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{{for|the American soccer player|George Fernandez}} | |||
{{Short description|Indian trade unionist and politician (1930–2019)}} | |||
{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}} | |||
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2019}} | |||
{{Infobox officeholder | {{Infobox officeholder | ||
| name = George Fernandes | | name = George Fernandes | ||
|image= George Fernandes (cropped).jpg | | image = George Fernandes (cropped).jpg | ||
| caption = George Fernandes in 2002 | | caption = George Fernandes in 2002 | ||
| birth_date ={{ | | birth_name = George Mathew Fernandes | ||
| nationality = Indian | | birth_date = {{birth date|1930|6|3|df=y}} | ||
| birth_place =[[Mangalore]], [[ | | nationality = [[Indian nationality|Indian]] | ||
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|29|1930|6|3|df=y}} | | birth_place = [[Mangalore]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]<br />(now in [[Karnataka]], [[India]]) | ||
| death_place = [[New Delhi]], India | | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|1|29|1930|6|3|df=y}} | ||
| office = [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | | death_place = [[New Delhi]], India | ||
| residence = [[Bangalore]], Karnataka, India | |||
| office = 22nd [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | |||
| term_start = 21 October 2001 | | term_start = 21 October 2001 | ||
| term_end = 22 May 2004 | | term_end = 22 May 2004 | ||
| Line 18: | Line 24: | ||
| primeminister1 = [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] | | primeminister1 = [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] | ||
| predecessor1 = [[Mulayam Singh Yadav]] | | predecessor1 = [[Mulayam Singh Yadav]] | ||
| successor1 = Jaswant Singh | | successor1 = [[Jaswant Singh]] | ||
| office2 = [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] | | office2 = [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] | ||
| term_start2 = 2 December 1989 | | term_start2 = 2 December 1989 | ||
| Line 25: | Line 31: | ||
| predecessor2 = [[Madhav Rao Scindia]] | | predecessor2 = [[Madhav Rao Scindia]] | ||
| successor2 = [[Janeshwar Mishra]] | | successor2 = [[Janeshwar Mishra]] | ||
| | | office3 = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]] for [[Bihar]] | ||
| parliament3 | | parliament3 = Indian | ||
| term_start3 | | term_start3 = 4 August 2009 | ||
| term_end3 | | term_end3 = 7 July 2010 | ||
| | | office4 = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]] | ||
| constituency6 = [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]], [[Bihar]] | |||
| term4 | | term4 = 2004–2009 | ||
| predecessor4 = [[ | | predecessor4 = [[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]] | ||
| successor4 | | successor4 = [[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]] | ||
| term5 | | term5 = 1989–1996 | ||
| predecessor5 = [[Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi]] | | predecessor5 = [[Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi]] | ||
| successor5 | | successor5 = [[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]] | ||
| term6 | | term6 = 1977–1984 | ||
| predecessor6 = [[Nawal Kishore Sinha]] | | predecessor6 = [[Nawal Kishore Sinha]] | ||
| successor6 | | successor6 = [[Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi]] | ||
| | | constituency7 = [[Nalanda (Lok Sabha constituency)|Nalanda]], [[Bihar]] | ||
| | | term_start7 = 1996 | ||
| | | term_end7 = 2004 | ||
| | | predecessor7 = [[Vijay Kumar Yadav]] | ||
| | | successor7 = [[Nitish Kumar]] | ||
| | | constituency8 = [[Mumbai South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mumbai South]], [[Maharashtra]] | ||
| party = [[ | | term_start8 = 1967 | ||
| term_end8 = 1971 | |||
| predecessor8 = [[Sadashiv Kanoji Patil]] | |||
| successor8 = Kailas Narain Narula Shivnarain | |||
| party = Samata Manch<ref name=manch>{{cite news|last=Gupta|first=Smita|title=Now a Samata Manch to build anti-Congress platform|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/now-a-samata-manch-to-build-anticongress-platform/article5265767.ece|access-date=18 May 2014|newspaper=The Hindu|date=24 October 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226012029/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/now-a-samata-manch-to-build-anticongress-platform/article5265767.ece|archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> | |||
| otherparty = {{bulleted list|[[Samyukta Socialist Party]]|[[Janata Party]]|[[Janata Dal]]|[[Samata Party]]|[[Janata Dal (United)]]}} | |||
| spouse = Leila Kabir | |||
| children = 1 son | |||
| website = | |||
| signature = George Fernandes Autograph.svg | |||
| awards = [[Padma Vibhushan]] (2020) (posthumously) | |||
| source = http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=122&lastls=14 | |||
}} | |||
'''George Mathew Fernandes'''<ref>{{harvnb|Reddy|1977|p=144}} "(i) Accused George Mathew Fernandes (hereinafter referred to as George Fernandes) was the former Chairman of the Socialist Party of India and also the President of the All India Railway- men's Federation."</ref> (3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019) was an Indian trade unionist, statesman,<ref>{{cite news | first = Surender | last = Sharma | title = By George! It's out on the street | date = 1 July 2010 | url = http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/jul/010710-Catfight-George-Fernandes-property-Jaya-Jaitley.htm | work = [[MiD DAY]] | access-date = 3 September 2010 |quote=As if it had not earned enough bad name and publicity for one of the most veteran politicians and trade unionist George Fernandes, claimants to his legacy slug it out in streets on Wednesday. | archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mid-day.com%2Fnews%2F2010%2Fjul%2F010710-Catfight-George-Fernandes-property-Jaya-Jaitley.htm&date=2012-03-02 | archive-date = 2 March 2012}}</ref> journalist,<ref name="jr">{{cite web | url = http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lok13/biodata/13BI34.htm | title = Biographical Sketch (Member of Parliament: 13th Lok Sabha) | access-date = 12 September 2010 | publisher = [[Parliament of India]] | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100812115404/http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lok13/biodata/13BI34.htm | archive-date = 12 August 2010 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> and member of [[Rajya Sabha]] from [[Bihar]] for a short while, and a member of Lok Sabha for a very long period, starting from Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in 1967 but mostly representing Bihar.<ref name="bihargov">{{cite web |url=http://www.biharonline.gov.in/Site/Content/Government/Government.aspx?u=R6&ln=en |title=Shri George Fernandes General Information |access-date=3 September 2010 |publisher=[[Government of Bihar]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722111252/http://www.biharonline.gov.in/Site/%28S%28oabm5t45q1vrvv3w2vs2afv2%29%29/Content/Government/Government.aspx?u=R6&ln=en |archive-date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> He was a key member of the [[Janata Dal (United)|Janata Dal]] and the founder of the [[Samata Party]]. He held several ministerial portfolios including [[Ministry of Communications (India)|communication]] , [[Minister of Commerce and Industry (India)|industry]], [[Minister of Railways (India)|railways]], and [[Ministry of Defence (India)|defence]].<ref name="bbcgr">{{cite news |title=Fernandes: Popular but controversial minister |date=15 March 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1223625.stm |work=BBC |access-date=3 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tExQoD2?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1223625.stm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
A native of [[Mangalore]], Fernandes was sent to [[Bangalore]] in 1946 to be trained as a [[Roman Catholic priest|priest]]. In 1949, he moved to [[Bombay]], where he joined the socialist trade union movement. Becoming a trade union leader, Fernandes organised many strikes and ''[[bandh]]s'' in Bombay in the 1950s and 1960s while working with the Indian Railways. He defeated S K Patil of Indian National Congress in the 1967 parliamentary elections from the [[Bombay South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bombay South constituency]]. He organised the 1974 Railway strike, when he was President of the [[All India Railwaymen's Federation]]. Fernandes went underground during the [[The Emergency (India)|Emergency era]] of 1975, while challenging Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] for imposing a state of emergency,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyo.in/politics/george-fernandes-socialist-leader-atal-bihar-vajpayee-indira-gandhi-janata-party-emergency/story/1/24642.html|title=Why despite several controversial moves, George Fernandes continues to inspire us|website=www.dailyo.in}}</ref> but in 1976 he was arrested and tried in the infamous [[Baroda dynamite case]]. | |||
In 1977, after the Emergency had been lifted, Fernandes won the [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]] seat in Bihar in absentia and was appointed Union Minister for Industries. During his tenure as union minister, he ordered American multinationals [[IBM]] and [[Coca-Cola]] to leave the country, due to investment violations. He was the driving force behind the [[Konkan Railway]] project during his tenure as railway minister from 1989 to 1990. He was a defence minister in the [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA) Government (1998–2004), when the [[Kargil War]] broke out between India and Pakistan, and India conducted its [[Pokhran-II|nuclear tests at Pokhran]]. A veteran socialist, Fernandes has been dogged by various [[#Controversies|controversies]], including the [[Barak Missile scandal]] and the [[Operation West End|Tehelka affair]]. George Fernandes won nine Lok Sabha elections from 1967 to 2004.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/The-loneliness-of-George-Fernandes/article16620175.ece|title=The loneliness of George Fernandes|newspaper=The Hindu|date=21 April 2009|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> He died on 29 January 2019 at the age of 88.<ref name="TheHindu2019_jan" /> He was awarded the [[Padma Vibhushan]] India's second highest civilian award posthumously in 2020 in the field of Public Affairs.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/padma-awards-for-george-vashishtha-six-others-from-state/articleshow/73620093.cms | title=Padma awards for George, Vashishtha & six others from state | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=26 January 2020 | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/former-ministers-arun-jaitley-sushma-swaraj-and-george-fernandes-given-padma-vibhushan/articleshow/73617205.cms | title=Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, George Fernandes given Padma Vibhushan posthumously. Here's full list of Padma award recipients | newspaper=[[The Economic Times]] | date=26 January 2020 | access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS |url=https://padmaawards.gov.in/PDFS/2020AwardeesList.pdf |website=padmaawards.gov.in |access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref> | |||
==Early life== | |||
George Fernandes was born on 3 June 1930 to John Joseph Fernandes and Alice Martha Fernandes (''née'' Pinto), in [[Mangalore]] to a [[Mangalorean Catholic]] family.<ref name="daj"/> The eldest of six children, all sons, his siblings are [[Lawrence Fernandes|Lawrence]], [[Michael Fernandes (politician)|Michael]], Paul, Aloysius, and Richard. His mother was a great admirer of [[King George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] (who was also born on 3 June), hence she named her first son George. His father was employed by the [[Peerless Group|Peerless Finance group]] as an insurance executive, and headed their office of [[South India]] for several years. George was fondly called "Gerry" in close family circles. He attended his first few years of schooling at a government school near his house called "Board school", a municipal school and a church school.<ref name="E TV Kuch lamhe">{{Cite news |title=Kuch lamhe fursat ke – George Fernandes, a life |date=27 March 2015 |publisher=E TV}}</ref> | |||
He studied from fifth grade at the school attached to [[St. Aloysius College (Mangalore)|St. Aloysius College, Mangalore]], where he completed his [[Secondary School Leaving Certificate]] (SSLC).<ref name="daj">{{cite news |url=http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/achievers_view.asp?a_id=24 |title=A Knight in Shining Armour (A profile of union defence minister George Fernandes) |publisher=[[Daiji World|Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd Mangalore]] |access-date=1 January 2010 |first=Richie |last=Lasrado |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628215852/http://www.daijiworld.com/chan/achievers_view.asp?a_id=24 |archive-date=28 June 2009 }}</ref> | |||
In an interview with E TV, he described his decision to stop studies after matriculation despite his father wishing him to study and become a lawyer.<ref name="E TV Kuch lamhe" /> His premise was that he did not want to become a lawyer and fight cases for his father who often evicted tenants from a patch of land that they owned on the outskirts of Mangalore. He was instead enrolled in a seminary for studies to become a priest.<ref name="E TV Kuch lamhe" /> He went to St Peter's Seminary in Bangalore at the age of 16, to be trained as a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] priest, studying philosophy for two and a half years from 1946 to 1948.<ref name="gfx1">{{harvnb|Fernandes|Mathew|1991|p=xi}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|Mathew|1991|p=200}}</ref> At the age of 19, he left the seminary due to sheer frustration because he was appalled that the rectors ate better food and sat at higher tables than the seminarians.<ref name="g85">{{harvnb|Ghosh|2007|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=TiG-pS2v3N0C&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q&f=true 85]}}</ref> He later confessed that, "I was disillusioned, because there was a lot of difference between precept and practice where the Church was concerned."<ref name="gfx1"/> He began work at the age of 19, organising exploited workers in the road transport industry and in the hotels and restaurants in Mangalore.<ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|Mathew|1991|p=11}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|Matthew|1991|p=212}}</ref> | |||
==Career== | |||
===Brief history of participating in elections=== | |||
He first contested Lok Sabha election in 1967 as a socialist, and defeated the Congress stalwart Sa Kaa Patil in Bombay in a famous upset, earning the sobriquet 'George the Giant-killer'. He contested from Muzaffarpur, Bihar in 1977 while still in jail as a Janata Party candidate, and won. He was made minister in the first non-Congress govt in India. In 1979, he resigned from Janata Party, joined Charan Singh's breakaway Janata Party (S), and won again from Muzaffarpur in 1980. In 1984 he fought from Bangalore on Janata Party's ticket but lost to Jaffar Sharif of Congress. He lost a bye-poll from Banka in 1985 and again in 1986. In 1989 and 1991, he shifted back to Bihar and won both times from Muzaffarpur as Janata Dal candidate. In 1994, he left Janata Dal after differences with Lalu Yadav and formed Samata Party which allied with BJP. | |||
In 1996 and 1998 elections, he won from Nalanda as Samata Party candidate. Samata Party merged with Janata Dal (United) and he won again from Nalanda in 1999. In 2004 he won from Muzaffarpur. In 2009 he was denied ticket by his party, contested from Muzaffarpur as an independent and lost. Later he was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2009. In the 2010s he was afflicted for many years with Alzheimer's and died in January 2019. | |||
* Bombay : 1967 (but did not contest in 1971) | |||
* Muzaffarpur : 1977, 1980, 1989, 1991, 2004. (Lost in 2009 as rebel) | |||
* Bangalore : Lost in 1984 <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1984-election-results.html|title = 1984 India General (8th Lok Sabha) Elections Results}}</ref> | |||
* Banka : Lost bye-polls in 1985 and 1986. | |||
* Nalanda : 1996, 1998, 1999 | |||
* Rajya Sabha : 2009 | |||
===Life in Bombay=== | |||
After leaving the seminary, Fernandes moved to Bombay in 1949 in search of a job. His life was tough in Bombay, and he had to sleep on the streets, until he got a job as a proofreader for a newspaper.<ref name="iexp">{{cite news |title=George Fernandes |date=1 January 2001 |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/George-Fernandes/Article1-11891.aspx |access-date=3 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tFQy20w?url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/George-Fernandes/Article1-11891.aspx |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> He relates to the beginning of his career by saying, "When I came to Bombay, I used to sleep on the benches of Chowpatty Sands. In the middle of the night policemen used to come and wake me up and ask me to move on."<ref>{{cite book | title = Himmat, Volume 4 | publisher = R. M. Lala | year = 1974 | page = 6}}</ref> He came into contact with veteran union leader Placid D'Mello, and the socialist [[Rammanohar Lohia]], who were the greatest influences on his life.<ref name="iexp"/><ref name="rediff13oct">{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/election/1999/oct/13profc.htm |title=The Vajpayee cabinet: All old timers minus one |access-date=3 September 2010 |date=13 October 1999 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tFfUkZK?url=http://www.rediff.com/election/1999/oct/13profc.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> Later, he joined the socialist trade union movement.<ref name="g85"/> He rose to prominence as a trade unionist and fought for the rights of labourers in small scale service industries such as hotels and restaurants. Emerging as a key figure in the Bombay labour movement in the early 1950s, Fernandes was a central figure in the unionisation of sections of Bombay labour in the 1950s.<ref name="jh">{{harvnb|Hutchison|Brown|Asia Research Centre|2001|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=b5Rv196QrowC&pg=PA158#v=onepage&q&f=true 158]}}</ref> As a labour organiser, he served many prison terms when his workforce engaged in fights with company goons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46444.cms?prtpage=1 |title=George Fernandes |access-date=8 August 2010 |date=27 June 2003 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |quote=In his salad days, he served many prison terms as a labour organiser when his workforce squabbled with hired company thugs. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608155401/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46444.cms?prtpage=1 |archive-date=8 June 2011 }}</ref> He served as a member of the [[Bombay Municipal Corporation]] from 1961 to 1968. He won in the civic election in 1961 and, until 1968, continuously raised the problems of the exploited workers in the representative body of the metropolis.<ref name="sarma">{{harvnb|Śarmā|1978|p=130}}</ref> | |||
The moment that thrust Fernandes into the limelight was his decision to contest the [[1967 Indian general election|1967 general election]]. He was offered a party ticket for the [[Mumbai South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bombay South]] constituency by the [[Samyukta Socialist Party]] against the more popular [[S. K. Patil]] of the [[Indian National Congress]] in Bombay. Patil was a seasoned politician, with two decades of experience. Nevertheless, Fernandes won by garnering 48.5 per cent of the votes, thus earning his nickname, "George the Giantkiller". The shocking defeat ended Patil's political career.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/election/2004/apr/02espec1.htm |title=When George Fernandes Humbled the 'king' |last=Pai |first=Rajeev D. |publisher=[[Rediff]] |date=2 April 2004 |access-date=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tGBss5U?url=http://www.rediff.com/election/2004/apr/02espec1.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
Fernandes emerged as a key leader in the upsurge of strike actions in Bombay during the second half of the 1960s but, by the beginnings of the 1970s, the impetus of his leadership had largely disappeared.<ref name="jh"/> In 1969, he was chosen General Secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party, and in 1973 became the Chairman of the Socialist Party.<ref name="sarma"/> After the 1970s, Fernandes failed to make major inroads in Bombay's growing private-sector industries.<ref name="jh"/> | |||
===1974 railway strike=== | |||
