Shankar Dayal Sharma Death Anniversary 2022: Here's All You Need To Know About The Former President and Stalwart
He died on December 26, 1999, after a heart attack at the Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi and was accorded a state funeral. His samadhi lies at Karma Bhumi in Delhi. The Government of India declared seven days of national mourning in his honour. He was survived by his wife Vimala and two sons and a daughter.
The death anniversary ofShankar Dayal Sharma is observed every year on December 26. Sharma was born on August 19, 1918, in the Princely State of Bhopal to Khushilal Sharma and Subhadra Sharma. He died on December 26, 1999, after a heart attack at the Escorts Heart Institute, Delhi and was accorded a state funeral. His samadhi lies at Karma Bhumi in Delhi. The Government of India declared seven days of national mourning in his honour. He was survived by his wife Vimala and two sons and a daughter. Remembering One of The Finest Administrators Who Became Ninth President of India.
An Indian lawyer and politician from Madhya Pradesh, he served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997. He also served as the 8th Vice President of Indian under Ramaswamy Venkataraman, who was the 8th President of India. Sharma completed his education from Lucknow and Agra Universities and earned a doctorate in law at the University of Cambridge. In the year 1940, he started practising in Lucknow and joined Indian National Congress.
A member of the Indian National Congress party, Sharma was Chief Minister (1952–1956) of Bhopal State and served as a cabinet minister (1956–1971) in the government of Madhya Pradesh holding several portfolios. Sharma also served as Union Minister for Communications from 1974 to 1977 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was elected twice to the Lok Sabha, Sharma served as Governor of Andhra Pradesh (1984-1985), Punjab (1985-1986) and Maharashtra (1986-1987) before being elected unopposed as the eighth Vice President of India in 1987.
Following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, Sharma was first offered the presidentship of the Congress party and the post of Prime Minister by Sonia Gandhi. Due to his ill health, Sharma refused following which P. V. Narasimha Rao was chosen to lead the Congress party.
Sharma was also the editor of the Lucknow Law Journal, Socialist India, Jyoti and the Ilm-o-Noor and was the author of several books in English and Hindi language. The Congress Approach to International Affairs, Studies in Indo-Soviet cooperation, Rule of Law and Role of Police, Jawaharlal Nehru: The Maker of Modern Commonwealth, Eminent Indians, Chetna ke Shrot and Hindi Bhasha aur Sanskriti were some of the books of the great leader.
Sharma was conferred honorary degree of doctor of law by the University of Cambridge. As per historical records, he was also conferred with honorary doctorates from the universities of Sofia and Bucharest, the Kiev State University and several Indian universities.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2022 08:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).