Jagdeep Dhankhar

Jagdeep Dhankhar (Hindi pronunciation: [d͡ʒəgˈd̪iːp d̪ʱən.kʰəɽ]; born 18 May 1951) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the vice president of India from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022. He also served as a Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the Chandra Shekhar ministry from 1990 to 1991, and served as a member of Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. Between 1993 and 1998, he was a Member of Rajasthan's Legislative Assembly. He has been affiliated with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Early life and education

Dhankhar was born on 18 May 1951 in Kithana, a village in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India, into a Hindu Rajasthani Jat family to Ch. Gokal Chand and Kesari Devi. He completed his school education from Sainik School, Chittorgarh. Dhankhar completed his primary and middle school education from Kithana Government School and Ghardhana Government School respectively. He obtained his B.Sc and LLB from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

Legal career

Dhankhar enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Rajasthan in 1979. He was designated a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan in 1990 and remained the senior-most designated Senior Advocate in the state until taking the oath as Governor on 30 July 2019.

Since 1990, Dhankhar has practised primarily in constitutional law in the Supreme Court of India. He has appeared in the various high courts of India and has also served a stint as the president of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.

In 2016, Dhankhar appeared in the Sutlej River water dispute, representing the state of Haryana in the Supreme Court of India.