The most notable strike organised by Fernandes, when he was President of the [[All India Railwaymen's Federation]], was the All India Railway strike of 1974, where the entire nation was brought to a halt. The strike was the result of grievances by railway workers that had been built up over two decades before the strike. Though there were three Pay commissions between 1947 and 1974, none of them increased the standard of living of the workers.<ref>{{citation | contribution = Railway Workers and Their Unions: Origins of 1974 Indian Railways Strike | title = Economic and Political Weekly (Vol. 24, No. 41) | editor-first = Stephen | editor-last = Sherlock | page = 2311 | date = 14 October 1989}}</ref> In February 1974, the National Coordinating Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS) was formed to bring all the railway unions, the central trade unions and political parties in the Opposition together to prepare for the strike to start on 8 May 1974.<ref name="Chronicle of a strike" /> In Bombay, electricity and transport workers, as well as taxi drivers joined the protests. In [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], Bihar, striking workers and their families squatted on the tracks.<ref name="Chronicle of a strike" /> More than 10,000 workers of the [[Integral Coach Factory]] in [[Madras]] marched to the Southern Railway headquarters to express their solidarity with the striking workers. Similar protests erupted across the country.<ref name="Chronicle of a strike">{{cite magazine |last=Shridhar |first=V. |date=15–28 September 2001 |title=Chronicle of a strike |url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1819/18190750.htm |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |volume=18 |issue=19 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tGZCXhi?url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1819/18190750.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 |access-date=9 August 2010 }}</ref> | |||
The strike, which started on 8 May 1974, at the time of economic crisis, provoked strong government reactions and massive arrests.<ref name="et">{{cite news |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Real-and-sham-bandhs/articleshow/6132515.cms |title=Real and sham bandhs |last=Doctor |first=Vikram |newspaper=[[The Economic Times]] |date=6 July 2010 |access-date=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tGmeEMx?url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Real-and-sham-bandhs/articleshow/6132515.cms |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> According to [[Amnesty International]], 30,000 trade unionists were detained, most held under preventive detention laws. Those arrested included not only members of the strike action committee and trade unionists, but also railwaymen who participated in the strike.<ref name="s74"/> The strike was called off unilaterally on 27 May 1974 by the Action Committee. As explained later by Fernandes, "the strike was called off because those conducting the strike had started speaking in different voices."<ref name="b">{{harvnb|Sharma|1982|p=163}}</ref> Although large number of prisoners were released, among them Fernandes, thousands remained in detention, charged with specific offences.<ref name="s74">{{harvnb|Desai|1986|p=194}}</ref> The strike led to a sense of insecurity and threat that led to [[Indira Gandhi]]'s imposition of the Emergency era in 1975. Previous strikes were aimed at companies or industries, but this strike was aimed at the government and from its ramifications proved to be the most successful of disastrous industrial actions in Indian history.<ref name="et"/> | |||
===Emergency era and union ministry=== | |||
{{Main|The Emergency (India)|Baroda dynamite case}} | |||
The reigning Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, declared a [[state of emergency]] on 25 June 1975 due to internal political disturbances. Accordingly, all fundamental rights enjoyed in the [[Indian Constitution]] were suspended. Political dissidents, newspaper reporters, opposition leaders who opposed the emergency were jailed. George Fernandes, along with like-minded leaders, opposed what he saw as a blatant misuse of power. | |||
A day before the emergency George Fernande had arrived in [[Berhampur City]] in Odisha (on 24 June 1975) and was staying at his father-in-law Humayun Kabir's house on [[Gopalpur-On-Sea]] beach near [[Berhampur City]], Odisha. Humayun Kabir was the Education Minister in former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. | |||
George Fernandes' 25 June schedule in Berhampur city was packed. He attended a meeting of the [[Berhampur University]] Employees Association, a meeting with socialist leaders and workers and a gathering of intellectuals in the evening. He was scheduled to attend a meeting of the [[Railways Workers Association of Odisha]] on 26 June in [[Berhampur City]] but before that he hid himself there secretly. | |||
A warrant was issued in Fernandes' name and subsequently he went underground to escape arrest and prosecution. When the police failed to capture him, they arrested and tortured his brother, [[Lawrence Fernandes]], to reveal his brother's whereabouts. [[Snehalata Reddy]], a chronic asthmatic was arrested for being in touch with George Fernandes and, as she was not given adequate care in the prison, died soon after her release.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/06/26/stories/2003062600230100.htm |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=8 August 2010 |title=Memories of another day |date=26 June 2003 |location=Chennai, India |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tHMeA2y?url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/06/26/stories/2003062600230100.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
In July 1975, Fernandes arrived in [[Baroda]]. There, he met Kirit Bhatt, who was president of Baroda Union of Journalists, and Vikram Rao, a staff correspondent of ''[[The Times of India]]'' at Baroda, both who opposed the Emergency. They used to meet and discuss on what could be done to topple the autocratic Indira Gandhi Government. An industrialist friend, [[Viren J. Shah]], managing director of [[Mukand Ltd]]., helped them find contacts for procuring dynamite, used extensively in quarries around [[Halol]] (near Baroda). They aimed at blowing up toilets in government offices and cause explosions near the venue of public meetings to be addressed by Indira Gandhi. The idea was not to injure anybody, but only create a scare. The explosions were to be carried out either late in the night or hours before the public meeting was to begin to avoid injury. A plan was hatched to blow up a dais four hours before Indira Gandhi was to address a meeting in [[Varanasi]]. The conspiracy later came to be known as the infamous [[Baroda dynamite case]].<ref name="baroda">{{cite news |first=Milind |last=Ghatwai |title=Violent protest sans bloodshed against Indira Gandhi's emergency |date=26 June 2000 |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |url=http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20000626/ina26016.html |access-date=5 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tHaFzwU?url=http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20000626/ina26016.html |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Herdeck|Piramal|1985|p=58}}</ref> | |||
According to Bhatt, there were two more plans that never worked out. Fernandes also wanted to rob a train used to carry weapons from [[Pimpri]] (near [[Pune|Poona]]) to Bombay. The weapons were to be used to blast government offices. Yet another plan was to take the help of other countries by using [[ham radio]].<ref name="baroda"/> | |||
On 10 June 1976, he was finally arrested in [[Calcutta]] on charges of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments in protest against the imposition of emergency, in what came to be known as the Baroda dynamite case.<ref name="ee">{{harvnb|Sahasrabuddhe|Vajpayee|1991|p=537}}</ref> After his arrest, Amnesty International members cabled the Government requesting that he be given immediate access to a lawyer and that his physical protection be guaranteed.<ref>{{harvnb|Desai|1986|p=204}}</ref> Three world leaders from Germany, Norway and Austria were believed to have cabled Indira Gandhi and cautioned her against harming Fernandes.<ref name="daj"/> From Baroda, the accused were shifted to [[Tihar Jail]]. The accused were never chargesheeted.<ref name="baroda"/> | |||
====Union Minister and Muzaffarpur MP post-1977==== | |||
After the emergency was subsided in January 1977, so that elections could be held on 21 March 1977 in India. The Congress Party, led by Indira Gandhi, suffered a defeat at the hands of the [[Janata Party]], a coalition created in 1977 out of several small parties that opposed Gandhi's Emergency era.<ref>{{harvnb|Gort|Jansen|Vroom|2002|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=6xTC8ub8RN8C&pg=PA246#v=onepage&q&f=false 246]}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Joseph|Krieger|Kesselman|2009|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=x88s2oMsLkcC&pg=PA298#v=onepage&q&f=true 298]}}</ref> | |||
The Janata Party and its allies came to power, headed by [[Morarji Desai]], who became the first non-Congress [[Prime Minister of India]].<ref>{{cite magazine | |||
|url = http://www.flonnet.com/fl1416/14160180.htm | |||
|title = The Opposition and the Left | |||
|magazine = [[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] | |||
|first = E. m. s. | |||
|last = Namboodiripad | |||
|access-date = 9 August 2010 | |||
|volume = 14 | |||
|issue = 16 | |||
|date = 9–22 August 1997 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
|archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/65tHrHoke?url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl1416/14160180.htm | |||
|archive-date = 3 March 2012 | |||
|df = dmy | |||
}}</ref> Fernandes won the [[Muzaffarpur]] seat in Bihar by an over 300,000 vote margin in 1977 from jail where he was lodged in the Baroda dynamite case,<ref name="ou">{{cite magazine |url=http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?657225 |title=George Fernandes Files Nomination as Independent |access-date=8 August 2010 |date=1 April 2009 |magazine=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xZniBY8?url=http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?657225 |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> despite his not even visiting the constituency.<ref name="rediff13oct"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://mintonsunday.livemint.com/news/george-fernandes-rebel-without-a-pause/2.3.3199867612.html|title=GEORGE FERNANDES: REBEL WITHOUT A PAUSE|date=20 June 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926163812/http://mintonsunday.livemint.com/news/george-fernandes-rebel-without-a-pause/2.3.3199867612.html|archive-date=26 September 2015}}</ref> He was also appointed the Union Minister for Industries.<ref>{{cite magazine | |||
