Ravinder Raina

Early life and education He was born on 31 January 1977 to Shri Pushap Dutt into a Pahari-Poonchi Brahmin family (displaced from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir) in Nowshera, in the Rajouri district of Jammu. He did his graduation in B.Sc. in 1999 from Jammu University, Jammu. He also holds a postgraduate degree in International law of Human Rights. After completing graduation, Raina joined the Indian navy but later he returned as Human Rights activist in 2004.

Political career He was advised to join the Bharatiya Janata Party by former Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee during a meeting. He served as the state president of the party's youth wing: the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

Controversy Raina courted controversy in 2015 when he took oath as MLA in Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in the name of "Mata Vaishno Devi". Members of opposition registered their objection by saying that there is no provision for a member of the legislative house to take oath in the name of "Mata Vaishno Devi". Pro tem Speaker Mohmmad Shafi had to intervene in the matter and later he asked Raina to take oath in the name of God.