Mast Ram Mankotia was an Indian military commander in Operation Polo 1948, that ousted Nizam (King) Osman Ali Khan and led to the annexation of Hyderabad to India.
In 2002, Balwant Singh was the first MLA to give oath in the Dogri language in the name of Vaishno Devi, a trend that was adopted by other Hindu MLAs in Jammu and Kashmir.
[7] After he retained his seat in the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir general elections, Balwant was a vocal member of the opposition, and campaigned to end illiteracy in the state.
On 24 August 2014 Speaker of the House, Mubarak Gul ordered security guards to forcibly evict Balwant Singh from the assembly when he disturbed proceedings against a bill by Omar Abdullah that had urged India to resume dialogue with Pakistan,[14] instead Balwant wearing a black bandana hawkishly demanded that the assembly condemn ceasefire violations by Pakistan, claiming they were leading to deaths of innocent villagers.
[17] After disturbing the proceeding he demanded on television that Speaker Mubarak Gal, have the assembly unanimously adopt a resolution against Pakistan,[18] for its ceasefire violations in the Kashmir conflict.