R. Venkataraman
Encyclopedia
Ramaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union minister and as the eighth President of India
.
Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village in Tanjore district, Madras Presidency
. He studied law and practised in the Madras High Court
and the Supreme Court of India
. In his young age, he was an activist of the Indian independence movement
and participated in the Quit India Movement
. He was appointed member of the Constituent Assembly and the provisional cabinet. He was elected to Lok Sabha four times and served as Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister. In 1984, he was elected the seventh Vice-President of India
and in 1987, he became the 8th President of India and served from 1987 to 1992. He also served as a State minister under K. Kamaraj
and M. Bhaktavatsalam
. See website http://www.presidentvenkataraman.in maintained by RV Foundation, a Trust founded by him and administered by the family.
. He had his school education in National College Higher Secondary School at Trichy.
Educated locally and in the city of Madras (now Chennai
), Venkataraman obtained his Master Degree in Economics from Loyola College, Madras. He later qualified in Law from the Law College, Madras. Venkataraman was enrolled in the Madras High Court
in 1935 and in the Supreme Court in 1951.
While practicing law, Venkataraman was drawn into the movement for India's freedom from Britain's colonial subjugation. His active participation in the Indian National Congress's celebrated resistance to the British Government, the Quit India Movement
of 1942, resulted in his detention for two years under the Defence of India Rules. Venkataraman's interest in the law continued during this period. In 1946, when the transfer of power from British to Indian hands was imminent, the Government of India included him in the panel of lawyers sent to Malaya and Singapore to defend Indian nationals charged with offences of collaboration during the Japanese occupation of those two places. In the years 1947 to 1950, Venkataraman served as Secretary of the Madras Provincial Bar Federation.
that drafted India's constitution
. In 1950 he was elected to free India's Provisional Parliament (1950–1952) and to the First Parliament (1952–1957). During his term of legislative activity, Venkataraman attended the 1952 Session of the Metal Trades Committee of International Labour Organisation as a workers' delegate. He was a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New Zealand. Venkataraman was also Secretary to the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1953-1954.
Although re-elected to Parliament in 1957, Venkataraman resigned his seat in the Lok Sabha to join the State Government of Madras as a Minister. There Shri Venkataraman held the portfolios of Industries, Labour, Cooperation, Power, Transport and Commercial Taxes from 1957 to 1967. During this time, he was also Leader of the Upper House, namely, the Madras Legislative Council.
Venkataraman was also, variously, a member of the Political Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Union Cabinet; Governor, International Monetary Fund
, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
, and the Asian Development Bank
. Venkataraman was a Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961. He was Leader of the Indian Delegation to the 42nd Session of the International Labour Conference at Geneva (1958) and represented India in the Inter Parliamentary Conference in Vienna (1978). He was a member of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal from 1955 to 1979 and was its President from 1968 to 1979.
In 1980, Venkataraman was re-elected to the Lok Sabha and was appointed Union Minister of Finance in the Government headed by Smt. Indira Gandhi
. He was later appointed Union Minister of Defence, here he is credited for initiating India's missile programme, he shifted A P J Abdul Kalam from space programme to the missile programme, and consolidated the entire missile system, naming it as Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Later he was to serve as Vice-President of India
and then as a President of India
starting 1987, where he had the unique distinction of working with four prime ministers, and appointing three of them: V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and P V Narasimha Rao, during his five-year term, which saw the advent of coalition politics in India.
's visit to the Socialist countries. He was the recipient of a Souvenir from the Secretary-General of the United Nations for distinguished service as President of the U.N. Administrative Tribunal. The title of "Sat Seva Ratna" was conferred on him by His Holiness the Sankaracharya of Kancheepuram.
Venkataraman died at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, New Delhi
on 27 January 2009 at 1430 IST due to multiple organ failure at the age of 98.
With Venkataraman's death, Abdul Kalam
became the only surviving former President of India
.
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President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
.
Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village in Tanjore district, Madras Presidency
Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)
Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu...
. He studied law and practised in the Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
and the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
. In his young age, he was an activist of the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
and participated in the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
. He was appointed member of the Constituent Assembly and the provisional cabinet. He was elected to Lok Sabha four times and served as Union Finance Minister and Defence Minister. In 1984, he was elected the seventh Vice-President of India
Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India, after the President...
and in 1987, he became the 8th President of India and served from 1987 to 1992. He also served as a State minister under K. Kamaraj
K. Kamaraj
Kumarasami Kamaraj better known as K. Kamaraj was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954-1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952-1954 and 1969-1975...
and M. Bhaktavatsalam
M. Bhaktavatsalam
Minjur Bhaktavatsalam was an Indian lawyer, politician and freedom fighter from the state of Tamil Nadu. He served as the Chief Minister of Madras state from October 2, 1963 to March 6, 1967...
. See website http://www.presidentvenkataraman.in maintained by RV Foundation, a Trust founded by him and administered by the family.
Early life
Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village near in Pattukottai, near Tanjore district in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. He had his school education in National College Higher Secondary School at Trichy.
Educated locally and in the city of Madras (now Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
), Venkataraman obtained his Master Degree in Economics from Loyola College, Madras. He later qualified in Law from the Law College, Madras. Venkataraman was enrolled in the Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
in 1935 and in the Supreme Court in 1951.