|url = http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1622/16221030.htm | |||
|title = The meaning of George Fernandes | |||
|magazine = [[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] | |||
|first = Noorani | |||
|last = A. G. | |||
|access-date = 9 August 2010 | |||
|volume = 16 | |||
|issue = 22 | |||
|date = 23 October – 5 November 1999 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
|archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/65tHzKUmD?url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1622/16221030.htm | |||
|archive-date = 3 March 2012 | |||
|df = dmy | |||
}}</ref> During his union ministership, he clashed with American multinationals [[IBM]] and [[Coca-Cola]] insisting they implement FERA, the [[Foreign Exchange Regulation Act]], which had been passed under Indira Gandhi's government. Under the FERA, foreign investors could not own more than 40 per cent of the share capital in Indian enterprises. The two multinationals decided to shut down their Indian operations, when Fernandes pressed ahead with rigid enforcement of FERA.<ref>{{harvnb|Kux|1993|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=zcylFXH9_z8C&pg=PA363#v=onepage&q&f=false 363]}}</ref> | |||
During his first tenure as MP, Fernandes set up a [[Doordarshan]] Kendra (1978), [[Kanti Thermal Power Station]] (1978) and the [[Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad|Lijjat papad]] factory to generate employment in [[Muzaffarpur]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140507/jsp/bihar/story_18316116.jsp#.Vhkw6-yqqko|title=Leading by example|last=Singh|first=Shambhavi|work=The Telegraph|date=7 May 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212857/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140507/jsp/bihar/story_18316116.jsp#.Vhkw6-yqqko|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/key-contests-george-fernandes-vs-bhagwan-l-sahni-104042301068_1.html|title=Key Contests: George Fernandes vs Bhagwan L Sahni|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=23 April 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820015421/http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/key-contests-george-fernandes-vs-bhagwan-l-sahni-104042301068_1.html|archive-date=20 August 2016}}</ref> Fernandes also insisted on women's empowerment. In November 2014, Kanti Thermal Power Station was renamed as George Fernandes Thermal Power Station (GFTPS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Kantis-110MW-second-unit-starts-power-generation/articleshow/45161837.cms|title=Kanti's 110MW second unit starts power generation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806145121/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Patna/Kantis-110MW-second-unit-starts-power-generation/articleshow/45161837.cms|archive-date=6 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141117/jsp/bihar/story_19048394.jsp#.VhkygOyqqko|title=Nitish vocal tonic to counter BJP claims|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002173448/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141117/jsp/bihar/story_19048394.jsp#.VhkygOyqqko|archive-date=2 October 2015}}</ref> | |||
===Party memberships and railway ministry=== | |||
[[File:Vladimir Putin with George Fernades-1.jpg|thumb|left|Fernandes (''left'') with Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] in 2000]] | |||
During his tenure as a minister in the Janata Party, he continued to be uncomfortable with certain elements of the broad-based Janata coalition, especially with the leaders of the erstwhile [[Hindu nationalist]] [[Bharatiya Jan Sangh]] in the [[Union Cabinet of India|Union Cabinet]]. In a debate preceding a [[vote of confidence]] two years into the government's tenure in 1979, he vehemently spoke out against the practice of permitting members to retain connections to the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS) while being in the ministry in the Janata Party. The leaders of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, among them [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] and [[Lal Krishna Advani]], refused to give up their allegiance with the RSS, leading to a split within the Janata Party. The issue of "dual membership" caused [[Morarji Desai]] to lose the vote of confidence, and his government was reduced to a minority in the ''Lok Sabha''.<ref>{{harvnb|Thakurta|Raghuraman|2004|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=laHQHBGC6P4C&pg=PA313#v=onepage&q&f=true 313]}}</ref> After the Janata Party started disintegrating in 1979, [[Charan Singh]] left it to form the Janata (Secular) Party and with support from the Congress Party, replaced Desai as Prime Minister.<ref name="charan">{{harvnb|Gupta|2003|pp=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=9dDH9q7nVQ8C&pg=PA135#v=onepage&q&f=true 134–135]}}</ref> | |||
In the [[7th Lok Sabha|seventh general elections]] held in 1980, the Janata (Secular) ministry failed to maintain a majority in the ''Lok Sabha'', and Congress once again became the ruling party.<ref name="charan"/> Fernandes retained his Parliamentary seat from Muzaffarpur in 1980, and sat in the opposition.<ref name="nan">{{cite news |title=Nalanda's despair is Muzaffarpur's delight |date=1 April 2004 |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040402/election.htm#3 |newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |access-date=4 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xxd17gf?url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040402/election.htm#3 |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> He contested for the ''[[8th Lok Sabha|Lok Sabha]]'' in 1984 from [[Bangalore North (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bangalore North]] constituency against future [[Ministry of Railways (India)|Railway minister]] and Congress candidate [[C. K. Jaffer Sheriff]], but lost the election by a margin of 40,000 votes.<ref>{{cite book | title = George Fernandes death: Former Defence Minister: Latest News | year = 1984 | publisher = [[Socialist Party (India)]] | page = 144 | quote = The outstanding win for the Congress (I) came in the Bangalore North constituency where the Union minister, Jaffer Sharief, defeated the Janata Party general secretary, George Fernandes, by a margin of 40,000 votes.}}</ref> He then decided to shift his base to Bihar in 1989, when an anti-Congress wave was sweeping the country in the wake of the [[Bofors scandal]],<ref name="ou"/> and won Muzaffarpur in the [[9th Lok Sabha|1989]] and [[10th Lok Sabha|1991]] general elections,<ref name="nan"/> He later joined the [[Janata Dal]], a party which was formed from the Janata Party at [[Bangalore]] in August 1988.<ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|Mathew|1991|p=317}}</ref> His second tenure as Minister of Railways in the [[V. P. Singh]]'s government from 1989 to 1990, though short-lived, was quite eventful.<ref name="bihargov"/> He was one of the driving forces behind the [[Konkan Railway]] project, the first major development in the [[history of rail transport in India]] since independence.<ref>{{harvnb|Ranade|2009|p=[https://books.google.com.bh/books?id=cGSKjaym3TcC&pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false 5]}}</ref> | |||
Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the [[Samata Party]] in 1994,<ref name="sam">{{cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/86843/ |title=Janata Dal: ...Make, break, make break... |access-date=1 September 2010 |last=Kaushal |first=Pradeep |date=29 January 2006 |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |quote=In 1994, Fernandes and Nitish Kumar broke away, floated the Samata Party. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xzSOl9i?url=http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/86843/ |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> which became a key ally of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), a party which is the current form of the erstwhile [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]].<ref>{{cite book | first = A.H | last = Advani | title = Business India, Issues 674–679 | year = 2004 | page=40 | quote=The bjp's key ally, Samata Party, is in a total disarray in Bihar as of now.}}</ref> BJP formed a short-lived government in the [[1996 Indian general election|1996 general elections]] along with the Samata Party and other allies. The government survived only for 13 days, since the BJP could not gather enough support from other parties to form a majority.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2108/stories/20040423008300400.htm |title=The New Power Centres |access-date=10 September 2010 |last=Hasan |first=Zoya |magazine=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |volume=21 |issue=8 |date=10–23 April 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xzebdfe?url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2108/stories/20040423008300400.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Vajapayee">{{cite news|title=Hindu Nationalist Cabinet Quits in India as Defeat Looms |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John F. Burns |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 May 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/world/hindu-nationalist-cabinet-quits-in-india-as-defeat-looms.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511210542/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/29/world/hindu-nationalist-cabinet-quits-in-india-as-defeat-looms.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref> Fernandes later served in the opposition along with BJP during the two [[United Front (India)|United Front]] governments (1996–1998) led by [[Janata Dal]] ministers [[H. D. Deve Gowda]] and [[Inder Kumar Gujral]].<ref name = "Vajapayee"/> After the collapse of the United Front ministry led by Gujral, BJP and its allies won a slender majority in the [[1998 Indian general election|1998 general elections]]. The government lasted only for 13 months, due to the non-co-operation of [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (AIADMK) leader [[J. Jayalalithaa|Jayalalitha]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rana|2000|p=50}}</ref> | |||
After the collapse of the second BJP-led coalition government, BJP and its allies formed a 24 party alliance called [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA), which became the first non-Congress coalition government in post-independence India to survive a full five-year term (1999–2004).<ref>{{harvnb|Hardgrave|Kochanek|2007|p=262}}</ref> Later, Fernandes became the convenor of NDA.<ref>{{cite news |first=Shekhar |last=Iyer |title=Sharad takes over from 'ill' George as NDA convenor |date=15 December 2008 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Sharad-takes-over-from-ill-George-as-NDA-convenor/Article1-358088.aspx |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |access-date=10 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xz61CDS?url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Sharad-takes-over-from-ill-George-as-NDA-convenor/Article1-358088.aspx |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> On 27 July 1999, the Janata Dal again split into two factions, the [[Janata Dal (United)]] and the [[Janata Dal (Secular)]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rana|2000|p=63}}, "On 27 July 1999 the JD again split into two factions – JD (United) headed by Sharad Yadav and JD (Secular) headed by Deve Gowda. Its earlier two factions the Samata and the Lok Shakti agreed to unite under one umbrella JD(U)."</ref> In 2003, Fernandes reunited with the Janata Dal (United), and also merged his [[Samata Party]] with it.<ref name="sam"/><ref>{{cite news |first=Gargi |last=Parsai |title=Fernandes to head Janata Dal (United) |date=31 October 2003 |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/10/31/stories/2003103104371100.htm |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=5 September 2010 |location=Chennai, India |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xylZw3k?url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/10/31/stories/2003103104371100.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
===Defence minister=== | |||
{{main|Kargil War|Pokhran-II}} | |||
[[File:George Fernandes and Donald Rumsfeld.jpg|thumb|right|Fernandes (''left'') with [[United States Secretary of Defense|US Secretary of Defense]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] in 2002]] | |||
Fernandes served as the [[Defence Minister of India]] in both the second and third [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] governments (1998–2004). During his tenure as the defence minister, the [[Kargil war]] over [[Kashmir]] broke out between India and Pakistan in 1999. The war began when heavily armed Pakistan-backed intruders dug themselves in at heights of {{Convert|16000|ft|m}} – {{Convert|18000|ft|m}} on the Indian side of the [[Line of Control]] (LOC) along an {{convert|80|km|mi}} stretch north of [[Kargil district|Kargil]]. They began attacking the [[National Highway 1D (India)|strategic highway]] linking [[Srinagar]] and [[Leh]]. As a result, the [[Indian army]] undertook the [[Operation Vijay (1999)|Operation Vijay]] to push back the Pakistani intruders and regain the occupied territories.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Joshi |first1=Manoj |last2=Baweja |first2=Harinder |url=http://www.india-today.com/itoday/07061999/cover.html |title=Kargil War (Blasting Peace) |access-date=11 September 2010 |magazine=[[India Today]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xyd3AN4?url=http://www.india-today.com/itoday/07061999/cover.html |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> The inability of the [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Indian intelligence]] and military agencies to detect the infiltration early received criticism, both by the opposition as well as the media. However, Fernandes refused to acknowledge the [[intelligence failure|failure]] of intelligence agencies in detecting infiltration along Kargil sector.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fernandes again denies intelligence failure |date=18 July 1999 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jul/18fern.htm |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xyTVdRU?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jul/18fern.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests at the [[Pokhran|Pokharan]] range in [[Rajasthan]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Anita |last=Pratap |title=India releases pictures of nuclear tests |date=17 May 1998 |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9805/17/india.nuke.tests/ |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xyLix1Y?url=http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9805/17/india.nuke.tests/ |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> Earlier a staunch supporter of [[nuclear disarmament]], Fernandes openly endorsed the NDA government's decision to test the nuclear bombs.<ref>{{harvnb|Frank|2002|p=528}} "Twenty years later, in 1998, Fernandes—a long-time campaigner for nuclear disarmament—warmly defended India's nuclear testing initiative while serving as Minister of Defence in the BJP Government headed by A. B. Vajpayee."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|Mathew|1991|p=363}}, "The nations of the world, both nuclear and non-nuclear, must be told in no uncertain terms that India stands for total nuclear disarmament, and the only way to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons is to ban them once and for all."</ref> He was also involved in skirmishes with the then [[Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy]], [[Vishnu Bhagwat]], over promotion of Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh as Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. Bhagwat was subsequently sacked over the issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat sacked; wife blames 'communal politics' |date=30 December 1998 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/dec/30navy.htm |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xy9atVe?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/dec/30navy.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> After the [[Tehelka#Operation West End|Tehelka defence scandal]] broke out in March 2001, Fernandes quit as defence minister, but was reappointed to the post later.<ref>{{cite magazine | |||
|url = http://www.flonnet.com/fl1822/18220230.htm | |||
|title = The return of Fernandes | |||
|magazine = [[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] | |||
|first = V. | |||
|last = Venkatesan | |||
|access-date = 9 August 2010 | |||
|volume = 18 | |||
|issue = 22 | |||
|date = 27 October – 9 November 2009 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
|archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/65xy2pDOO?url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl1822/18220230.htm | |||
|archive-date = 6 March 2012 | |||
|df = dmy | |||
}}</ref> Fernandes is the only defence minister of a nuclear power who had a picture of [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima bombing]] in his office. He made 18 visits to the icy heights of the {{convert|6600|m|mi}} [[Siachen]] glacier in Kashmir, which holds the record of being "the world's highest battlefield".<ref name="bbcgr"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Unusual-places-netas-love-to-visit/articleshow/29621674.cms|title=Unusual places netas love to visit – Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref><ref name="main">{{cite magazine |first=Tim |last=McGirk |author2=Rahman, Maseeh |title=Who Would Have Guessed? |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1998/981130/fernandes1.html |access-date=3 September 2010 |date=30 November 1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xxqs1pK?url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/asia/magazine/1998/981130/fernandes1.html |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> He was known for overseeing a huge increase in India's defence budget as compared to the allocations made by previous governments.<ref name="bbcgr"/> | |||
===After the defence ministership=== | |||
The NDA Government lost power to the Congress-led [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA) in the [[2004 Indian general election|2004 general elections]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Arvind |last=Lavakare |title=Why the NDA lost |date=9 June 2004 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/08arvind.htm |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xwVySOq?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/08arvind.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> Later, political observers alleged that Fernandes was locked in a bitter party rivalry with his one-time friend, Samata Party co-founder, [[Nitish Kumar]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Amarnath |last=Tewary |title=George, Derailed |date=20 January 2003 |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?218639 |magazine=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027075330/http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?218639 |archive-date=27 October 2010 }}</ref> In the [[2009 Indian general election|2009 general elections]], he contested from Muzaffarpur as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by the Janata Dal (United) on health grounds,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=George Fernandes Files Nomination as Independent |date=1 April 2009 |magazine=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=657225 |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331213629/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=657225 |archive-date=31 March 2012 }}</ref> but he lost the election.<ref>{{cite news |first=Priti Nath |last=Jha |title=George Fernandes loses security deposit |date=17 May 2009 |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-05-17/patna/28187807_1_security-deposit-george-fernandes-muzaffarpur-lok-sabha-seat |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=11 September 2010 |quote=George Fernandes, who contested the Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate, lost the election as well as his security deposit marking an end to his 32-year-long political association with Muzaffarpur. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xuZ8FV5?url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-05-17/patna/28187807_1_security-deposit-george-fernandes-muzaffarpur-lok-sabha-seat |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> On 30 July 2009, Fernandes filed his nomination as an independent candidate for the mid-term poll being held for the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by Janata Dal (United) president [[Sharad Yadav]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Anand Mohan |last=Sahay |title=Fernandes files nomination for RS by poll as JD-U candidate |date=30 July 2009 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/30/fernandes-files-nomination-for-rs-by-poll.htm |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802094756/http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/30/fernandes-files-nomination-for-rs-by-poll.htm |archive-date=2 August 2009 }}</ref> The Janata Dal (United) did not field any candidate against him, which led to his being elected unopposed. He was sworn in on 4 August 2009.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vandita |last=Mishra |title=Leila and George |date=9 August 2009 |newspaper=[[The Indian Express]] |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/leila-and-george/499723/ |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320032328/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/leila-and-george/499723 |archive-date=20 March 2013 }}</ref> | |||
