigarh, India to Hindu Brahmin father V.N. Tiwari, an author of Punjabi language and professor at the Panjab University; and Jat Sikh mother Amrit Tewari, a dentist who worked as Professor and Head, Oral Health Sciences Center, and Dean at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research. His father was killed by Khalistani militants in 1984. His mother died in 2018 following a cardiac arrest. Tewari's maternal grandfather, Sardar Tirath Singh was a lawyer and a minister in Congress' government in the state of Punjab.

He studied from St. John's High School, Chandigarh. Tewari attained a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh and later a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Delhi. During his time at the Panjab University, he led the sports teams in swimming and water polo. Tewari married Naznin Shifa, a Parsi in March 1996 and now resides in Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi. The couple has a daughter, Ineka Tewari.

Career

Tewari was the president of National Students Union of India from 1988 to 1993 and Indian Youth Congress(I) from 1998 to 2000. He lost the 2004 Lok sabha elections but successfully contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections by defeating Shiromani Akali Dal's candidate Gurcharan Singh Galib by a margin of over 100,000 votes. In the 2012 Indian Cabinet reshuffle he was made Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting. Tewari, an advocate by profession, presently practices in the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts of Delhi as well as Punjab and Haryana.

As a member of parliament he has been active in drafting a Private member's Bill to bring the intelligence agencies under parliamentary oversight. While he was scheduled to contest polls from his constituency Ludhiana, in March 2014 he was admitted to hospital for heart ailment. Days later he expressed his unwillingness to contest parliamentary elections owing to his ill health. He has been replaced by Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Manish Tewari was a speaker at Bridge India's webinar on "India's foreign policy: Taking stock at the end of Year One". In 2022, it was reported that Tewari may be a candidate in the 2022 Indian National Congress presidential election.

References

References

1. "Manish Tewari Biography". NRIInternet.com.
2. Sethi, Chitleen K.. (2024-06-04). "Congress's Manish Tewari wrests Chandigarh from BJP after 10 yrs, Sanjay Tandon loses by slim margin".
3. (6 June 2024). "Bullish Wins & Bearish Losses: Here are the key contests and results of 2024 Lok Sabha polls".
4. (August 2025). "Detailed profile: Shri Manish Tewari". [[Government of India]].
5. (Nov 21, 2018). "Actually Prabhu ji @PrabhuChawla "I am half a Jat Sikh too - from my mother's side & proud of the Hindu- Sikh syncretism that is my DNA. My Late Father called it Punjabiyat. While I was growing up religion, caste & the rest of it was alien to me. I discovered that I was a Hindu1/2"".
6. (15 January 2018). "Prof Amrit Tewari, former PGI Dean, passes away at 80". The Tribune.
7. "Tewari, Shri Manish".
8. PTI. (2012-10-28). "Cabinet reshuffle: Manmohan Singh's new team a mix of youth and experience".
9. (14 August 2011). "Indian spy agencies to come under parliament oversight?". The Economic Times.
10. (16 March 2014). "Manish Tewari unlikely to contest Lok Sabha polls".
11. (25 March 2014). "Manish Tewari not to contest Lok Sabha polls".
12. "Bridge India's webinar series".
13. (September 22, 2022). "Kamal Nath, Manish Tewari may contest in Congress chief polls".