January 2013

Inder Kumar Gujral, who served as the Prime Minister in United Front government in 1990s, died at the age of 92 on 30 November 2012. Following the resignation of HD Deve Gowda, he became the 13th Prime Minister of India on 21 April 1997 and held that post till 19 March 1998 in United Front government .The political party which he belonged to was Janta Dal. Gujral was a Rajya Sabha Member twice from 1964 to 1976 and a member of the Lok Sabha from 1989 to 1991. He was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar in 1992. He was re-elected to Lok Sabha from Jalandhar in Punjab as an independent with help from Akali Dal in 1998. It is important to note that he was the Rajya Sabha member during his tenure as the Indian Prime Minister. He had written Matters of Discretion:An Autobiography which was released in February 2011. The golden jublee (50 years) of Indian Independence was celebrated during IK Gujral’s tenure as the Prime Minister.

About IK Gujral

• He was born on 4 December1919 in Jhelum (Pakistan’s Punjab Province). He belonged to a family of freedom fighters.

• He began his political career with the Quit India movement in 1942.

• He became vice-president of the New Delhi Municipal Committee in 1958. He formally joined Congress(INC) party.

• He elected for Rajya Sabha in April 1964 on Congress ticket.

• He became external affairs minister when national front government came to power in 1989 with VP Singh as the Prime Minister.

• He retired from active politics in 1999.

• During his tenure as the Prime Minister, IK Gujral resisted signing CTBT(Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) paving the way for next government conducting the Pokhran nuclear tests.

• He provided a five-point roadmap to build trust between India and its neighbouring countries known as Gujral Doctrine.

Gujral Doctrine

The five principles of Gujral doctrine are:

1. With neighbors like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, India does not ask for reciprocity, but gives and accommodates what it can in good faith and trust.

2. No South Asian country should allow its territory to be used against the interest of another country of the region.

3. No country should interfere in the internal affairs of another.

4. All South Asian countries must respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

5. They should settle all their disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations.

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