K. R. Narayanan or Kocheril Raman Narayanan was a diplomat, academic and politician. He served India as the 10th President and 9th Vice-President. Today marks the 100th Birth Anniversary of the former President of India, K.R. Narayanan.
President Kovind paid floral tributes to Shri K. R. Narayanan, former President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/vqeQMlJCKN
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 27, 2020
K.R. Narayanan: Birth, Early Life, Education
K.R. Narayanan was born in present-day Uzhavoor, Kerala, India to Kocheril Raman Vaidyar and Punnaththuraveettil Paappiyamma, belonging to Pulaya caste. His father was a practitioner of Ayurveda.
| Pulaya Caste The members of this caste were assigned to pluck the coconuts as per the caste system. |
He attended the Government Lower Primary School, Kurichithanam; Our Lady of Lourdes Upper Primary School, Uzhavoor; St. John's High School, Koothattukulam; St. Mary's High School in Kuravilangad and C. M. S. College, Kottayam. He often listened to school lectures standing outside the classroom as he often failed to pay the school fees.
He did his B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. in English literature from the University of Travancore and became the first Dalit to obtain a degree with first-class from the University of Travancore.
K.R. Narayanan: Career
He moved to Delhi and worked with The Hindu and The Times of India for a brief period as a journalist. During this time, he interviewed the Father of the Nation, Mahatama Gandhi.
In 1944, J.R.D. Tata awarded him a scholarship of Rs. 16,000 to study economics, politics and journalism at the London School of Economics. He obtained B.Sc. (Hons.) in Economics with specialisation in political science from the University of London. He returned to India in 1948.
In the year 1949, K.R. Narayanan joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on the request of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. On April 18, 1949, he was appointed as an attache' in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He was appointed as the Second Secretary, Indian Liaison Mission in Tokyo; appointed in the IFS; First Secretary, High Commission of India to the United Kingdom; Deputy Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); First Secretary, High Commission of India to Australia; Consul-General of India (Hanoi), North Vietnam; Ambassador to Thailand; Ambassador to Turkey; Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs and Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
While serving on these positions, he also taught at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE). After his retirement from the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), he was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru (JNU), New Delhi. This, according to him, was the foundation of his public life.
Under the Indira Gandhi administration, he was recalled from retirement to serve as the Indian Ambassador to the United States. According to Nehru, K.R. Narayana was the 'Best Diplomat of the Country'.
K. R. Narayanan: Political Career
Upon the request of Indira Gandhi, Narayanan entered politics and won three successive Lok Sabha Elections in 1984, 1989 and 1991 from Ottapalam Constituency on a Congress ticket. Under the Rajiv Gandhi administration, he held several important portfolios such as Minister of State in the Union Cabinet, Minister of Planning, Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Science and Technology.
On August 21, 1992, he was elected as the 9th Vice-President of India under the Presidency of Shankar Dayal Sharma. On the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, he stated it as the 'greatest tragedy India has faced since the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi'.
On July 17, 1997, he was elected as the 10th President of India. He became the first Dalit President of India and the first Malayali person to receive the highest office of the country.
K.R. Narayanan: Personal Life
When he was working in Rangoon, Burma, he met Ma Tint Tint and on June 8, 1951, the couple married in Delhi. As per the Indian law, their marriage needed special dispensation from Nehru (Narayanan was in the IFS and Ma was a foreigner). Ma Tint Tint became an Indian citizen and changed her name to Usha Narayanan. The couple gave birth to two daughters: Chitra Narayanan and Amrita.
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation