Former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh, passed away on 27th November, 2008, after prolonged illness. The leader who cobbled a coalition of the Left and BJP to dethrone Rajiv Gandhi in the 1989 elections, played the reservation card a year later that irreversibly changed the course of Indian politics, bringing to the fore the power of backwards and Dalits in electoral politics.
V.P. Singh was born on 25th June in the year of 1931. His family was called `Rajibut Gahawar Zamindar.’ Singh was adopted when he was five years old with a Manda ruler named Raja Bahadur. He went to Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehra Dun for his early formal studies. Singh later joined Allahabad and Pune Universities for his college education. He was a leader from these early days whereby he became the student’s union head at Udai Pratap College. Also, he later served as the deputy head of the students Union at Allahabad University.
Singh entered politics in Allahabad during the Nehru era and soon made a name for his rectitude. He earned the title of ‘Mr Clean´ despite occupying positions of power, including the Chief Ministership of Uttar Pradesh. In 1969, he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly. There was no looking back after that. In 1971 he was elected to the Lok Sabha. In 1974, he became the deputy minister of commerce in the Indira Gandhi government. He served as minister of state for commerce between 1974 and 1976. With the Congress coming back to power in 1980, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made Singh the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He offered to resign two years later after publically admitting that he could not fully solve the problem of banditry that was endemic to some regions of the state.
After Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister in 1984, V.P. Singh was made the union finance minister. V.P. Singh’s image was that of an honest man, and he took measures to tackle gold smuggling and crack down on tax evaders. He was the man chosen by Rajiv Gandhi to start hacking away at the chains that had bound the Indian economy for several decades. He was the original reformer. Business houses will also remember the raids he ordered against tax offenders, which were not as unjustified as many believe.
Singh formed a new political outfit called the Jan Morcha and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha after winning the by-poll from Allahabad.
In October 1988, the Jan Morcha merged with other anti-Congress parties, the Janata Party, Lok Dal and Congress (S), to form the Janata Dal, with V.P. Singh as its president. The Janata Dal joined hands with regional players such as the DMK to form the National Front.
In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections the National Front, with electoral support from the BJP and Left parties, won a majority and formed the government, with the Left and the BJP providing outside support.
Singh became Prime Minister on December 2, 1989, and Devil Lal his Deputy.
Though Singh did not complete even a year in office, it was a tumultuous time for India — Kashmir exploded in violence and the Mandal and Mandir movements caused immense social upheaval. Meanwhile, even as regional parties grew more powerful in several parts of the country, the right-wing BJP consolidated its position.
Vishwanath Pratap Singh is renowned for being extremely committed to the service of the people and always had a willingness to sacrifice office. Singh is accredited to significant improvements of India’s lower Castles when he was prime minister. With a natural sense of determination, sheer conviction and judgment, Singh slowly climbed up the political ladder to become one of the most respected politicians in the history of India.
With the Ram Janmabhoomi movement gathering steam and L.K. Advani taking out a rath yatra in its support, Singh intervened by arresting the BJP leader before he could reach Ayodhya. The kar sevaks were not allowed to build a temple on the disputed site.
Consequently, the BJP stopped giving outside support to the National Front, leading to the fall of the V.P. Singh government.
V.P. Singh is perhaps best remembered for stirring the caste cauldron by implementing the recommendations of the Mandal Commission and reserving jobs for backward castes. There were violent demonstrations against the move, with many students setting themselves ablaze in protest. But at the same time he “irreversibly changed the course of Indian politics, bringing to the fore the power of backwards and Dalits in electoral politics”, as a news report put it after his death.Vishwanath Pratap Singh is renowned for being extremely committed to the service of the people and always had a willingness to sacrifice office. Singh is accredited to significant improvements of India’s lower Castles when he was prime minister. With a natural sense of determination, sheer conviction and judgment, Singh slowly climbed up the political ladder to become one of the most respected politicians in the history of India.
With the Ram Janmabhoomi movement gathering steam and L.K. Advani taking out a rath yatra in its support, Singh intervened by arresting the BJP leader before he could reach Ayodhya. The kar sevaks were not allowed to build a temple on the disputed site. Consequently, the BJP stopped giving outside support to the National Front, leading to the fall of the V.P. Singh government.
V.P. Singh is perhaps best remembered for stirring the caste cauldron by implementing the recommendations of the Mandal Commission and reserving jobs for backward castes. There were violent demonstrations against the move, with many students setting themselves ablaze in protest. But at the same time he “irreversibly changed the course of Indian politics, bringing to the fore the power of backwards and Dalits in electoral politics”, as a news report put it after his death.
