Inder Kumar Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral governed India for eleven months and left behind a doctrine that outlived his government. He was born in what is now Pakistan, was jailed as a student in the Quit India movement of 1942, and spent his career on the left of Indian politics - information minister under Indira Gandhi, ambassador to Moscow, then foreign minister twice. He became prime minister in April 1997 because a coalition of regional and left parties needed a leader that Congress would tolerate from outside the government. His contribution was made as foreign minister and carried into office with him. The Gujral Doctrine held that India, as much larger than every neighbour but Pakistan, should give without expecting reciprocity: no hostile use of one another's territory, no interference in internal affairs, and disputes settled bilaterally. It produced a water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh over the Ganges that had eluded governments for twenty-five years, and a resumption of talks with Pakistan. At home he had almost no room. His government depended on Congress votes it did not control. A commission reported that a regional ally had sheltered the killers of Rajiv Gandhi, Congress demanded the ally be dropped, Gujral refused, and the government fell in November after seven months. He stayed on as caretaker into 1998. The election that followed brought in a government that tested nuclear weapons within weeks, which is the sharpest possible commentary on how much of his approach survived him. He served in the Lok Sabha until 2004 and died in 2012. Indian diplomacy has returned to his doctrine by name several times since, usually when a smaller neighbour has drifted towards China.
- Lived: 1919 CE – 2012 CE
- Nationality: Indian
- Roles: head_of_state, politician
