George Fernandes

George Fernandes
George Fernandes
MP
Incumbent
Assumed office 2009
Preceded by	Sharad Yadav
Constituency	Rajya Sabha from Bihar
MP
In office 1977-1980, 1989-1996, 2004-2009
Constituency	Muzaffarpur
MP
In office 1996-2004
Preceded by	Vijoy Kumar Yadav
Succeeded by	Nitish Kumar
Constituency	Nalanda
Personal details
Born	(1930-06-03) 3 June 1930 Mangalore, India
Political party	Janata Dal (United)
Spouse	Leila Kabir
Children	1 son
Residence(s)	Bangalore, India
Signature	File:George fernandes sign.JPG
As of September 26, 2006 Source: Biographical Sketch of Current Lok Sabha members

George Matthew Fernandes (born June 3, 1930) is a trade unionist, agriculturist, political activist, journalist and is the member of the Rajya Sabha of India from Bihar. He had represented the Muzaffarpur Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar in 14th Lok Sabha. He was also a founder member of the Janata Dal (United) party. Fernandes was a defence minister in the National Democratic Alliance Government (1998–2004). He contested the 15th Lok Sabha as an independent candidate because his party denied him ticket and lost the elections.

Early life and family

George Fernandes was born on June 3, 1930 to John Joseph Fernandes and Alice Martha Fernandes (née Pinto), in Mangalore to a middle-class devout Mangalorean Catholic family. The eldest of six children, his siblings are Lawrence, Michael, Paul, Aloysius, and Richard. His mother was a great admirer of King George V (who also was born on June 3), hence she named her first son George. His father was employed by the Peerless Finance group as an insurance executive, and headed their office of South India for several years. George was fondly called "Gerry" in close family circles. He completed his Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) at St. Aloysius College (Mangalore).

In the orthodox tradition of the family, he, being the eldest son, was sent for religious education to St Peter's Seminary in Bangalore after his schooling at the age of 16, to be trained as a Roman Catholic priest from 1946 to 1948. At the age of 19, he left the seminary due to sheer frustration because he was appalled that the rectors ate better food and sat at higher tables than the seminarians. He later confessed that, "I was disillusioned, because there was a lot of difference between precept and practice where the Church was concerned." He began his working life at the age of 19, organising exploited workers in the road transport industry and in the hotels and restaurants in Mangalore.

Life in Bombay

After leaving the seminary, Fernandes moved to Bombay in 1949, where he joined the socialist trade union movement. He rose to prominence as a trade unionist and fought pitched battles for the rights of labourers in small scale service industries such as hotels and restaurants. He emerged as a key figure in the Bombay labour movement in the early 1950s. He was a central figure in the unionisation of sections of Bombay labour in the 1950s. As a labour organizer, he served many prison terms when his workforce engaged in fights with company goons. He served as a member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation from 1961 to 1968. He won in the civic election in 1961 and, till 1968, continuously raised the problems of the exploited workers in the representative body of the metropolis.

The pivotal moment that thrust Fernandes into limelight was his decision to contest for the 1967 general elections. He was offered a party ticket for the Bombay South constituency by the Samyukta Socialist Party against the politically more popular Sadashiv Kanoji Patil of the Indian National Congress in Bombay. Sadashiv Kanoji Patil, or S.K.Patil, as he was popularly known, was a seasoned politician, with two decades of experience behind him. Nevertheless, Fernandes won against Patil by garnering 48.5% of the votes polled in the election, and earned his nickname, "George the Giantkiller". Incidentally, the shocking defeat ended Patil's political career.

He emerged as a key leader in the upsurge of strike actions in Bombay during the second half of the 1960s, but, by the beginnings of the 1970s, the impetus of his leadership had largely disappeared. In 1969, he was chosen General Secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party, and in 1973 became the Chairman of the Socialist Party. After the 1970s, Fernandes failed to make major inroads in Bombay's growing private-sector industries.

