Former Union Minister and veteran Congress Party leader Paty Ripple Kyndiah died

Former Union Minister and veteran Congress Party leader Paty Ripple Kyndiah died on 26 March 2015 due to cardiac arrest. He was 87.

He had served as the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs and Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) in 2004 under the UPA-I government led by Manmohan Singh. He retired from active politics in 2009 prior to the Lok Sabha polls.

He also was a prominent figure in Meghalaya politics. He was a member of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly from 1970 to 1993. While from 1975 to 1988, Kyndiah served as cabinet minister in State, as Leader of Opposition, Acting Chief Minister and Speaker of the Assembly.

He had also served as Governor of Mizoram from 1993 to 1998 and subsequently he was elected to Lok Sabha three times (1998, 1999 and 2004) from Shillong constituency of Lok Sabha.

When Meghalaya was first formed as an autonomous State in 1970, Kyndiah was elected a member of its Provisional Assembly.

A pioneer in cooperatives and banking in the region, Kyndiah was Vice-Chairman, Assam Cooperative Apex Bank, founded the Shillong Cooperative Urban Bank and was the Founder Chairman of the Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank. He was the Red Cross chief of Assam and later Meghalaya for several years.

Also, he was the author of some popular books like Jawaharlal Nehru: The Thinking Dynamo, Meghalaya: Yesterday and Today, Mizo Freedom Fighters, Pillars of Mizo Society.