ഐ.കെ.ഗുജ്റാള്
അന്തരിച്ചു
Former Prime Minister I K Gujral, who headed a rickety
coalition government in the late 1990s, died on Friday,30th
November,2012, after a brief illness. Gujral, 92, breathed his last at in a private hospital after a multi-organ failure. He was admitted to the
hospital on November 19 with a lung infection, family sources said.The former
Prime Minister, who was ventilator support, had been unwell for sometime. He
was on dialysis for over a year and suffered a serious chest infection some
days ago.He will be cremated in nearby Delhi on Saturday.Gujral, who migrated
from Pakistan after partition, rose to become the Prime Minister with a big
slice of luck after he came up through the ranks - starting as vice-president
in NDMC in the '50s to later become a Union minister and then India's
ambassador to the USSR.
Educated at DAV College, Haily College of Commerce and Forman Christian College, Lahore (now in Pakistan), Gujral took active part in student politics.After the tumultuous events that rocked the sub-continent in the wake of partition in August 1947, Gujral crossed over to India.Braving heavy odds with his perseverance, resilience and never-say-die attitude, Gujral first became vice-president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee in 1958. He formally joined Congress and six years later, Indira Gandhi, to whom he said he owed everything, gave him a ticket with which he entered Rajya Sabha in April 1964.
Educated at DAV College, Haily College of Commerce and Forman Christian College, Lahore (now in Pakistan), Gujral took active part in student politics.After the tumultuous events that rocked the sub-continent in the wake of partition in August 1947, Gujral crossed over to India.Braving heavy odds with his perseverance, resilience and never-say-die attitude, Gujral first became vice-president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee in 1958. He formally joined Congress and six years later, Indira Gandhi, to whom he said he owed everything, gave him a ticket with which he entered Rajya Sabha in April 1964.
This was the beginning of a long innings, both in the national politics and
diplomacy.He was part of the 'coterie' that helped Indira Gandhi become Prime
Minister in 1966. In Gandhi's government, he held several portfolios as Union
minister for Communications, parliamentary affairs and housing.He was the
information and broadcasting minister when Emergency was imposed (on June 25,
1975), which brought in arbitrary press censorship.Since he refused to kowtow
to the powers-that-be, he was taken out of the ministry and sent by Indira
Gandhi as ambassador to Moscow, a post he handled with tact and finesse. He
continued even during the tenures of her two successors, Morarji Desai and
Charan Singh.
Minister
Manmohan Singh on Friday paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister IK Gujral
describing him as a "scholar-statesman" and said the loss from his
death will be felt not only in India but across the world.In a condolence
message, Singh termed Gujral as "an intellectual, a scholar-statesman and
a gentleman politician" who left a mark in every position he held."I
am deeply saddened to learn of the passing away of former Prime Minister Shri
I.K. Gujral.... I personally have lost a friend of long standing, whose wisdom,
idealism and deep concern for social equity left a great impression on me and
whose counsel and opinion I often sought and valued greatly," Singh said.
ഐ.കെ.ഗുജ്റാള് എന്ന ഇന്ദര്കുമാര് ഗുജ്റാള്, ഇന്ദിരാഗാന്ധി, വി.പി.സിങ്, ദേവഗൗഡ എന്നിവര്ക്ക് കീഴില് കേന്ദ്രമന്ത്രിയായിരുന്നു. പാര്ലമെന്ററികാര്യം, വാര്ത്താവിനിമയ പ്രക്ഷേപണം, പൊതുമരാമത്ത്, ആസൂത്രണം, വിദേശകാര്യം തുടങ്ങിയ വകുപ്പുകള് കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്.റഷ്യയിലെ ഇന്ത്യയുടെ സ്ഥാനപതിയായിയിരുന്ന അദ്ദേഹം പ്രശസ്തനായ നയതന്ത്രപ്രതിനിധി എന്ന നിലയ്ക്കും കഴിവ് തെളിയിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. 'മാറ്റേഴ്സ് ഓഫ് ഡിസ്ക്രീഷന്' എന്നാണ് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ അത്മകഥ. ഉറുദുഭാഷയില് നിപുണനായിരുന്ന അദ്ദേഹം കാവ്യശകലങ്ങള് ഉദ്ധരിച്ചാണ് പ്രസംഗിച്ചിരുന്നത്. അഞ്ച് അയല് രാജ്യങ്ങളുമായി നടപ്പാക്കിയ നയതന്ത്രസമീപനങ്ങള് ഗുജ്റാള് നയതന്ത്രം എന്ന പേരില് അറിയപ്പെട്ടു. 1999 മുതല് സജീവരാഷ്ട്രീയം വിട്ടു. 57 രാജ്യങ്ങളിലെ മുന്പ്രസിഡന്റുമാരും മുന്പ്രധാനമന്ത്രിമാരും ചേര്ന്നു രൂപീകരിച്ച ക്ലബ് ഓഫ് മാഡ്രിഡില് അംഗമായി.അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന ചിത്രകാരനായ സതീഷ് ഗുജ്റാള് സഹോദരനാണ്. ഭാര്യ ഷീല ഉറുദു കവയത്രിയായിരുന്നു. അവര് 2011 ല് മരിച്ചു. മക്കള്: വിശാല് ഗുജ്റാല്, നരേഷ് ഗുജ്റാള്. രണ്ടാമത്തെ മകന് നരേഷ് ഗുജ്റാള് രാജ്യസഭാംഗമാണ്.
പ്രൊഫ്. ജോണ് കുരാക്കാര്
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