1974 Railway strike

The most notable event which Fernandes organized was the All India Railway strike of 1974, where the entire nation was brought to a halt. The strike, which started on May 8, 1974, at the time of economic crisis, had its roots in the labour movement, and provoked a strong government reaction and massive arrests. According to Amnesty International, 30,000 trade unionists were detained, most held under preventive detention laws. Those arrested included not only members of the strike action committee and trade unionists, but also railwaymen who participated in the strike. On May 27, 1974, the strike was called off. Although large number of prisoners were released, among them Fernandes, thousands remained in detentionm, charged with specific offenses.

The Emergency Era

The reigning Prime Minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency on 25 June 1975. Accordingly, all fundamental rights enjoyed in the Indian Constitution were suspended. Political dissidents, newspaper reporters, opposition leaders who opposed emergency were jailed. George Fernandes, along with like-minded leaders, opposed this blatant misuse of power. A warrant was issued in Fernandes' name and subsequently he went underground to escape arrest and prosecution. When the police failed to capture him, they arrested and tortured his brother, Lawrence Fernandes, to reveal his brother's whereabouts. Lawrence could not reveal George's location since he was unaware of his brother's movements. In June 1976 he was finally arrested on charges of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments in protest against the imposition of emergency, in what came to be known as Baroda Dynamite conspiracy case.

After the emergency was lifted, general elections were held in India. The Congress Party, led by Smt. Indira Gandhi suffered a defeat at the hands of the Janata Party coalition. The Janata Party and its allies came to power, headed by Sri. Morarji Desai. George Fernandes was appointed as the Union Minister for Industries after being elected to Parliament from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

He continued to be uncomfortable with certain elements of the broad-based Janata coalition, especially some former Congress Party members, like Jagjivan Ram, but especially with the leaders of the erstwhile Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Jan Sangh in the Union Cabinet, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani. In a debate preceding a vote of confidence two years into the government's tenure, he spoke out against the practice of permitting Vajpayee and Advani to retain connections to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh while being in the ministry; the issue of "dual membership" caused Morarji Desai to lose the vote of confidence. Raj Narain was elected leader of new party which he formed named Janata Party(S), but he declined to become Prime Minister. Raj Narain projected Charan Singh to form a government, supported from outside by the Congress Party.

After the dissolution of the unstable Charan Singh ministry, he retained his Parliamentary seat from Muzaffarpur and sat in the opposition from 1980 to 1984. He contested for the Lok Sabha in 1984 from Bangalore North against future Railway minister CK Jaffer Sharief and lost the election. He then decided to shift his base to Bihar, which was already the haunt of his political guru, Ram Manohar Lohia and friend Madhu Limaye and has continuously represented either Muzaffarpur or Nalanda since the 1989 General Elections.

Ministerial Tenures

First Tenure

George Fernandes first ministerial tenure was marred by controversies and allegations. He clashed with multinationals like IBM and Coca Cola and ordered them to leave Indian shores, implementing FERA, the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, which had been passed under Indira Gandhi's government.

Second Tenure

George Fernandes' second tenure as Minister of Railways in the V.P. Singh's government, though short-lived, was quite eventful. He was the driving force behind the Konkan Railway project, connecting coastal Karnataka with Mumbai, the first major development to Indian Railways since independence in 1947. The Konkan Railway reduced travel time between Udupi, Mangalore and Mumbai and facilitated easy movement of goods and services. Konkan Railway, hailed as a technological marvel, has contributed to the economic growth in coastal Karnataka.

Third Tenure

George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994.

