Fernandes was born in Mangaluru in 1930 and was training to be a Roman Catholic priest when he was drawn to trade union politics. He rose to prominence after his surprise victory in the 1967 parliamentary elections, over a Congress veteran in Mumbai.
New Delhi: Hair unkempt, manacled hands raised in defiance, the black and white photo of George Fernandes while he was arrested during Emergency, will always be the most iconic and powerful image of the former Defence Minister of India.
During the 1975 Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government, George Fernandes was arrested for what was dubbed the “Baroda Dynamite Conspiracy” to blow up government establishments and railway tracks. 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.
He passed away at the age of 88 on January 29. He had been unwell and bedridden over the past few years.
Fernandes was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which had forced him out of the public eye for several years, and had recently contracted swine flu, his long-time associate, Jaya Jaitly, said, adding that he died at his residence.
Mr Fernandes was born in Mangaluru in 1930 and was training to be a Roman Catholic priest when he was drawn to trade union politics. He rose to prominence after his surprise victory in the 1967 parliamentary elections, over a Congress veteran in Mumbai. In 1974, he organised a nationwide railway strike.
Fernandes joined the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998 and 1999, in which he was appointed the defence minister. Under his stewardship, India fought the Kargil war in 1999. It was also during his tenure that India conducted a nuclear test at Pokhran in 1998.
He slapped foreign exchange violation charges against Coca-Cola and IBM, which forced them to shut down their operations and quit India. Coca-Cola returned after 20 years.
George Fernandes served as Defence Minister between 1998 and 2004.
He was a prominent leader of the socialist movement in the 1970s. He was a senior Janata Dal leader before he founded the Samata Party.
Apart from the defence ministry during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government, Mr Fernandes held several ministerial portfolios including communications, industry and railways.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Fernandes’ colleague for years in several socialist parties, said his unimpeachable commitment to democracy and willingness to go to any length to propagate his cause was an inspiration to him and many others during the Emergency.