In the late hours of March 17, 2019 Goa CM Manohar Parrikar passed away succumbing to a battle with pancreatic ailment. The Goa CM and the former Raksha Mantri of India was well respected across political circles and was known as a man of integrity and honesty who brought gravitas to whichever position he held. He was 63.

He joined the RSS at a young age and subsequently joined the BJP. In 1994, he first became a MLA in the Goa Assembly. He subsequently became the leader of opposition and then became the CM of Goa first in 2000 and held this post till 2005, and then again from 2012-2014. In 2014, he left Goa to take charge as the Defense Minister of India.

His tenure as the Defence minister, although short was appreciated by many. He was known for quick and efficient decision making and leading a very clean administration in what has historically been a ministry mired in charges. He focused on defense acquistions and also opened investigations in to corruption allegations leveled w.r.t the Agusta Westland and other scams. The surgical strikes after Uri too happened in his tenure as the Defence Minister

In 2017, he returned back to his beloved Goa to lead a BJP coalition government after the party fell short of the majority mark in the 2017 Elections. Even with his ailment he kept working till the very last minute. This video of him asking ‘Hows the Josh’ summed up his grit.

He kept fighting till the very end and never gave up. He will be remembered as a politician who never gave up and who had an incredible connect with the people. He will be missed.