==Other activities== | |||
===Support to secessionist groups in Sri Lanka=== | |||
Fernandes supported and endorsed many secessionist movements and groups. He was a long time supporter of the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] (LTTE), an organisation which sought to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka.<ref name="LTTEflirtation" /> Before 1997, he organised a controversial public convention of pro-LTTE delegates in New Delhi.<ref name="LTTEflirtation" /> In July 1998, he reportedly prevented the [[Indian Navy]] from intercepting ships that were suspected of carrying illegal weapons to Tamil guerrilla groups.<ref name="LTTEflirtation" /> Fernandes was also a patron of the Fund Raising Committee backed by the LTTE, with an objective to help the 26 accused in the [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi|Rajiv Gandhi assassination case]].<ref name="LTTEflirtation" /> The [[Sri Lankan government]] stated that, "the LTTE's biggest supporter in India is Defence Minister George Fernandes."<ref name="LTTEflirtation">{{Cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/dec/07spec.htm |title=Fernandes's flirtation with the LTTE is ominous for Sri Lanka |date=7 December 2000 |access-date=13 September 2010 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65xuBuZAX?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/dec/07spec.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Rediff]] }}</ref> He also expressed support for Tibetan refugees fighting for freedom against China, and Burmese pro-democratic rebel groups fighting against the military government in [[Myanmar]].<ref name="rediffMandalay">{{cite news |title=The rocky road to Mandalay |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2001/feb/19burma.htm |access-date=29 January 2019 |publisher=Rediff news |date=19 February 2001}}</ref><!-- UNSOURCED SECTION | |||
Mr. Fernandes is a very active supporter of many Burmese anti-government movements. Quoted regularly on exiled Burmese radio stations, he often criticises the junta and its members on a wide array of topics. He opposes the current government's drive to root out anti-Burmese insurgents along the Burmese-Indian border. During his tenures in office, gun runners were allowed to do business using Indian territories, often as stop overs en route from Thailand to Bangladesh.--> | |||
He revealed the infamous "[[Operation Leech]]" incident, which resulted in the capture of Arakan Army insurgents on one of India's islands in the [[Andaman Sea]]. He also fought for the welfare and release of anti-Burmese rebels held by the Indian Government.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?209239 |title=George Catches A Chill |magazine=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |date=17 April 2000 |access-date=3 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118121929/http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?209239 |archive-date=18 November 2010 }}</ref> | |||
<!-- UNSOURCED CONTROVERSIAL CLAIMS NEED SOURCE OR SHOULD BE REMOVED-------------- | |||
Once, when the National United Party of Arakan complained to Mr. Fernandes of its members being captured in Indian waters, while carrying arms, he issued orders restricting Indian military movements, and all counter-terror / counter-insurgency operations conducted in the region to be asked for approval from the Central Government. | |||
He mentions that several islands in the Andaman Sea, including the [[Coco Islands]], which belong to Myanmar, were ceded by the former Prime Minister of India [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] to the Burmese, rather than part of the original territory gained at Independence. --> | |||
===CIA funding=== | |||
{{main|Kissinger cables}} | |||
During the Emergency, as chairman of the [[Socialist Party (India)|Socialist Party of India]], he faced prosecution for alleged conspiracy against the government of Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]].<ref name="CIAfunding" /> He allegedly sought to obtain funding from the US [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[French government]] to organise underground sabotage activities. US diplomatic cables said that after an initial request to seek funding from the French government was turned down, he was "prepared to accept money from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]".<ref name="CIAfunding">{{cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fernandes-sought-cia-funding-during-emergency/article4592097.ece |title=Fernandes 'sought CIA funding' during Emergency |work='The Hindu |date=8 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731092235/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fernandes-sought-cia-funding-during-emergency/article4592097.ece |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=5 August 2013 |last1=George |first1=P. J. }}</ref> | |||
===Tehelka scandal=== | |||
{{main|Tehelka#Operation West End|l1=Operation West End}} | |||
Fernandes' name figured prominently in [[Operation West End]], a [[sting operation]] in which journalist [[Mathew Samuel]], armed with hidden cameras, from a controversial investigative journal, [[Tehelka]], posing as representatives of a fictitious arms company, appeared to bribe the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] President, [[Bangaru Laxman]], a senior officer in the [[Indian Army]] and [[Jaya Jaitly]], the General Secretary of the [[Samata Party]] and Fernandes' companion.<ref name=NYTDugger3>{{cite news|title=India's Top Party Chief Resigns After Tape Hints He Took Bribe|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/14/world/india-s-top-party-chief-resigns-after-tape-hints-he-took-bribe.html|access-date=24 November 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 March 2001|author=Celia W. Dugger}}</ref> | |||
The scandal caused uproar all over India and Fernandes was forced to resign from his post as a Defence Minister. He was subsequently cleared by the one man commission headed by retired Justice Phukan. The Phukan Committee Report was rejected by the [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA) Government headed by the [[Indian National Congress|Congress Party]] and a new committee headed by Justice K Venkataswami was appointed. The Committee investigated the case in detail, but Justice Venkataswami resigned before submitting the report in the case.<ref name="outlookindia2002">{{cite news |title=Justice Denied |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/justice-denied/218269 |access-date=29 January 2019 |publisher=outlookindia |date=9 December 2002}}</ref> | |||
===Barak Missile scandal=== | |||
{{Main|Barak Missile scandal}} | |||
On 10 October 2006, the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) registered a [[First information report]] (FIR) against Fernandes, his associate Jaya Jaitly, and former navy chief [[Admiral Sushil Kumar]] for alleged irregularities in purchasing the {{INRConvert|7|b}} [[Barak 1]] system from Israel in 2000.<ref name="CBI"/> Fernandes, however, said that the scientific adviser to the Defence Minister in [[National Democratic Alliance (India)|National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA) Government (1998–2004), who later became the [[President of India]], [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]], had cleared the missile deal.<ref name="CBI">{{cite news |title=CBI names George Fernandes in arms scandal |date=10 October 2006 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-10/india/27794167_1_barak-deal-missile-system-admiral-sushil-kumar |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tConA9n?url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-10-10/india/27794167_1_barak-deal-missile-system-admiral-sushil-kumar |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
===As defence minister=== | |||
Following the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998, he openly branded China as "India's enemy number one".<ref name="conbbc">{{cite news |first=Vijay |last=Rana |title=China and India's mutual distrust |date=21 April 2003 |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2964195.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=11 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tAcZLxx?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2964195.stm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> He later expressed regret for his statements, saying it was wrongly interpreted by the media.<ref name="bbcgr"/><ref name="main"/> He has also criticised China for providing sophisticated weapons to Pakistan to build its missiles, and has rapped the Chinese for strengthening their military across the [[Himalayas]] in Tibet.<ref name="main"/> | |||
Fernandes has claimed that he was [[strip search]]ed twice at [[Dulles Airport]] in the US Capital area, when he was defence minister—once on an official visit to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in early 2002 and another time while en route to Brazil in mid-2003. The details of the strip-search were mentioned in American foreign policy analyst [[Strobe Talbott]]'s book ''Engaging India – Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fernandes strip-searched twice during visit to US: Talbott |date=10 July 2004 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/10strobe1.htm |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tB7yGSk?url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/10strobe1.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> However, the [[US embassy]] in [[Delhi]] issued a formal denial that Fernandes had been strip-searched,<ref>{{cite news |title=US apologises over body search |date=14 July 2004 |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3892657.stm |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tBPBq19?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3892657.stm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> and said that, "Fernandes was not strip-searched but a [[security wand]] was waved over him when a key in his pocket set off the metal detector."<ref name="defr"/> Subsequently, the then [[United States Deputy Secretary of State]], [[Richard Armitage (politician)|Richard Armitage]], personally apologised to Fernandes over the matter.<ref name="defr">{{cite news |title=Strip-search incident: Armitage apologises |date=14 July 2004 |publisher=[[Rediff]] |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/14strip.htm |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tBZ1Rm0?url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/14strip.htm |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> This was one in a series of incidents involving the [[detention and search of Indian VIPs at US airports]] that marred Indian–US relations post 9/11.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/airport-detention-srk-in-company-of-kalam-and-fernandes/article3310624.ece|title=Airport detention: SRK in company of Kalam and Fernandes|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=13 April 2012|access-date=12 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219111302/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/airport-detention-srk-in-company-of-kalam-and-fernandes/article3310624.ece|archive-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> | |||
