R VENKATARAMAN PASSES AWAY

The Former president, R. Venkataraman died on 27th Jauary 2009 following multiple organ failure. He was 98. Mr Venkatareman was admitted to the Army's Reserach & Referal Hospital on January 12. He is survived by his wife, Jaanaki and three daughters.

Mr Venkataraman who was elevated from vice presidency assumed the office of president on July 25 1987 and his term lasted till july 25 th 1992. Earlier as Minister in the union cabinet, he held the key portfolios of Defence and Finance. He was also Deputy chairman of the planning commission. He was a member of the constituent assembly that drafted the constitution. The Government declared a seven day state mourning in the country as a mark of respect to the former president.

He had work with four Prime Ministers-RaivGandhi, V.P Singh. Chandrashekar& P.V Narasimha Rao. Venkataraman born on December 4th 1910 in Thanhavour district in TamilNadu. His earlyEducation was accomplished locally and later in Madras from where he obtained his master degree in Ecnomics. He later qualified in Law from the Law College Madras and enrolled in the High court, Madras in 1935 and in the supreme court 1951.

It was during his Law practice that he was drawn in to the country's freedom movement and he actively participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942 resulting in a two year detention. In 1946 when the trasfer of power from British to Indian hands looked imminent, he was sent by the government of India in a panel of Lawyers to Malaya and Singapore to defend Indian nationals facing the Japanese occupation of those two places between 1947 and 1950 .Mr Venkataraman served as secretary of the Madras provincial Bar Federation. He was elected in 1950 to the provisional parliament and again in 1952 to the first Loksabha. Though re- elected in 1957. He resigned his Lok sabha seat to join the state government of Madras as Minister. He held the portfolios of Industries, Labour co-operation, power, transport and commercial taxes from 1957 to 1967.

Mr Venkataraman was appointed a member of the Planning Commission in 1967. In the 1977 General Election when Janatha Party swept the polls, he was elected to the Loksabha from Madras Constituency and served as chairman of the public accounts committee. In nhis long and distinguised political carrer spanning more than four decades, he served in key capacities with the international monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank. He was a deligate to the U.N GeneralAssembly in 1953, 1955,1956,1958,1960 and 1961. He led Indian delegation to the 42 nd session of the International Labour Conferencein Geneva in1958 and represented India in the Inter Parliamentary Conferenmce in Vienna in 1978. In 1980 Mr Venkataraman was re- elected to the Loksabha and held the Fianance and Defence porfolios in the congress government of IndiraGandhi. A true believer in the Gandhi- Nehru tradition. He published his biography " My presidencial Years after his Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prof: John Kurakar