15th Governor of Andhra Pradesh
Personal profile and Education
Krishan Kant (28 February 1927 – 27 July 2002) was the tenth Vice President of India
from 1997 until his death. Kant's first brush with politics came when he plunged
into the Quit India movement, while he was still a student in Lahore. He took part
in the Indian Independence Movement as a youth and continued to be involved in politics,
eventually being elected to Parliament of India.
He was part of the "Young Turk"
brigade of Indian National Congress party during the time of Indira Gandhi. He held
prominent offices in the Parliamentary and Organisational wings of Indian National
Congress and later the Janata Party and the Janata Dal.He was a member of the Executive
Council, for several years, of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Krishan
Kant was the founding general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties
and Democratic Rights, of which Jayprakash Narayan was the President in 1976. He
was expelled from the Indian National Congress in 1975 for his opposition to the
Emergency.
He was later a member of Lok Sabha till 1980. He was the chairman of
Committee on Railway Reservations and Bookings from 1972 -1976.
He with Madhu Limaye
was also responsible for the collapse of the Morarji Desai government installed
by that coalition, by insisting that no member of the Janata Party could be the
member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This attack on dual membership was
directed specifically at members of the Janata Party who had been members of the
Jan Sangh, and continued to be members of the right-wing RSS, the Jan Sangh's ideological
parent.
The issue led to fall of Morarji Desai government in 1979, and the destruction
of the Janata coalition A strong protagonist of India going nuclear, Krishan Kant
was a member of the executive council of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.
Kant was appointed governor of Andhra Pradesh by the V.P. Singh government in 1989
and served in that position for seven years, becoming one of India's longest-serving
governors. He stayed at that post till he was elevated as Vice-President of India.
He was elected vice-president by Parliament as the joint candidate of the Indian
National Congress and United Front. He died in New Delhi. He is the only Indian
Vice President to die in office.
Last Updated on : 26-06-2013