George Mathew Fernandes, statesman, journalist, freethinker, the former great Defence minister of India passed away at the age of 88 on Tuesday 29 January 2019.
In 1949 George came to Bombay in search of job. Fortunately he came into contact with veteran union leader Placid D'Mello, and the socialist Rammanohar Lohia, who were the greatest influences on his life. He joined the socialist trade union movement. Then he become a successful trade union leader.
In the 1950s and 1960s he organised many strikes and bandhs in Bombay while working with Indian Railways.
He was offered a party ticket for the Bombay South constituency by the Samyukta Socialist Party against the more popular S. K. Patil of the Indian National Congress in Bombay. S. K. 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.
He organised the 1974 Railway strike, when he was President of the All India Railwaymen's Federation. Fernandes went underground during the Emergency era of 1975, while challenging Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing a state of emergency,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 seat in Bihar in absentia and was appointed as 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 (NDA) Government (1998–2004), when the Kargil Warbroke out between India and Pakistan, and India conducted its nuclear tests at Pokhran.
A veteran socialist, Fernandes has been dogged by various controversies, including the Barak Missile scandal and the Tehelka affair. George Fernandes won nine Lok Sabha elections from 1967 to 2004.
source: Wikipedia .
Brief History of George Fernandes
George Fernandes was born on 3 June 1930 in Mangluru in Karnataka. His mother was a great admire of King George v ( how was also born on 3 June 1930 ) hence she named her first son George.In 1949 George came to Bombay in search of job. Fortunately he came into contact with veteran union leader Placid D'Mello, and the socialist Rammanohar Lohia, who were the greatest influences on his life. He joined the socialist trade union movement. Then he become a successful trade union leader.
In the 1950s and 1960s he organised many strikes and bandhs in Bombay while working with Indian Railways.
He was offered a party ticket for the Bombay South constituency by the Samyukta Socialist Party against the more popular S. K. Patil of the Indian National Congress in Bombay. S. K. 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.
He organised the 1974 Railway strike, when he was President of the All India Railwaymen's Federation. Fernandes went underground during the Emergency era of 1975, while challenging Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing a state of emergency,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 seat in Bihar in absentia and was appointed as 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.
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| Fernandes at young along with his wife Leila Kabir |
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 (NDA) Government (1998–2004), when the Kargil Warbroke out between India and Pakistan, and India conducted its nuclear tests at Pokhran.
A veteran socialist, Fernandes has been dogged by various controversies, including the Barak Missile scandal and the Tehelka affair. George Fernandes won nine Lok Sabha elections from 1967 to 2004.
source: Wikipedia .
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