Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma was elected the ninth President of India. He was a well-known freedom fighter, well-intentioned administrator, and a senior politician. Regular worship with complete faith in God was a part of his daily routine. He believed that religion is the connecting element. That’s why people should adopt a religion.
Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma was born on 19 August in Bhopal in the year 1918. His father was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Therefore his father named this son Shankar. He was educated at Agra, Allahabad, Lucknow, and Cambridge University. He received his law degree from Cambridge University, where he was elected an honorary bencher and master.
In 1940, Dr. Shankar Dayal joined the membership of Congress to participate in the freedom movement. Doctor Sharma, a freedom fighter, went to jail several times during the freedom movement. After independence, as a representative of the Congress, the Chief Minister was made. He remained in the post of Chief Minister till 1956. At that time, Bhopal was merged with other states to form Madhya Pradesh. In the 1960s, Dr. Sharma fully supported Indira Gandhi as the leader of the Congress party.
Political life of Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma
After attaining independence, from 1952 to 56, he was the chief minister of Bhopal. There was no shortage of innovative plans for Dr. Sharma. During his Chief Ministership, the all-around development of Madhya Pradesh took place. In 1974, he became the Minister of Communications in the Central Government. Dr. Sharma was the Minister of Communications from 1974 to 1977 in the cabinet of the Indira Gandhi Government. He reached Parliament after winning the election of Lok Sabha election from Bhopal twice in 1971 and 1980.
After that, he continued to be appointed as the Governor of Indian states. During his tenure as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Sikh extremists killed his daughter and son-in-law living in Delhi. From 1985 to 86, he was appointed as the Governor of Punjab. At that time, there was a lot of conflict between the Sikhs and the Government of India, due to which the atmosphere was very bad. Therefore he resigned from the Governor of Punjab, after which he was appointed as the Governor of Maharashtra. It was his last appointment as governor.
In 1987, Dr. Sharma was decorated as the Vice President of India. Till 1992 he served as the Vice President of India under Ramaswamy Venkataraman.
There is an incident in the year 1990. According to the report, once upon seeing the behavior and action of autocratic Congress members, Dr. Sharma wept bitterly. Being a freedom fighter, he suffered a lot for the country and the people of the country. At that time, he had said, “as long as I am in this chair, I will not allow democracy to be murdered. This hooliganism being done by you is nothing but treason. I request you to strangle me, shoot me, but save democracy”.
President of India
In this statement in Dr. Sharma, his selfless service spirit and patriotism towards the country is visible. He used to think about the country before thinking about himself. Democracy was paramount to him. Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma was a great patriot. He never gave importance to his personal needs before his duties towards the country. Because of his qualities, he was elected the President of the country in 1992. He won the presidential election by defeating George Swale, in which he got 66% of the vote. In his last working year, he administered an oath to three prime ministers.
Sometimes there comes a time in the country when even the big leaders of the country become helpless. One such moment also came during the tenure of Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. The day was 6 December 1992, when the Babri frame was being demolished.
President role in the incident of Babri Masjid
It has been mentioned in a book that when the climbs for the demolition of the Babri structure started. At that time, social workers and leaders called the Prime Minister’s office for help. The people did not get any relief from there. Then when those people had reached the President for help, they saw that the country’s President was crying bitterly. When the people demanded the intervention of the President, then Doctor Dayal Sharma wrote a letter which was in the name of the Prime Minister. The then Prime Minister of that time was Narasimha Rao.
In that letter, President Shankar Dayal Sharma told Narasimha Rao that by sacking the Uttar Pradesh government, the central government should take over the security system in your hands. According to the book, the President said that he too could not contact the Prime Minister.
Great personality of Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma
Doctor Sharma was an accomplished politician, administrator, and legalist as well as a learned writer. He has written many books. His books are Prestigious India, the basic stream of our thinking, Deshmani, dimensions of education, sources of consciousness, our inspirations, etc.
The whole world used to admire Dr. Sharma’s scholarship. Due to his oratory and tact, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma was highly respected in foreign countries. He acted with restraint and understanding even amidst the mutual ups and downs and conspiracies of the politicians. At the right time, he was even tuned to delicate situations using his decisive ability.
Dr. Sharma knew very well that a healthy mind is the future of any nation. So for this, he paid attention to systematic educational development. He said that people should deprive no person of the boon of literacy. In his long political life, Doctor Shankar Dayal Sharma never allowed his personality to be painted in the color of selfishness. He was far from the captivating veil of praise and condemnation. Because of his qualities, we remember him with respect today. He died on 27 December 1999.
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