In spite of being a committed socialist, who had previously always opposed the Sangh Parivar - so much so that he had been willing to end Morarji Desai's government on the question of Atal Behari Vajpayee and LK Advani's "dual membership" of the Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This question was raised by Raj Narain. Samata Party became a key ally of the BJP. BJP formed a short lived government after 1996 General Elections along with Shivsena with outside support from Samata Party, Shiromani Akali Dal(Badal) and Haryana Vikas Party of Late Bansilal. The government survived only 13 days. Then Fernandes served in the opposition along with BJP during the two United Front govts led by H D Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral. After the collapse of the UF ministry led by Gujral, BJP and its allies consisting of 24 parties won a slender majority in the 1998 elections. The government lasted only for 13 few months, due to the non-cooperation of AIADMK leader Ms. Jayalalitha. Whenever there was a difference of opinion between Jayalalitha and the NDA, George had to visit Poes Garden (Jayalalitha's Residence), to iron out the differences. This earned him the reputation of "Peace-Broker" and "Troubleshooter" of the NDA. After the collapse of the 2nd BJP led coalition govt, BJP and its allies formed a 24 party alliance called National Democratic Alliance. Jaswant Singh was the 1st convenor of NDA , then the responsibility was given to George Fernandes. Once again George Fernandes became the troubleshooter for Vajpayee. In the mean time, George also merged his party into Janata Dal (United), a party consisting one group of the erstwhile Janata Dal. The National Democratic Alliance won a comfortable majority in the 1999 General Elections and formed the third govt led by Atal Behari Vajpayee. George Fernandes served as the Defence Minister in both the 2nd and the 3rd Vajpayee ministries.

It was during his 1st tenure as the Defence Minister when the Kargil war over Kashmir broke out between India and Pakistan. During Winter, it is common for Indian & Pakistani Armies to vacate the icy-posts of Kashmir. But the Pakistani Forces, occupied the hills in the Kargil sector. As a result, the Indian army undertook to push back the Pakistani forces and regain the occupied territories.

India took a controversial decision of not crossing the Actual LOC (Line Of Control) and , Fernandes' role and the inability of the Indian intelligence and military agencies to detect the infiltration early came in for criticism, both by the opposition as well as the media. Fernandes has refused to acknowledge the failure of intelligence agencies in detecting infiltration along Kargil sector.

The K Subramanyam Commission, which appointed to probe into the Kargil War, backed Mr Fernandes' claim.

Relationship with the Armed Forces

He became the first Defence Minister in Independent India to visit the unforgiving, treacherous, icy heights of the 6,600m Siachen glacier, which holds the record of being "the world's highest battlefield" in Jammu and Kashmir. He subsequently visited the glacier 17 more times.

He was accused into the infamous coffin scam and his reputation as Mr. Clean took a harsh beating. He was also involved in skirmishes with the Navy Chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat over promotion of Harinder Singh, in the Indian Navy. Bhagwat was subsequently sacked over the issue.

Controversies

Controversies have dogged George Fernandes ever since he entered politics. During emergency he was implicated in the infamous Baroda Dynamite Case. As a Minister for Industries in the Janata Party government, he ordered IBM and Coca Cola to "pack their bags" and exit the Indian economy.

His tenure as a Defence Minister was a controversial one. Earlier a staunch supporter of nuclear disarmament, George Fernandes did a volte-face and openly endorsed the NDA Government's decision to test nuclear and hydrogen bombs in Pokharan, Rajasthan. He openly branded China as India's enemy No. 1 and criticized Chinese policy of providing sophisticated weapons to Pakistan. He also has rapped the Chinese for strengthening their military across the Himalayas in Tibet and also consistently supported the cause of Tibetan people against Chinese occupation.

George Fernandes also claimed that he was strip-searched twice at Dulles airport when he was defense minister—once on an official visit to Washington in early 2002 and another time while en route to Brazil in mid 2003. The details of the strip-search were mentioned in senior US diplomat Strobe Talbott's book. However the US embassy denied that George Fernandes was strip-searched in US airports; subsequently the senior US state department official, Richard Armitage, personally apologized to Fernandes over the incident.

Support to Secessionist Groups

George Fernandes has openly supported and endorsed secessionist movements and groups, irrespective of whether he was a Union Minister or a member of the Opposition. Notable among the secessionist groups supported by him include The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, the Tibetan refugees fighting for freedom against China and Burmese rebels group, fighting against the military government in Myanmar.

