India Post issued a Commemorative Postage Stamp of
denomination Rs.5 on I.K. Gujral on 04.12.2020.
Indra
Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian politician and
freedom activist who served as the 12th Prime Minister of India from April 1997
to March 1998.
Born
in British India, he was influenced by nationalistic ideas as a student, and
joined the All India Students Federation and the Communist Party of India. He
was imprisoned for taking part in the Quit India movement. After independence,
he joined the Indian National Congress party in 1964, and became a Member of
Parliament in the Rajya Sabha.
He
was the Minister of Information and Broadcasting during the emergency. In 1976,
he was appointed as the Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union. In 1996, he
became the Minister of External Affairs in the Deve Gowda ministry, and
developed the Gujral doctrine during this period. He was appointed as the 12th
Prime Minister of India in 1997. His tenure lasted for less than a year.
He
retired from all political positions in 1998. He died in 2012 at the age of 92,
following hospitalization due to a lung infection.
