Inder Kumar Gujral

Inder Kumar Gujral

Inder Kumar Gujral served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998. In the 1980s, he left the Congress party to join the Janata Dal, a party with socialist leanings and regional bases. During 1996, he was Minister of External Affairs for the United Front which was a coalition of political parties which formed India’s government after the fractured verdict of the elections. He was responsible for the Gujral doctrine during his time as Minister of External Affairs and Prime Minister. The doctrine contains five principles to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India’s immediate neighbours. It states that no country should interfere in internal affairs; all South Asian countries must respect each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, they should settle disputes through bilateral communications; no South Asian country should allow its territory to be used against another country and that India should not expect reciprocity, but should give to countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

He became the Prime Minister of India on April 21, 1997, after the Congress party, which had been supporting the United Front government under Deve Gowda, decided to withdraw support and insisted on a change in leadership if they were to continue to lend their support. During his term as Prime Minister, Gujral also sought to improve relations with Pakistan. Gujral did not contest the 1999 elections and retired from politics.