Inder Kumar Gujral facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Inder Kumar Gujral
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Gujral in 1997
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| 12th Prime Minister of India | |
| In office 21 April 1997 – 19 March 1998 |
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| President | Shankar Dayal Sharma K. R. Narayanan |
| Vice President | K. R. Narayanan Krishan Kant |
| Preceded by | H. D. Deve Gowda |
| Succeeded by | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 21 April 1997 – 1 May 1997 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | P. Chidambaram |
| Succeeded by | P. Chidambaram |
| Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 1 June 1996 – 19 March 1998 |
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| Prime Minister | H. D. Deve Gowda Himself |
| Preceded by | Sikander Bakht |
| Succeeded by | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| In office 5 December 1989 – 10 November 1990 |
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| Prime Minister | V. P. Singh |
| Preceded by | V. P. Singh |
| Succeeded by | Chandra Shekhar |
| 22th Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office June 1996 – November 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Sikander Bakht |
| Succeeded by | H. D. Deve Gowda |
| In office April 1997 – March 1998 |
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| Preceded by | H. D. Deve Gowda |
| Succeeded by | Sikander Bakht |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 1998–1999 |
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| Preceded by | Darbara Singh |
| Succeeded by | Balbir Singh |
| Constituency | Jalandhar |
| In office 1989–1991 |
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| Preceded by | Rajinder Singh Sparrow |
| Succeeded by | Yash |
| Constituency | Jalandhar |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 8 July 1992 – 2 March 1998 |
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| Constituency | Bihar |
| In office 3 April 1964 – 2 April 1976 |
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| Constituency | Punjab |
| Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union | |
| In office 1976–1980 |
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| Preceded by | Durga Prasad Dhar |
| Succeeded by | V. K. Ahuja |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 December 1919 Pari Darveza, Punjab, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan) |
| Died | 30 November 2012 (aged 92) Gurugram, Haryana, India |
| Monuments | Samata Sthal |
| Political party |
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| Spouse |
Sheila Gujral
(m. 1945; died 2011) |
| Children | 2, including Naresh Gujral |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Satish Gujral (brother) |
| Alma mater | D.A.V. College, Hailey College of Commerce Forman Christian College University Panjab University |
Inder Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian diplomat, politician and freedom activist who served as the 12th prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998.
Contents
Early life
Inder Kumar Gujral was born on 4 December 1919 in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family to Avtar Narain and Pushpa Gujral in the village of Pari Darveza in the Sohawa Tehsil of the Jhelum District in undivided Punjab in British India, which is in present-day Punjab, Pakistan. He studied at D.A.V. College, Hailey College of Commerce and Forman Christian College, Lahore, all affiliated with the University of the Punjab. He was a member of All India Students Federation. He also participated in the Indian independence movement, and was jailed in 1942 during the Quit India Movement. As a student, he became a member of the Communist Party of India. He also has two sisters, Uma Nanda and Sunita Judge. On 26 May 1945, Inder Kumar Gujral married Sheila Gujral (24 January 1924 – 11 July 2011) and had two sons, Naresh Gujral (born 19 May 1948), who is a Rajya Sabha MP, and Vishal Gujral. IK Gujral's younger brother Satish Gujral was a world-renowned painter and sculptor.
Education
Gujral's hobbies included poetry; he spoke Urdu and was, after his death, eulogised as a lover of the language by Maulana Azad National Urdu University, an institution where he held the position of chancellor. His wife Sheila Gujral, an acclaimed poet, died on 11 July 2011 after an illness. The couple had two sons, Naresh, who is a Shiromani Akali Dal MP in the Rajya Sabha, and Vishal. The couple also have two granddaughters and a grandson.
Political career
Gujral was influenced by nationalistic ideas as a student, and joined the All India Students Federation and the Communist Party of India. He was imprisoned for taking part in the Quit India movement. After independence, he joined the Indian National Congress party in 1964, and became a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.
He was the Minister of Information and Broadcasting during the emergency. In 1976, he was appointed as the Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union. In 1996, he became the Minister of External Affairs in the Deve Gowda ministry, and developed the Gujral doctrine during this period. He was appointed as the 12th Prime Minister of India in 1997. Gujral was the third PM to be from the Rajya Sabha, following Indira Gandhi (January 1966 - March 1969) and H. D. Deve Gowda (June 1996 - April 1997). They were followed by Manmohan Singh (May 2004 - May 2014).
As a Prime minister, Gujral had a practice of reserving Friday mornings for meeting the general public. His tenure lasted for less than a year.
He retired from all political positions in 1998.
Gujral Doctrine
The Gujral Doctrine is a set of five principles to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India's immediate neighbours, notably Pakistan, as spelt out by Gujral. The doctrine was later termed as such by journalist Bhabani Sen Gupta in his article, India in the Twenty First Century in International Affairs. These principles are, as he set out at Chatham House in September 1996 (which he later reiterated at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies):
The United Front Government's neighbourhood policy now stands on five basic principles: First, with the neighbours like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka, India does not ask for reciprocity but gives all that it can in good faith and trust. Secondly, no South Asian country will allow its territory to be used against the interest of another country of the region. Thirdly, none will interfere in the internal affairs of another. Fourthly, all South Asian countries must respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. And finally, they will settle all their disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations. These five principles, scrupulously observed, will, I am sure, recast South Asia's regional relationship, including the tormented relationship between India and Pakistan, in a friendly, cooperative mould.
Illness and death
Gujral was admitted at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon, Haryana (part of the National Capital Region), on 19 November 2012, after being diagnosed with a lung infection. He died on 30 November 2012, four days before his 93rd birthday. The Government of India declared a seven-day period of state mourning and cancelled official functions until 6 December. He was given a state funeral at 15:00 on 1 December near Samata Sthal.
Global policy
Along with his brother Satish Gujral, he was one of the signatories of the Agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution. As a result, for the first time in human history, a World Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.
Honours
Gujral has received several accolades and honours:
State honours
| Decoration | Country | Date | Note | Ref. | |
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Bangladesh Liberation War Honour |  Bangladesh |
21 October 2012 | The second-highest honour of Bangladesh awarded to foreign dignitaries. | |
Autobiography
- Matters of Discretion, I. K. Gujral, Hay House, India, 519 pages, Feb. 2011. ISBN: 978-93-8048-080-0.
Images for kids
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Prime Minister I. K. Gujral presenting a book to President K. R. Narayanan, 1998
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I. K. Gujral
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Gujral as Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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Former PM Manmohan Singh paying floral tribute to Gujral.
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Former Vice President of India Hamid Ansari giving tribute to Gujral on his first death Anniversary (2013).
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Gujral on a 2020 stamp of India
See also
In Spanish: I. K. Gujral para niños
