Son of Late Shri Narainu Ram Shandil; born on 20^th October, 1940 at Village Basheel, Tehsil Kandaghat, District Solan; M.A., M.Phil and Ph.D.; widower; one son and two daughters; Political & Social worker.

Served in the Armed Forces from 1962-96 and retired as Colonel.

Elected to 13^th Lok Sabha in 1999 as Himachal Vikas Congress Party nominee; re-elected to 14^th Lok Sabha in 2004 as Indian National Congress nominee.

 Remained General Secretary, Incharge Mizoram, Meghalaya & Arunachal Pradesh, and Member, Congress Working Committee from April, 2011 to September, 2013.

Elected to the State Legislative Assembly in December, 2012; remained Social Justice & Empowerment Minister from 25^th December, 2012 to 21^st December, 2017.

Re-elected to the thirteenth Vidhan Sabha (2^nd term) in December, 2017 and nominated as Member, Welfare, Public Administration and Ethics Committees.

Social & Cultural : Mixing with young people and understanding of our rich culture.

Favorite Pastime: Reading, listening of music (classical), trekking, long walks in nature and playing tennis, golf & badminton.

Languages Known: Hindi, English and Punjabi.

Travels Abroad: Thailand, Bhutan, Britain, Australia, USA & Canada.