He was accused in the 2002 coffin scam, following allegations that 500 poor quality aluminium caskets were bought from the United States at rates 13 times more than the actual price, to transport the bodies of slain soldiers, after the Kargil War.<ref>{{cite news |title=CBI files chargesheet in Kargil coffin scam |date=22 August 2009 |publisher=[[The Times of India]] |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-08-22/india/28157558_1_cbi-files-chargesheet-kargil-war-coffin-scam |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tCIyOJ8?url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-08-22/india/28157558_1_cbi-files-chargesheet-kargil-war-coffin-scam |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> However, the CBI gave a clean sheet to Fernandes in the scam in its 2009 charge sheet.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sumon |last=Chakrabarti |title=Fernandes gets clean chit in Kargil coffin scam |date=22 August 2009 |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fernandes-gets-clean-chit-in-kargil-coffin-scam/99725-3.html |work=[[CNN-IBN]] |access-date=12 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tCUpdIM?url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fernandes-gets-clean-chit-in-kargil-coffin-scam/99725-3.html |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> Critics have charged the Congress Party for hounding George Fernandes for speaking out against Sonia Gandhi and the Nehru dynasty as looters.{{cn|date=April 2020}} | |||
| | ==Writings, journalism and other contributions== | ||
| | Fernandes liked writing and journalism in his student days. He was the editor of a [[Konkani language]] monthly ''Konkani Yuvak'' (Konkani Youth) in 1949. The same year, he was the editor of the ''Raithavani'' weekly in [[Kannada language|Kannada]].<ref name="journalism">{{harvnb|Śarmā|1978|p=131}}</ref> The ''Dockman'' weekly in English, which had ceased publication, reappeared under the editorship of Fernandes in 1952–53.<ref>{{harvnb|Bogaert|1970|p=37}}</ref> Though not a prolific writer, Fernandes wrote several books on politics including ''What Ails the Socialists'' (1972),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandes |first1=George |title=What Ails the Socialists |date=1972 |publisher=New Society Publications; distributors: Sindhu Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3eD0DKynAwC |access-date=29 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> ''Socialist Communist Interaction in India'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Madhu |first1=Limaye |last2=Fernandes |first2=George |title=Socialist Communist Interaction in India |date=1991 |publisher=Ajanta Publications (India) |isbn=9788120203198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CF_lAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref> ''In the year of the disabled: India's disabled government'' (1981),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandes |first1=George |title=In the year of the disabled: India's disabled government |date=1981 |publisher=Prati Paksha Prakashan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VAO1AAAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref> ''Dignity for All: Essays in Socialism and Democracy'' (1991),<ref>{{cite book |title=Dignity for all : essays in socialism and democracy |year=1991 |publisher=Ajanta Publications (India) |isbn=978-8120203181 }}</ref> and his autobiography titled ''George Fernandes Speaks'' (1991).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fernandes |first1=George |title=George Fernandes Speaks |date=1991 |publisher=Ajanta Publications (India) |isbn=9788120203174 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oecbAAAAIAAJ |access-date=29 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> He was the editor of an English monthly, ''The Other Side'', and the chairman of the editorial board of the [[Hindi]] monthly ''Pratipaksh''.<ref name="jr"/> A human rights activist, Fernandes had been a member of [[Amnesty International]], the [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] and the [[Press Council of India]].<ref name="LokSabhaProfile">{{cite web |last1=Fernandes |first1=George |title=Members : Lok Sabha |url=http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=122&lastls=14 |website=Parliament of India |publisher=Lok Sabha |access-date=29 January 2019}}</ref> | ||
| | |||
| | ==Family and personal life== | ||
}} | Fernandes met Leila Kabir, the daughter of former Union minister [[Humayun Kabir]], on a flight back to [[Delhi]] from [[Calcutta]]. Fernandes, then the general secretary of the [[Samyukta Socialist Party]], was returning from Bangladesh while Kabir was on her way back from the battlefront where she had gone as an assistant director of the [[Red Cross]]. They began dating and were married on 22 July 1971.<ref name="vss">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100131/jsp/7days/story_12048564.jsp |title=I came back to give my son a father but the father never showed up |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph (Calcutta)]] |date=31 January 2010 |access-date=7 August 2010 |location=Calcutta, India |first1=Leila |last1=Kabir |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65rxz0xOC?url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100131/jsp/7days/story_12048564.jsp |archive-date=2 March 2012 }}</ref> They had a son, Sean Fernandes, who is an investment banker based in New York.<ref name="iss">{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100604/jsp/frontpage/story_12528019.jsp |title=Catfight on birthday – Ladies clash over George |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph (Calcutta)]] |date=4 June 2010 |access-date=7 August 2010 |location=Calcutta, India |first=Archis |last=Mohan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65ryG83VX?url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100604/jsp/frontpage/story_12528019.jsp |archive-date=2 March 2012 }}</ref> Fernandes and Kabir separated in the mid-1980s.<ref name="iss"/> Jaya Jaitly was Fernandes' companion from 1984.<ref name="iss"/> | ||
Fernandes spoke ten languages—Konkani, English, Hindi, [[Tulu language|Tulu]], [[Kannada]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], Urdu, [[Malayalam]], and Latin. Konkani was his mother tongue. He learnt Marathi and Urdu in jail, and Latin while he was in the seminary in his early youth. He was fluent in Hindi and English.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2004/08/15/george-fernandes-socialist-who-speaks-many-tongues |title=George Fernandes, Socialist Who Speaks Many Tongues |newspaper=[[Asian Tribune]] |date=15 August 2004 |access-date=7 August 2010 |first=R. C. |last=Rajamani |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65tAO3Ji9?url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2004/08/15/george-fernandes-socialist-who-speaks-many-tongues |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
Fernandes was reported to be suffering from [[Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer]]'s and [[Parkinson's disease|Parkinson]]'s diseases, and in January 2010 was undergoing treatment at [[Swami Ramdev|Baba Ramdev]]'s [[ashram]] at [[Haridwar]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/george-fernandes-being-treated-by-swami-ramdev_597164.html |title=George Fernandes being treated by Swami Ramdev |date=19 January 2010 |access-date=19 January 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729211500/http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/george-fernandes-being-treated-by-swami-ramdev_597164.html |archive-date=29 July 2013 }}</ref> for the diseases at the request of Leila Kabir, who had recently returned to his life.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_george-fernandes-being-treated-for-alzheimer-s-by-yoga-guru-ramdev_1336547 |title=George Fernandes being treated for Alzheimer's by Yoga Guru Ramdev |newspaper=[[DNA (newspaper)|DNA]] |access-date=19 January 2010 |date=19 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65s082WZl?url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_george-fernandes-being-treated-for-alzheimer-s-by-yoga-guru-ramdev_1336547 |archive-date=2 March 2012 }}</ref> In February 2010, Fernandes' brothers were reported to have been considering a court order for medical treatment and visitation; Kabir and Sean Fernandes are alleged to have forcibly removed Fernandes to an undisclosed location.<ref>{{cite news |first=D. P. |last=Satish |title=Ex-defence minister George Fernandes goes missing |date=20 February 2010 |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/exdefence-minister-george-fernandes-goes-missing/110422-3.html?from=tn |work=[[CNN-IBN]] |access-date=7 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330210033/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/exdefence-minister-george-fernandes-goes-missing/110422-3.html?from=tn |archive-date=30 March 2010 }}</ref> In July 2010, the Delhi High Court ruled that Fernandes would stay with Kabir and that Fernandes' brothers would be able to visit.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-06/news/27570469_1_brothers-court-premises-delhi-high-court |work=[[The Economic Times]] |title=George to stay with wife: Court |date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65rXswMRV?url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-06/news/27570469_1_brothers-court-premises-delhi-high-court |archive-date=2 March 2012 }}</ref> | |||
