Ex Prime Minister Gujral passes away

[Azaad]

Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who headed a Congress-supported coalition government in 1997-98, died at a hospital in Gurgaon this afternoon following a brief illness. He was 92.

Gujral was hospitalised on November 19 after a lung infection. He had been put on ventilator as his condition had deteriorated. He had been on dialysis for a year.

Gujral is survived by his sons, Naresh, an Akali Dal MP in Rajya Sabha, and Vishal, two grand-daughters and a grandson. His brother is noted artist Satish Gujral and he has three sisters. His wife Shiela had died last year.

Gujral’s body was taken from hospital to his official residence, 5 Janpath, where it will be kept for the public to pay their respects till noon. The Government has declared a seven-day state mourning throughout India and cancelled all functions till December 6.

He will be given a state funeral near Smriti Sthal in New Delhi at 3 pm. The ceremony will be conducted by the Ministry of Defence. Central Government offices in Delhi and Delhi Government offices will close at 1.30 pm to enable employees to attend the funeral of the late former PM.

Gujral was born to Avtar Narain and Pushpa Gujral at Jhelum in undivided Punjab on December 4, 1919. He belonged to a family of freedom fighters and participated in the freedom struggle. Educated at DAV College, Hailey College of Commerce and Forman Christian College, Lahore (Pakistan), Gujral was sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of India on April 21, 1997.

Known for his Left-leaning yet liberal ways, Gujral was very close to Indira Gandhi at one point of time. He became a member of the Rajya Sabha in April 1964 and was part of the “powerful coterie” around Indira that helped her become Prime Minister in 1966 following Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death.

He became the Information and Broadcasting Minister in 1975 during the time of permit-quota raj when the I&B Minister could virtually control the supply of newsprint. Television, other than Doordarshan, was non-existent. Gujral was tasked to manage the much-criticised job of press censorship during Emergency.

Before becoming PM, Gujral was External Affairs and Water Resources Minister. He also served as India’s Ambassador to the USSR. He was a Rajya Sabha member twice between 1964 and 1976 and a member of the Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. With Lalu Prasad’s help, he became a member of Rajya Sabha in 1992 after his election from Patna Lok Sabha constituency was countermanded.

He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Jalandhar as an Independent with Akali Dal’s help. The equation between the Gujral family and Akalis changed forever. PS Badal was so happy at the militancy-period loan waiver given by Gujral as PM that it blossomed into a personal friendship.

[Azaad]

Badal recalls Gujral’s swift loan waiver

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the state had lost one of its greatest and most illustrious sons and the country one of its most brilliant and tallest leaders in the post- Independence era in the death of former Prime Minister IK Gujral. Describing the former PM as a visionary statesman, the Chief Minister said Gujral would long be remembered as an outstanding champion of international peace and understanding.

Badal, who air-dashed to Delhi to pay his condolences to the family, said Gujral was among the greatest champions of peace and friendly relations between India and Pakistan.

Badal said that the people of Punjab will never forget the daring and decisive role played by Gujral in helping his state get rid of the crippling special term loan of Rs 8,500 crore which the state had incurred in fighting the nation's battle during the days of militancy.

“The memory of the moments in which IK Gujral as Prime Minister waived the entire loan with just a mild but firm stroke of his pen is still etched deep in my mind. We took 21 most-difficult issues of the state to Gujral and he took just 11 minutes to solve all those and to issue clear orders then and there. This was one of the happiest moments in my public and personal life and a great moment for Punjab,” said Badal.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in a condolence message said Gujral was the first Punjabi Prime Minister and would be dearly remembered by the people of Punjab for waiving the loan during his term and sanctioning Pushpa Gujral Science City for the state.

Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh said the former Prime Minister would be remembered for the Gujral Doctrine which was aimed at strengthening relations with neighbouring countries. “The country will miss a great visionary,” he said in the message.

[Azaad]

Jalandhar was his second home

Memories of former Prime Minister IK Gujral will remain deeply rooted in the minds of the people of Punjab in general and the residents of Jalandhar in particular.

The Gujrals not only lived in the city after the Partition but contributed a lot towards its development in more than one ways. Gujral was born on December 4, 1919, in Jhelum (now Pakistan) and served as the 12th Prime Minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998. In the tumultuous days of the Partition, Gujral and his family migrated from Pakistan and settled in Jalandhar where his mother Pushpa Gujral had set up ‘Nari Niketan’ offering succour to the partition-devastated girls and pregnant women.

Pushpa Gujral was a councillor in Municipal Committee. The Gujral family arrived in Jalandhar in 1947. It was at the Jalandhar railway station that Pushpa Gujral gave birth to her son, now Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral. IK Gujral moved to Delhi after about a year and rose to become the Prime Minister of India. Known for his famed ‘Gujral Doctrine’.

Gujral was elected twice as an MP from Jalandhar — 1n 1989 and 1999 on the Janata Dal ticket. Both the times, he was supported by SAD and the BJP. Gujral is known for his valuable services towards the people of Punjab. Gujral’s biggest gift to Jalandhar was setting of Doordarshan Kendra when he was a Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. The station, however, got operational two-three years later. He was also behind the setting up of Science City near Jalandhar.

[lsingh]

Badal recalls Gujral’s swift loan waiver

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the state had lost one of its greatest and most illustrious sons and the country one of its most brilliant and tallest leaders in the post- Independence era in the death of former Prime Minister IK Gujral. Describing the former PM as a visionary statesman, the Chief Minister said Gujral would long be remembered as an outstanding champion of international peace and understanding.

Badal, who air-dashed to Delhi to pay his condolences to the family, said Gujral was among the greatest champions of peace and friendly relations between India and Pakistan.

Badal said that the people of Punjab will never forget the daring and decisive role played by Gujral in helping his state get rid of the crippling special term loan of Rs 8,500 crore which the state had incurred in fighting the nation's battle during the days of militancy.

“The memory of the moments in which IK Gujral as Prime Minister waived the entire loan with just a mild but firm stroke of his pen is still etched deep in my mind. We took 21 most-difficult issues of the state to Gujral and he took just 11 minutes to solve all those and to issue clear orders then and there. This was one of the happiest moments in my public and personal life and a great moment for Punjab,” said Badal.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in a condolence message said Gujral was the first Punjabi Prime Minister and would be dearly remembered by the people of Punjab for waiving the loan during his term and sanctioning Pushpa Gujral Science City for the state.

Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh said the former Prime Minister would be remembered for the Gujral Doctrine which was aimed at strengthening relations with neighbouring countries. “The country will miss a great visionary,” he said in the message.

Not only were the Sikhs subjected to a Genocide, but not many people know the Punjab had to pay for the killing financially as well. The Punjab had to get a crippling loan from the centre to pay for the Killing. Very perverse.