Pramod Mahajan

The revolutionary



The suave, dapper Mahajan was always regarded as a smart politician, a
person who had scaled the ladder of power in haste. So in 1999, when in the NDA

ministry, he was given charge of the newly crafted portfolio of IT. It was

thought to be a demotion of sorts. But Mahajan networked extensively with

politicians, bureaucrats, academicians, businessmen and scientists to bring

about not just a change in the IT policy, but in how the government looks at it.

The result was the IT Act 2000. India becoming only the second country in the

world to frame such laws ahead of even the US. His active backing of Mukesh

Ambani's telecom venture courted controversies, but it led to a mobile

revolution. He died in May 2006, shot by his brother.