In August 2012 the [[Supreme Court of India]] granted permission to Jaya Jaitly, a former aide, to visit him, a move which was opposed by his wife on the grounds of her ''locus standi''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Supreme Court allows Jaya Jaitly to visit George Fernandes|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-31/news/33521584_1_political-colleague-and-confidante-leila-kabir-delhi-high-court|access-date=8 May 2013|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=31 August 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202203602/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-31/news/33521584_1_political-colleague-and-confidante-leila-kabir-delhi-high-court|archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref> | |||
He died at the age of 88 on 29 January 2019, in Delhi following a [[swine flu]] infection.<ref name="TheHindu2019_jan">{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-passes-away/article26117612.ece|title=George Fernandes, former Defence Minister, passes away|date=29 January 2019|access-date=29 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122901/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-passes-away/article26117612.ece|archive-date=29 January 2019|newspaper=The Hindu|language=en-IN|quote=Former Defence Minister George Fernandes passed away on Tuesday in New Delhi, according to family members. He was 88. Mr. Fernandes had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The family is awaiting his son Sean Fernandes’ arrival from the United States to proceed with funeral arrangements. The funeral is scheduled to be held in New Delhi. 'We are saddened to announce the passing of Shri George Fernandes early this morning. Mr. Fernandes was attended to at his home by a Max Healthcare team, which found him unresponsive and declared him dead at 06:42AM on January 29th, 2019,' Max Healthcare hospital said in a statement.}}</ref><ref name="deathNDTV">{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-dies-at-88-after-long-illness-1984690|title=George Fernandes, Former Defence Minister, Dies At 88 After Long Illness|date=29 January 2019|access-date=29 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209133217/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-dies-at-88-after-long-illness-1984690|archive-date=9 February 2019|publisher=NDTV.com|quote=He contested the 1977 election from jail and won the Muzaffarpur constituency in Bihar by a landslide. George Fernandes became a hero of the Emergency. He was made minister when the Janata Party came to power in 1977 with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. One of his prominent acts at the time was to force the exit of Coca Cola and IBM, which had refused to dilute their stake in their Indian associates. Coke left India and returned only two decades later. As Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Defence Minister, Mr Fernandes oversaw the Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998 and the Kargil war.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/updates-george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-dies-at-88-1984698|title=George Fernandes, Former Defence Minister, Dies At 88: Updates|website=NDTV.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203200455/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/updates-george-fernandes-former-defence-minister-dies-at-88-1984698|archive-date=3 February 2019|access-date=2019-02-13|quote=George Fernandes was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which had forced him out of the public eye for last many years, and had recently contracted swine flu, she said, adding that he died at his home in Delhi. George Fernandes was one of the most prominent leaders of the socialist movement in the 1970s.}}</ref> In his condolence letter, [[Nobel Peace Prize]] [[List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates|laureate]], the [[14th Dalai Lama]] of [[Tibet (1912–1951)|Tibet]] wrote, "I had the privilege of knowing him for over five decades during which we met regularly (...) I admired him greatly because he dedicated himself to what he believed in, no matter how difficult the situation was. Mr Fernandes was a great humanitarian and believer in truth. Throughout his life, he was a voice to millions of poor and needy people of the country. He had firm conviction for justice and wisdom. He was a real heroic leader. (...) He was a steady friend who was sympathetic to the Tibetan cause right from the beginning. He never missed an opportunity to speak up for the Tibetan people as well as for others in similar situation. (...) Although George and I are from different religious traditions, as a Buddhist I am confident he would be reborn yet again to serve his country, in particular, the cause of the less privileged people. (...) As I had told him during our meetings over the years, I will always remember him".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tibet.net/2019/01/his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-saddened-by-demise-of-heroic-leader-and-steady-friend-of-tibet-george-fernandes/|title=His Holiness the Dalai Lama saddened by demise of 'heroic leader and steady friend of Tibet' George Fernandes {{!}} Central Tibetan Administration|last=Saldon|first=Tenzin|date=29 January 2019|website=tibet.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129115101/https://tibet.net/2019/01/his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-saddened-by-demise-of-heroic-leader-and-steady-friend-of-tibet-george-fernandes/|archive-date=29 January 2019|access-date=2019-02-13|quote=I had the privilege of knowing him for over five decades during which we met regularly (...) I admired him greatly because he dedicated himself to what he believed in, no matter how difficult the situation was. Mr Fernandes was a great humanitarian and believer in truth. Throughout his life, he was a voice to millions of poor and needy people of the country. He had firm conviction for justice and wisdom. He was a real heroic leader. (...) He was a steady friend who was sympathetic to the Tibetan cause right from the beginning. He never missed an opportunity to speak up for the Tibetan people as well as for others in similar situation. (...) Although George and I are from different religious traditions, as a Buddhist I am confident he would be reborn yet again to serve his country, in particular, the cause of the less privileged people. (...) As I had told him during our meetings over the years, I will always remember him}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
* [[National Democratic Alliance (India)]] | |||
* [[Freethought]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} | ||
'''Bibliography''' | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Bogaert |first=Michael |year=1970 |title=Trade unionism in Indian ports: a case study at Calcutta and Bombay |publisher=Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations}} | |||
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{{refend}} | |||
== | ==External links== | ||
{{Commons category|George Fernandes}} | |||
{{ | * [http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Members/MemberBioprofile.aspx?mpsno=122&lastls=14 Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website] | ||
* [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/George-Fernandes Ongoing news coverage] from The Times Network | * [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/George-Fernandes Ongoing news coverage] from The Times Network | ||
* [http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/george-fernandes-rebel-without-a-pause-1.1175748 George Fernandes: Rebel without a pause] from ''[[Gulf News]]'' | * [http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/george-fernandes-rebel-without-a-pause-1.1175748 George Fernandes: Rebel without a pause] from ''[[Gulf News]]'' | ||
* [[1989 Valvettiturai massacre|India's My Lai]] | |||
{{S-start}} | |||
{{s-par|in-lwr}} | |||
{{s-bef|before=[[S. K. Patil|Sadashiv Kanoji Patil]]}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Mumbai South (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mumbai South]]|years=1967–1971}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=Kailas Narain Narula Shivnarain}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-bef|before=Nawal Kishore Sinha}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]]|years=1977–1984}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-bef|before=Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]]|years=1989–1996}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=[[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]]}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-bef|before=Vijay Kumar Yadav}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Nalanda (Lok Sabha constituency)|Nalanda]]|years=1996–2004}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=[[Nitish Kumar]]}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-bef|before=[[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]]}} | |||
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br />for [[Muzaffarpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muzaffarpur]]|years=2004–2009}} | |||
{{s-aft|after=[[Jai Narain Prasad Nishad]]}} | |||
|- | |||
{{s-off}} | |||
{{S-bef| before = [[Madhav Rao Scindia]]}} | |||
{{s-ttl | title = [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] | |||
| years = 1989–1990}} | |||
{{s-aft | after = [[Janeshwar Mishra]]}} | |||
{{S-bef| before = [[Mulayam Singh Yadav]]}} | |||
{{s-ttl | title = [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | |||
| years = 1998–2001}} | |||
{{s-aft | after = [[Jaswant Singh]]}} | |||
{{S-bef| before = [[Jaswant Singh]]}} | |||
{{s-ttl | title = [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | |||
| years = 2001–2004}} | |||
{{s-aft | after = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]}} | |||
{{S-end}} | |||
{{ | {{Railway Ministers of India|George Fernandes=George Fernandes}} | ||
{{Defence Ministers of India|George Fernandes=George Fernandes}} | |||
{{Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)}} | |||
{{Ministry of Communications (India)}} | |||
{{Indian Emergency}} | |||
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, George}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, George}} | ||
[[Category:1930 births]] | [[Category:1930 births]] | ||
[[Category:2019 deaths]] | [[Category:2019 deaths]] | ||
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