While practicing law, Venkataraman was drawn into the movement for India's freedom from Britain's colonial subjugation. His active participation in the Indian National Congress's celebrated resistance to the British Government, the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
of 1942, resulted in his detention for two years under the Defence of India Rules. Venkataraman's interest in the law continued during this period. In 1946, when the transfer of power from British to Indian hands was imminent, the Government of India included him in the panel of lawyers sent to Malaya and Singapore to defend Indian nationals charged with offences of collaboration during the Japanese occupation of those two places. In the years 1947 to 1950, Venkataraman served as Secretary of the Madras Provincial Bar Federation.
Political career
Law and trade union activity led to Venkataraman's increasing association with politics. He was a member of constituent assemblyConstituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India, and following independence served as the nation's first Parliament.-Nature of the Assembly:...
that drafted India's constitution
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
. In 1950 he was elected to free India's Provisional Parliament (1950–1952) and to the First Parliament (1952–1957). During his term of legislative activity, Venkataraman attended the 1952 Session of the Metal Trades Committee of International Labour Organisation as a workers' delegate. He was a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in New Zealand. Venkataraman was also Secretary to the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1953-1954.
Although re-elected to Parliament in 1957, Venkataraman resigned his seat in the Lok Sabha to join the State Government of Madras as a Minister. There Shri Venkataraman held the portfolios of Industries, Labour, Cooperation, Power, Transport and Commercial Taxes from 1957 to 1967. During this time, he was also Leader of the Upper House, namely, the Madras Legislative Council.
As Minister of Industries
Venkataraman was appointed a Member of the Union Planning Commission in 1967 and was entrusted the subjects of Industry, Labour, power, Transport, Communications, Railways. He held that office until 1971. In 1977, Venkataraman was elected to the Lok Sabha from Madras (South) Constituency and served as an Opposition Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.Venkataraman was also, variously, a member of the Political Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Union Cabinet; Governor, International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
, and the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
. Venkataraman was a Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961. He was Leader of the Indian Delegation to the 42nd Session of the International Labour Conference at Geneva (1958) and represented India in the Inter Parliamentary Conference in Vienna (1978). He was a member of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal from 1955 to 1979 and was its President from 1968 to 1979.
In 1980, Venkataraman was re-elected to the Lok Sabha and was appointed Union Minister of Finance in the Government headed by Smt. Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
. He was later appointed Union Minister of Defence, here he is credited for initiating India's missile programme, he shifted A P J Abdul Kalam from space programme to the missile programme, and consolidated the entire missile system, naming it as Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Later he was to serve as Vice-President of India
Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India, after the President...
and then as a President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
starting 1987, where he had the unique distinction of working with four prime ministers, and appointing three of them: V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and P V Narasimha Rao, during his five-year term, which saw the advent of coalition politics in India.
Honours and accolades
Venkataraman received the Doctorate of Law (Honoris Causa) from University of Madras, the Doctorate of Law (Honoris Causa) from Nagarjuna University. He is Honorary Fellow, Madras Medical College; Doctor of Social Sciences, University of Roorkee; Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa) from University of Burdwan. He was awarded The Tamra Patra for participation in the freedom struggle, the Soviet Land Prize for his travelogue on K. KamarajK. Kamaraj
Kumarasami Kamaraj better known as K. Kamaraj was an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu during 1954-1963 and a Member of Parliament during 1952-1954 and 1969-1975...
's visit to the Socialist countries. He was the recipient of a Souvenir from the Secretary-General of the United Nations for distinguished service as President of the U.N. Administrative Tribunal. The title of "Sat Seva Ratna" was conferred on him by His Holiness the Sankaracharya of Kancheepuram.
Death
On 12 January 2009, Venkataraman was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital with complaints of Urosepsis (a toxic condition caused by the extravasation of urine into bodily tissues). His condition grew critical on 20 January, when he was detected with low blood pressure and E. coli tract infection.Venkataraman died at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
on 27 January 2009 at 1430 IST due to multiple organ failure at the age of 98.
With Venkataraman's death, Abdul Kalam
Abdul Kalam
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam usually referred to as A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a renowned aerospace engineer, professor , and first Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology Thiruvananthapuram , who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007...
became the only surviving former President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
.
Works
- Role of Planning in Industrial Development, by Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Govt. of India Press, 1969.
- The Role of a Private Member of Parliament, by Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Harold Laski Institute of Political Science, 1986.
- My Presidential Years - R Venkataraman, by R Venkataraman. 1995. HarperCollins/Indus. ISBN 81-7223-202-0.
- R. Venkataraman on Contemporary Issues, by Ramaswami Venkataraman, K. Venkatasubramanian. Published by Variant Communications, 1996.
- Relevance of Gandhi: And Other Essays, by K Swaminathan, Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Gandhigram Trust, 1998.
Books on R. Venkataraman
- President R. Venkataraman, by Nand Gopal Chaudhry. Published by Manas Publications, 1987. ISBN 81-7049-018-9.
- The Great Humanist Ramaswami Venkataraman, by Attar Chand. Published by Gian Pub. House, 1987. ISBN 81-212-0106-3.
- So May India be Great: Selected Speeches and Writings of President R. Venkataraman, by Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1990.
- Selected Speeches, 1984–87, 10 September 1984-14 May 1987: 10 September 1984-14 May 1987, by Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1991.
- President R. Venkataraman Selected Speeches: July 1987-December 1989., by Ramaswami Venkataraman. Published by Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1991.
External links
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