Sardar Swaran Singh
Sardar Swaran Singh (born August 19, 1907 in Shankar, Punjab , India , † October 30, 1994 in New Delhi ) was an Indian politician who became known as India's foreign minister, especially during the Bangladesh War in 1971.
Life
Sardar Swaran Singh studied physics and law at the University of the Punjab in Lahore after attending school and worked as a lawyer after completing his studies .
He was first appointed minister in a government by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952 and was a member of all subsequent governments in India until 1975. First he was Minister for Labor, Housing and Supply from 1952 to 1957 and then Minister for Steel, Mines and Fuels for five years. After a brief activity as Minister of Agriculture in 1962, he was Minister of Railways from 1962 to 1963.
Singh, a follower of Sikhism , was India's first foreign minister from July 18, 1964 to November 14, 1966 during the tenure of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi . He then became Minister of Defense.
He held the office of foreign minister again in Indira Gandhi's cabinet from January 27, 1970 to October 10, 1974.
In this capacity he became the spokesman for the Indian government when India supported secessionist guerrillas in East Pakistan in 1971 , leading to a war with Pakistan , which India eventually won. During the Bangladesh War, he gave a 90-minute speech to the United Nations Security Council on December 12, 1971, arguing that the main reason for the conflict was the “brutal repression” of the population in East Pakistan by the Pakistani military government of Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan and the resulting forced flight of East Pakistani refugees to India.
Four days later, on December 16, 1971, the secessionist leaders of East Pakistan around Mujibur Rahman proclaimed the People's Republic of Bangladesh after army units of West Pakistan had conquered as a result of the conquest of Dhaka by India. Singh then called on the United Nations to recognize "the reality of Bangladesh".
On October 10, 1974 he was again Minister of Defense and successor to Jagjivan Ram , who had followed him in 1970 in this office.
In 1992 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan , the second highest civilian merit order in India, for his services in Indian politics .
Web links and sources
- THE NEW YORK TIMES: Swaran Singh, 87, Spokesman For India During War in 1971 (November 1, 1994)
- rulers.org
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Singh, Sardar Swaran |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 19, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Shankar, Punjab , India |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 30, 1994 |
| Place of death | New Delhi |