Krishan Kant | |
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| Vice President of India | |
| In office 21 August 1997 – 27 July 2002 | |
| President | K. R. Narayanan A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
| Prime Minister | I. K. Gujral Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Preceded by | K. R. Narayanan |
| Succeeded by | Bhairon Singh Shekhawat |
| Governor of Tamil Nadu | |
Additional Charge | |
| In office 22 December 1996 – 25 January 1997 | |
| Chief Minister | Muthuvel Karunanidhi |
| Preceded by | Marri Chenna Reddy |
| Succeeded by | Fatima Beevi |
| Governor of Andhra Pradesh | |
| In office 7 February 1990 – 21 August 1997 | |
| Chief Minister | Marri Chenna Reddy Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Nara Chandrababu Naidu |
| Preceded by | Kumudben Manishankar Joshi |
| Succeeded by | C Rangarajan |
| Member ofLok Sabha forChandigarh | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Amarnath Vidyalankar |
| Succeeded by | Jagannath Kaushal |
| Member ofRajya Sabha forHaryana | |
| In office 1966–1977 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-02-28)28 February 1927 |
| Died | 27 July 2002(2002-07-27) (aged 75) New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Janata Dal(1988–2002) |
| Other political affiliations | Indian National Congress(Before 1977) Janata Party(1977–1988) |
| Spouse | Suman |
| Children | Divya Deepti Handa, Rashmi Kant and Sukant Kohli |
| Parent(s) | Achint Ram Satyavati Devi |
| Alma mater | Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi |
| Profession | Scientist |
| Signature |  |
Krishan Kant (28 February 1927 – 27 July 2002) was an Indian politician who served as thevice president of India from 1997 until his death in 2002.[1] Prior to his vice presidency, Kant was thegovernor of Andhra Pradesh from 1990 to 1997.[2] He was a member of both houses of theIndian Parliament, representingChandigarh in theLok Sabha from 1977 to 1980, andHaryana in theRajya Sabha from 1966 to 1977.[1]
Kant was born to parents who wereindependence activists inPunjab,British India,[1] and was himself arrested inLahore during theQuit India movement.[2] Afterindependence, he studiedchemical engineering[1] and briefly worked as a scientist with theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research,New Delhi, before turning to politics.[2]
Kant was initially associated with theCongress, but later joined theJanata Party and theJanata Dal. He was considered as a candidate for the2002 presidential election, as was routine for vice presidents.[1] However, thegovernment and theopposition supportedA. P. J. Abdul Kalam as the candidate.[3] Kalam took oath aspresident two days prior to Kant's death.[1] He remains the only Indian vice president to have died in office.
Kant was born on 28 February 1927[4] in Kot Mohammad Khan,Amritsar district,Punjab province[2] toindependence activists,Lala Achint Ram andSatyavati Devi.[5] Both of Kant's parents were imprisoned by theBritish colonial government on various occasions for their involvement in independence activism, including alongside Kant (aged 16) and his siblings in 1942.[6] Post-independence, Lala Achint Ram was a member of theConstituent Assembly of India and representedHisar andPatiala in theLok Sabha. Satyavati Devi outlived her son and died in 2010 as India's oldest surviving independence activist.[6]
Kant studiedchemical engineering[1] atInstitute of Technology,Banaras Hindu University.[2] He later worked as a scientist with theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research,New Delhi.[2]
Kant was married to Suman Kant, a social worker and an activist.[2][7][8] The couple had two sons and a daughter.[7]
Kant had been jailed during theQuit India movement at the age of 16, alongside his parents.[6]
After theindependence of India, Kant joined joined the rulingCongress party, where formed a group focused on promoting science,[1] and was a member of theAll India Congress Committee.[2] He was also involved in theBhoodan movement inPunjab.[2]
In 1966, Kant was elected to theRajya Sabha, theupper house of theIndian Parliament, representing the state ofHaryana. He was re-elected in 1972.[1] He chaired the parliamentary committee onrailway reservations and bookings from 1972 to 1977.[4] He was asocialist and belonged to a moreleft-wing faction of the Congress party.[7] Despite belonging to her Congress party, he opposedIndira Gandhi's decision to impose theEmergency,[1][7] supported opposition leaderJayaprakash Narayan and hisanti-corruption campaign.[2] He was expelled from the Congress in 1975, for organising a public event opposing theEmergency, and was jailed for 19 months between 1975 and 1977.[2]
He subsequently joined theJanata Party and contested theChandigarhLok Sabha constituency in1977.[2] He was elected with 66.13% of the vote, defeating Congress' Sat Pal.[9] In1980 general election, Kant lost his seat to Congress'Jagannath Kaushal, and was placed third with 9.30% of the vote, behind Kaushal andindependent candidate Ram Swarup.[10]
Krishan Kant was the founding general secretary of thePeople's Union for Civil Liberties in 1976.[4][11] He also was a member of the executive council of theInstitute of Defence Studies and Analysis.[4]
He withMadhu Limaye was also responsible for the collapse of theMorarji Desai government installed by that coalition, by insisting that no member of theJanata Party could be the member ofRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This attack ondual membership was directed specifically at members of theJanata Party who had been members of theJan Sangh, and continued to be members of the right-wing RSS, the Jan Sangh's ideological parent. The issue led to fall ofMorarji Desai government in 1979, and the destruction of the Janata coalition.[12]
In 1990, Kant was appointedgovernor ofAndhra Pradesh byPresidentR. Venkataraman, on advice of theV. P. Singhgovernment.[1][11] He served in the gubernatorial office for seven years. From December 1996 to January 1997, he acted as thegovernor ofTamil Nadu, after the incumbent governorMarri Chenna Reddy died in office.
In 1997, Kant was jointly selected as the candidate for thevice presidential election byIndian National Congress andUnited Front.[13] He defeated formerPunjab chief ministerSurjit Singh Barnala to become India's tenthvice president.
During theterrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, the terrorists crashed their vehicle into Kant's car before commencing the attack. Kant himself was unhurt during the attack.[14]
He was considered as a potential presidential candidate prior to the2002 election.[1] However, thegovernment and theopposition jointly nominated aerospace scientistA. P. J. Abdul Kalam instead.[3] Kalam was eventually elected and took oath of office two days prior to Kant's death.[1]
On 27 July 2002, Kant was admitted toAIIMS,New Delhi and was declared dead after an hour, after suffering aheart attack. He was aged 75.[15][16] Till date, he remains the only Indianvice president to have died in office.[17]
Prime ministerVajpayee noted Kant's contribution to theindependence movement and his opposition to theEmergency and termed his death the "end of an era".[18] He further declared three days ofnational mourning.Pakistani presidentMusharraf sent a letter of condolence toIndian presidentA. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[18]
Kant wascremated in astate funeral atNigambodh Ghat,New Delhi, on the banks ofYamuna river on 28 July 2002.[19] His funeral was attended by president Kalam, prime minister Vajpayee,deputy prime ministerAdvani, andopposition leaderSonia Gandhi.[19]
He was survived by his wife, two sons, and a daughter as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren along with his mother,Satyavati Devi, who outlived him by eight years.[1][2][19]
Two weeks after Kant's death, anelection was held to elect his successor. FormerRajasthan chief ministerBhairon Singh Shekhawat was elected vice president.
A park inHyderabad was named after Kant to commemorate his tenure as governor of Andhra Pradesh.[20]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of Andhra Pradesh 1990–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Tamil Nadu 1996–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-President of India 1997–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Vice Presidents |
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Residence:Vice President's Enclave, 108, Church Road, New Delhi – 110001, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. | ||
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