Phunchog Rai Explained

Phunchog Rai
Birth Date:	19 February 1944
Birth Place:	Lari village, Spiti valley, Himachal Pradesh, India
Office1:	Minister of Health and Family Planning, Government of Himachal Pradesh (1993-98) Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of Himachal Pradesh (1993-98) MLA from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency (1990-92)
Constituency1:	Lahaul and Spiti
Party:	Indian National Congress
Alma Mater:	Punjab University
Occupation:	Politician

Phunchog Rai (born 19 February 1944; also spelled as 'Phuntsok Rai') is a politician from Himachal Pradesh, India, and a member of the Indian National Congress Party.

Personal life and education

Rai hails from village Lari in the Spiti valley.^{[1] [2]} He matriculated from the Government High School in Manali in 1965, and did graduation from Punjab University at Chandigarh. The former IAS officer Deepak Sanan mentions Rai's father, Dorje Chhering, as an authority on the routes, water sources, and lifestyle of Spiti.^[3]

Political career

Rai served as an elected representative in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency from 1990 to 1998. In 1990, he was elected as an MLA, during the second tenure of Shanta Kumar as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1990-1992).

Rai was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1993, this time under the second tenure of Virbhadra Singh as Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh (1993-1998). In this period, he served as a cabinet minister.^[4] As minister, Rai held two portfolios, those of Tribal Affairs and Health and Family Planning.^{[5] [6]}

In the 11th Legislative Assembly Elections of Himachal Pradesh held in 2007, Rai lost against Dr. Ram Lal Markanda for the Lahaul and Spiti seat.^[7]

Other works

• Rai has been on the Expert Advisory Committee for the development of Buddhist/Tibetan culture and art in the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.^[8]
• In 1996, Rai was present as a minister at the 1,000th anniversary of the Tabo monastery in Spiti, whereat the 14th Dalai Lama also delivered Kalachakra teachings and initiations.^[9]
• Rai wrote the foreword to the book Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh by Manorama Sharma (1998).^[10]
• The 'Presidential Address' Rai delivered at a seminar on petroglyphs in the Spiti valley has been published in the book Rediscovering Spiti: a Historical and Archaeological Study (2017).^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: 25 October 2007 . Affidavit to be furnished by the candidate before the returning officer for election to the Vidhan Sabha . 11 October 2022 . myneta.info.
2. 2020 . Preliminary Exploration at Lari Village: A Petroglyph Site in Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India . Kalakalpa . V . 1 . 177.
3. Book: Sanan, Deepak . Exploring Kinnaur and Spiti in the Trans-Himalaya . Swadi . Dhanu . Indus Publishing Company . 1998 . New Delhi . 7.
4. Web site: Election results . Election Commission of India, New Delhi .
5. Book: Banach, Benti . A Village Called Self-Awareness, Life and Times in the Spiti Valley . Vajra Publications . 2010 . Kathmandu . 94.
6. News: 24 May 2021 . Purv mantri ke ganv mein abhi bhi mobile signal nahi . Khabar Himachal . 11 October 2022.
7. Web site: Himachal Pradesh election results .
8. Web site: 14 August 2013 . Expert Advisory Committee . 11 October 2022.
9. Web site: 1996 . Per l 1000 anni del monastero di Taboo . 12 October 2022.
10. Book: Sharma, Manorma . Tribal Melodies of Himachal Pradesh: Gaddi folk music . 1998 . APH Publishing . 978-81-7024-912-2 . en.
11. Web site: Service . Tribune News . A journey to Spiti and Sutlej biosphere . 2022-10-11 . Tribuneindia News Service . en.
12. Book: Chauhan, Hari . Rediscovering Spiti: A Historical and Archaeological Study . 2017 . Himachal State Museum, Department of Language & Culture, Himachal Pradesh . 978-93-5279-899-5 . en.