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Inder Kumar Gujral

Personal Profile

Inder Kumar Gujral
  • Date of Birth:
    December 4, 1919
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Sagittarius
  • Place of Birth:
    Jhelum, Punjab, British India
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Hair Color:
    White
  • Eye Color:
    Brown
  • Nationality:
    Indian
  • Religion:
    Hinduism

Family

Inder Kumar Gujral
  • Father:
    Avtar Narain Gujral
  • Mother:
    Pushpa Gujral
  • Brother:
    Satish Gujral
  • Spouse:
    Shiela Gujral
  • Son:
    Naresh Gujral, Vishal Gujral

Career

Inder Kumar Gujral

Trivia

Inder Kumar Gujral
  • He is a member of the Club of Madrid.
  • Gujral speaks fluent Urdu, and spends part of his leisure time writing Urdu couplets, a poetic form that traces back to India's Mogul emperors.
  • Gujral did not contest the 1999 elections and retired from active politics. In 2004, his son Naresh Gujral unsuccessfully contested with an Shiromani Akali Dal seat from Jalandhar, Punjab constituency in the Indian General Elections.
  • The Gujral Doctrine is a set of five principles to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India’s immediate neighbours as spelt out by Gujral, first as India’s External Affairs Minister and later as the Prime Minister. Among other factors, these five principles arise from the belief that India’s stature and strength cannot be divorced from the quality of its relations with its neighbours. It, thus, recognises the supreme importance of friendly, cordial relations with neighbours.
  • Before becoming the Prime Minister of India in April 1997, he served the country as Union Minister or Minister of State holding different portfolios in the Ministries of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs, Information & Broadcasting, Works & Housing, Planning and Ministry of External Affairs.
  • After 1996 elections, when the United Front government was formed at the center under the leadership of H. D. Deve Gowda, he was again named Minister of External Affairs. During this second tenure, he propounded his 'Gujral Doctrine', which called for better relations with neighbours.
  • In 1992, Gujral was elected to Rajya Sabha and remained a key Janata Dal leader.
  • Gujral left the Congress Party in the mid-1980s and joined the Janata Dal. The Dal was a third-party with mainly socialist leanings and regional bases.
  • Gujral was appointed Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union as the Indian envoy to Moscow.
  • On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad high court gave a verdict that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used unfair means in elections of 1971 and termed her election null and void.

Biography

Inder Kumar Gujral
Last Updated: Saturday, September 19, 2009

ik gujralInder Kumar Gujral served as the Prime Minister of India from 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998. Born on 4 December 1919, in Jhelum, Pakistan, he actively participated in India's freedom struggle. He served as India's ambassador to Russia. Gujral left the Congress Party in the mid-1980s to join the Janata Dal. After the 1989 elections, he served as the Minister of External Affairs in V.P.Singh's ministry. One of the main issues during his stint as the External Affairs minister was Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War. He became the External Affairs once again in the H.D. Devegowda-led United Front government, formed after the elections of 1996.

It was during this period that India tried to improve its relations with the neighbouring countries, in what came to be known as the 'Gujral Doctrine'. He became the Prime Minister of India on April 21, 1997, after the Congress party, which had been supporting the United Front government decided to withdraw support and insisted on a change at the helm of affairs if they were to continue to lend support. During Gujral's stint as the Prime Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was the then Chief Minister of Bihar broke away from the Janata Dal and formed his own party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal.(RJD).

Gujral had asked Lalu to resign when the CBI sought and secured the permission of the Bihar governor to prosecute Lalu in the fodder scam. Gujral served as the Prime Minister for a total period of over 11 months. One of the controversial decisions of his government was when it recommended President's rule in Uttar Pradesh, but had to finally back down when President K.R. Narayanan refused to sign the recommendation and sent it back to the government for reconsideration. He did not contest the 1999 elections and left active politics. Apart from being the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister, he also served as a Minister in the Ministries of Communications and Parliamentary Affairs, Information & Broadcasting, Works & Housing, Planning and Ministry of External Affairs.

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