CREMATION: IK Gujral cremated with full state honours
Author(s): SK VyasCity Air NewsThe Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh laid wreath at the mortal remains of the former Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral during his cremation, at Smriti Sthal, in Delhi on Saturday. Jalandhar/New Delhi,...
cityairnews
Dec 1, 2012 12:30
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The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh laid wreath at the mortal remains of the former Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral during his cremation, at Smriti Sthal, in Delhi on Saturday.
Jalandhar/New Delhi, December 1, 2012: Former Prime Minister IK Gujral was cremated with full state honours at Delhi today.
A 21-gun salute was offered at the time his body was consigned to flames.
The last rites were performed by his two sons and grandson.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, BJP leaders LK Advani and Arun Jaitley, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala, LJP's Ramvilas Paswan, JD (S)' Amar Singh were among those present.
Gujral had breathed his last on Friday in the afternoon. He was 92. He was born on December 4,1919 at Jhelum in an undivided Punjab to Avtar Narain and Pushpa Gujral, a family of freedom fighters and participated in freedom struggle.
Gujral got education at DAV College, Hailey College of Commerce and Forman Christian College, Lahore (Pakistan). Later on after the partition his family was shifted to Jalandhar.
In fact Gujral family had a great attachment with Jalandhar. After shifting to Jalandhar, he started living in Mohalla Ali, in a Big Kothi which was of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Jinnah's maternal Uncle's. After a court litigation the family had to vacate the kothi in the year 1965 and shifted to Model House area in Jalandhar.
Gujral entered in politics as a student leader and was arrested during the year 1942 and also placed in jail for his involvement in 'Quit India' movement. Later he was placed in jail. He served as a vice-president, New Delhi Municipal Council .Later on he was elected to Rajya Sabha in the year 1964 and remained as such for two consecutive terms. In the year 1975,Gujral remained as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Communications, Information and Broadcasting, Works, Housing and Urban Development and Planning.
Gujral was also posted as India's Ambassador to the then USSR and later on he was elevated to the External Affairs Minister during the regime of the VP Singh's Government (1989-90).
During the tenure as an External Affairs Minister IK Gujral was sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of India on April 21, 1997. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in the year 1998 from Jalandhar as an Independent candidate with Akali Dal's assistance.
