Agencies/New Delhi
Former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who engineered a thaw in India’s relationship with Pakistan, was given a funeral with full state honours yesterday.
Gujral’s body, draped in the tricolour Indian flag, was brought to the cremation site from his New Delhi home in a flower-laden gun-carriage accompanied by military personnel who fired a 21-gun salute.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the ceremony held amid prayers on the banks of the Yamuna River.
Gujral, who served as prime minister in a coalition government from April 1997 to March 1998, died on Friday aged 92 from a lung infection.
Newspapers were full of praise for Gujral yesterday with the Indian Express calling him a “gentleman-politician” for his intellect and diplomacy.
The Hindustan Times hailed him for going “the extra mile to bring peace” in South Asia’s troubled neighbourhood.
As premier, Gujral sought to improve India’s strained ties with Pakistan, saying it was time for the two nations to leave the past behind and forge a new relationship.
He was famous for propounding the “Gujral Doctrine,” a foreign policy approach based on peaceful accommodation that argued India should treat its neighbours with generosity.
Gujral, whose brother Satish ranks among India’s most prominent artists and architects, is survived by two sons, Naresh, who is a member of parliament, and Vishal. His wife, a poetess, died last year.
Gujral was born in the city of Jhelum, Punjab (now a part of Pakistan), into a family of Congress party workers.
He began his career in politics as a student leader and member of the underground Communist Party of India. Gujral was arrested in 1942 and jailed for his involvement in the anti-colonial Quit India movement.
He joined the ruling Congress party after India won independence from Britain and rose through the ranks to become minister of information and broadcasting under prime minister Indira Gandhi from 1969-71 and 1972-75.
But Gujral ran foul of the party when he refused to censor radio broadcasts during the state of emergency imposed by Gandhi in 1975.
Gujral left the Congress in the 1980s and joined the socialist Janata Dal, serving twice as India’s foreign minister before being appointed prime minister in a coalition government in 1997.
Singh said as premier Gujral had set an example of “grace under pressure, of composure in difficult circumstances and of steadfastness to principles.”
“In the sad demise of Gujral, our country has lost a freedom fighter, a great patriot and a great scholar statesman. I join the nation in expressing our grief and sorrow at the demise of great son of India,” Singh said in a statement earlier.
Throughout the morning yesterday, a host of people visited Gujral’s residence.
They came from all strata of Indian society. From politicians and bureaucrats to journalists, everybody who mattered was there at 5, Janpath.
The late prime minister may have been from Punjab. But he had adapted well to the imperial city of Delhi. “My first series of articles on Delhi was sourced from him,” said veteran journalist Saeed Naqvi.
Politicians, ranging from Congressmen to Communists to the splinters of the Janata Dal, Gujral’s party, came to the residence. Not many from the Bharatiya Janata Party were seen.
Gujral’s main achievement was in foreign policy. “His understanding of foreign policy was more than most other leaders,” said another veteran journalist, H K Dua, now an MP. The presence of diplomats from India’s neighbours such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at his residence and later at the funeral was testament.
But if there is one thing that Gujral would be most remembered by, it is his ability to build consensus. “His style was persuasive than confrontationist, which is very important for a diverse country like India,” said Dua.
Most of those who came to pay tribute to the “gentleman-politician” would have agreed.
Standing alone, amid the throng of mourners and security officers, was Bal Krishan, Gujral’s private secretary for 45 years.
“It’s God’s will,” he said philosophically. “Such a man like him is hard to find.”