Support of Burmese separatist groups

Mr. Fernandes is a very active supporter of many Burmese anti-government movements. Quoted regularly on exiled Burmese radio stations, he often criticizes the junta and its members on a wide array of topics. He opposes the current government's drive to root out anti-Burmese insurgents along the Burmese-Indian border. During his tenures in office, gun runners were allowed to do business using Indian territories, often as stop overs en route from Thailand to Bangladesh.

He also revealed the infamous "Operation Leech" incident, which resulted in the capture of Arakan Army insurgents on one of India's islands in the Andaman Sea. He also fights for the welfare and also release of anti-Burmese rebels held by the Indian Government. Once, when the National United Party of Arakan complained to Mr. Fernandes of its members being captured in Indian waters, while carrying arms, he issued orders restricting Indian military movements, and all counter-terror / counter-insurgency operations conducted in the region to be asked for approval from the Central Government.

He also claims that the several islands in the Andaman Sea, including the Coco Islands, which belong to Myanmar, were gifted by the former Prime Minister of India Nehru to the Burmese, rather than part of the original territory gained at Independence.

Tehelka Scandal

George Fernandes' name figured prominently in Operation West End, a sting operation in which a group of reporters, armed with hidden cameras, from an investigative journal, Tehelka, posing as representatives of a fictitious arms company, appeared to bribe the Bharatiya Janata Party President, Bangaru Laxman, a senior officer in the Indian Army and Jaya Jaitley, the General Secretary of the Samata Party and Fernandes' companion.

The scandal caused uproar all over India and Fernandes was forced to resign from his post as a Defence Minister. He was subsequently cleared by the one man commission headed by retired Justice Phukan. The Phukan Committee Report was rejected by the UPA Government headed by the Congress Party and a new committee headed by Justice K Venkataswami was appointed. The Committee, after lengthy investigation, also absolved Fernandes in the case.

The story of the Tehelka expose has been extensively covered in the Indian media. Renowned journalist Madhu Trehan's book, Tehelka as Metaphor, is a forensic study of the entire expose and its aftermath for Tehelka and its investors.

Barak Anti-Missile Scam

Main article: Barak Missile Deal Scandal

On October 10, 2006, the CBI registered a first information report against Fernandes, his associate Jaya Jaitley, and former navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar for alleged irregularities in purchasing the Barak missile system from Israel in 2000.

George Fernandes, however, claimed that the scientific adviser to the Defence Minister in NDA Government, who later became the President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had cleared the missile deal [1].

Books Written

Though not a prolific writer, George Fernandes has penned couple of books on politics including books like "What Ails the Socialists", "Railway Strike of 1974" and his autobiography titled "George Fernandes." He is also the editor of an English monthly, "The Other side" and the Chairman on the editorial board of a Hindi monthly "Pratipaksh."

2004 to date

The NDA Government lost power to the Congress-led UPA in 2004. His detractors allege that Fernandes is locked in a bitter party rivalry with his one-time friend, Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar over the leadership of the Samata Party. In 2009 Lok Sabha elections he contested from Muzaffarpur seat as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by JD(U). However, he lost the election. On July 30, 2009, Fernandes filed his nomination for the mid-term poll being held for the Rajya Sabha seat vacated by JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and was sworn in on August 5, 2009!!

As of January 2010, he is undergoing treatment at Baba Ramdev's ashram at Haridwar for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Custody issues with wife and son

After being diagnosed with Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease, Fernandes has been facing issues with his wife Leila and son Sean Fernandes. A section of media has highlighted the treatment mettled out to him and the revoking of access to his long time colleague and former president of the Samata Party of India Jaya Jaitly.

The issue took an ugly turn on February 20, 2010 when Fernandes was declared missing and accusations were made against his estranged wife Leila and son Sean. At the heart of this custody issue is believed to be access to property worth over Rupees 25 Crore held by Fernandes.

External links

• TimeAsia article
• Home Page on the Parliament of India's Website

References

Bibliography

• Fernandes, George; Mathew, George (1991). George Fernandes speaks. Ajanta Publications (India). ISBN 9788120203174. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)