Aayush Sharma’s grandfather and ex telecom minister Pandit Sukh Ram Sharma, the man who made first mobile phone call in India

Bollywood actor Aayush Sharma’s grandfather and veteran politician Pandit Sukh Ram Sharma is admitted to AIIMS Hospital in Delhi, post suffering a brain stroke.

Pandit Sukh Ram, who was a powerful union minister holding the communications portfolio in the Narasimha Rao government at the Centre, was airlifted from Mandi to Delhi.

During his tenure, on July 31, 1995, India marked a historic milestone by making the first ever mobile phone call – between erstwhile Union Telecom Minister, Sukh Ram, and Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu. The call was made on Nokia phones, allegedly the Nokia rinGo, on the first mobile telecom network, Modi Telstra.

The 95 year old politician’s health started deteriorating on Friday afternoon, after which the family decided to airlift him to Delhi on Saturday.