Former Indian PM Gujral dead
Former Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who engineered a
thaw in the icy relationship with arch rival Pakistan,died yestaday aged
92, officials and colleagues announced.
Gujral, who served as Prime Minister in a coalition government from
April 1997 to March 1998, passed away on Friday afternoon at Gurgaon's
Medanta Medicity hospital, near Delhi, where he was admitted 11 days ago
with a lung infection. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described him as "a
man of peace, an idealist who lived by his principles and an
intellectual with the human touch" in a tribute on his official Twitter
account.
Gujral was born on December 4, 1919 in the city of Jhelum, Punjab
(now part of Pakistan) into a family of Congress party workers.
He began his career in politics as a student leader and member of the
underground Communist Party of India. He was arrested in 1942 and jailed
for his involvement in the anti-colonial Quit India movement.
Gujral joined the ruling Congress party after India won independence
and rose through the ranks to become minister of information and
broadcasting under prime minister Indira Gandhi from 1969-71 and
1972-75. Gujral is survived by two sons, Naresh and Vishal. His elder
son Naresh is a member of the Punjab-based Shiromani Akali Dal party and
was elected to the upper house of parliament in 2007. Gujral's brother
Satish ranks among India's most prominent artists and architects.
AFP |