Naveen Jindal

Some Lesser Known Facts About Naveen Jindal

• He was born as the youngest child to Om Prakash Jindal (industrialist-philanthropist-politician).

• His father, Om Prakash Jindal, had served as the Minister of Power in the Government of Haryana.

• His mother, Savitri, has also remained a minister in Haryana Government till 2014.

• At the University of Texas at Dallas, he was the President of the Student Government and received the Student Leader of the Year Award.

• Jindal inclined towards politics in his student days and after completing his post graduation in the US, he returned to India and started managing his father’s political affairs.

• In his first Lok Sabha election in 2004, he defeated his nearest rival Abhay Singh Chautala by a margin of 1,30,000 votes.

• As a Member of Parliament, he moved a Private Member Bill in the Lok Sabha for a Food and Nutrition Security Scheme, which paved the way for the National Food Security Act (NFSA).

• While studying at the University of Texas at Dallas, Naveen Jindal used to display the Indian Flag whenever possible; as he was inspired by the American tradition in which displaying the national flag is considered as a mark of patriotism. However, when he returned to India and hoisted the Indian Flag at his factory premises in Raigarh (Chhattisgarh), the Bilaspur Commissioner objected as at that time a private citizen was allowed to fly the national flag only on two occasions- Independence Day and Republic Day.

• In February 1998, Jindal filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court against the restrictions placed on him by the officials for displaying the national flag. Based on the report of the Dr. P.D. Shenoy Committee, the Government announced that citizens will be free to display/fly the National Flag of India on all days of the year from 26 January 2002.

• Naveen Jindal has introduced the concept of “Monumental Flags” in India. Now, one can see these gigantic flags flowing across several locations in India.

• To instill pride among the Indian citizens, he established the Flag Foundation of India with his wife Shallu.

• He is a National Record holder in Skeet Shooting and has captained the Indian Team that won a Silver medal in the South Asian Federation Games in 2004. 

• Jindal has also excelled in Polo and has won several laurels under his captaincy for JSPL’s Polo Team.