World | India
Former prime minister VP Singh dies after long battle with cancer
Former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who gained renown not so much for his governance as for affirmative action that radically altered the political map of India, died Thursday afternoon.
- Agencies
- Published: 22:48 November 27, 2008
New Delhi: Former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who gained renown not so much for his governance as for affirmative action that radically altered the political map of India, died Thursday afternoon.
The 77-year-old Singh breathed his last in Apollo Hospital after battling a kidney ailment and blood cancer for more than a decade.
An anti-corruption crusader, he was seen by many as a messiah of social justice who opened up opportunities for the lower and lower middle class strata of society, and was reviled by others for sharpening caste cleavages in Indian society with his 'Mandal' politics.
"Singh was a thinking leader of independent India. He was not only a politician but a statesman who wanted to bring about social change in Indian society," Shahid Seddiqi, senior Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, said. "His demise is a loss for India and all those who stand for a secular and equitable India," Seddiqi said.
Place in history
"He has an important place in the history of Indian politics. The work done by him for the poor and the backward is a major contribution to Indian society," Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, senior leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said. "He was a harbinger of social engineering," Naqvi said.
V.P. Singh served as finance minister and defence minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government before turning against him and resigned over the issue of alleged payoff in the purchase of Bofors guns. He campaigned on the issue of corruption and probity in public life.
In 1989, snatching victory from the jaws of the Congress, which had come to power in the 1984 elections with a two-thirds majority, Singh formed the National Front government and ruled the country from December 2, 1989 to Nov-ember 10, 1990. In those days, Singh was being called "Mr Cleaner" to Gandhi's much-touted "Mr Clean" image.
In August 1990, Singh decided to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission that reserved 27 per cent of the jobs in central government for the so-called other backward classes (OBC) who comprised 52 per cent of the Indian population.
It was a move that elicited a backlash from the urban, high-caste youth who saw job quota as a challenge to their educational and career prospects and which radically re-altered political equations in the country.
Singh's controversial decision to get BJP leader L.K. Advani arrested in 1990 over charges of fomenting communal tension at the height of the movement over a Hindu temple in Ayodhya led to the withdrawal of the BJP's support to the V.P. Singh-led Janata Dal government.
His prime ministerial tenure, lasting less a year, is mostly remembered for his policy of extending reservations to OBCs, tussle with powerful corporate interests and his decision to arrest Advani, which turned out to be his nemesis.
Born on June 25, 1931, in Allahabad, Singh is one of few Indian politicians whose reputation for integrity has survived the pressures of partisan politics. Even his critics concede Singh his reputation for clean personal conduct and a streak of idealism, which many found irksome.
In 1982, Singh resigned as chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, when he failed to live up to his self-imposed deadline to crush gangs of bandits in the state.
Respect
Appointed by Indira Gandhi after her return to power in 1980, Singh's administration earned respect for its honesty and his spirited attempts to curb dacoity and thuggery in the state.
In the last decade or so, Singh, a scion of the family that ruled the principality of Manda, near Allahabad, reinvented himself as a painter and a poet and continued to be a bridge builder among political parties opposed to the Congress.
Two years ago, Singh's 75th birthday celebrations turned into a major meeting point for leaders across the political divide, ranging from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Communist parties' leaders.
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