Chandra Shekhar - Socialist-turned-Young Turk-turned PM
The Man and His Life
(from various sources)
From 1962 to 1967, Shekhar belonged to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He had a nationwide padayatra in 1984 to know the country better as he claimed which gave the jitters to Indira Gandhi, the then-Prime Minister of India.
After his predecessor, V P Singh, resigned, he led a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal, known as Samajwadi Janata Party. The Indian National Congress decided to extend outside support to his government to avoid snap elections, and Shekhar held a bare majority, with both the Communist parties and the BJP.
The relationship crumbled quickly, as the Congress party accused him of spying on Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress Party leader at that time. The party then boycotted Parliament and Shekhar's faction only had about 60 MP's, he resigned in a nationally televised address.
Holding the office of Prime Minister for only seven months, Shekhar resigned on March 6, 1991 after the Congress Party withdrew support to him. He remained in office until national elections could be held later that year.
Shekhar was known for abiding by the parliamentary conventions and was honoured with the inaugural Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1995.
Shekhar suffered from Multiple Myeloma, a form of cancer. On May 3, 2007, he was hospitalized in critical state after his condition had deteriorated. He passed away in a New Delhi hospital on July 8, 2007.
Personal details:
Date of Birth: July 1, 1927
Place of Birth Ibrahimpatti, Distt. Ballia (Uttar Pradesh)
Marital Status Widower : the late Dwija Devi
No. of Sons 2
Educational Qualifications M.A.
Educated at Allahabad University, Allahabad
(Uttar Pradesh)
Profession Agriculturist , Political & Social Worker
Positions Held
1951 Secretary, Praja Socialist Party (P.S.P.), Distt. Ballia
1952 Joint Secretary, P.S.P., Uttar Pradesh
1955 General Secretary, P.S.P., Uttar Pradesh
1959-62 Member, National Executive, P.S.P.
1962 Member, Rajya Sabha
1967 General Secretary, Congress Parliamentary Party (C.P.P.)
1977 Elected to 6th Lok Sabha
1977-78 President, Janata Party (J.P.)
1980 Re-elected to 7th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
1989 Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (3rd term)
1990-91 Prime Minister and incharge of Ministries/Departments of Defence; Home Affairs; Atomic Energy; Science and Technology; Ocean Development; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Electronics; Space; Information and Broadcasting; Industry; Labour; Welfare; Planning and Programme Implementation; External Affairs; Health and Family Welfare; Water Resources and Surface Transport
1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (4th term)
1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (5th term)
1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (6th term)
1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (7th term)
Leader, Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha
2000-2001 Chairman, Committee on Ethics
2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha (8th term)
Books Published
"Meri Jail Diary" (in Hindi); and “Dynamics of Social Change”
Literary, Artistic & Scientific Accomplishments
Founder-Editor and Chairman, Editorial Advisory Board of “Young Indian”
Social And Cultural Activities
Undertook Padyatra of 4,260 kms. from Kanyakumari to Rajghat, New Delhi (6 January 1983 to 25 June 1983) to establish rapport with the masses and understand their problems and established 15 Bharat Yatra Centres in various States to train social and political workers for mass education and grassroot work
Special Interests
Primary education and health services
Favourite Pastime and Recreation
Gardening, travelling and discussions
Other Information
Arrested under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during Emergency in 1975 even being a member of the Central Election Committee and Working Committee of All India Congress Committee (Indira) [A.I.C.C.(I)]
Breaking News: Sunday, July 8, 2007 - 10.20 am IST
Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar Passes away
with PTI inputs
New Delhi, Jul 8: Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar died at 0845 hours IST on Sunday, said a doctor of the Apollo Hospital to PTI.
He had been admitted to the hospital, reportedly with symptoms of bone cancer.
"He was suffering from multiple myloma," Dr Rakesh Chopra, senior consultant, oncology told PTI. Shekhar is survived by two sons.
Shekhar was Prime Minister from November 10, 1990 to June 21, 1991. He was a Lok Sabha member from Ballia in Uttar Pradesh and chief of the Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya).
The body would be kept at his official residence in Delhi here to enable people to pay. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled Shekhar’s death, calling him a truly secular nationalist who was committed to people’s welfare and national development.
Being a former exectutive head of governent he is likely to be cremated on the banks of river Jamuna, where other former prime ministers were cremated, unless the family decides otherwise.
During the mid-1960's and later, Chandra Shekhar was known as being part of 'Young Turks' within the undivided Congress party. During the infamous Emergency, he fell out with then-PM Indira Gandhi and post-1977 was part of the Janata Party-led government.