George Mathew Fernandes was an Indian politician, trade unionist, journalist, agriculturist and Member of Parliament from Bihar. He was the Defense Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet.
Wiki/Biography
George Fernandes was born on June 3, 1930 in Mangalore, British India (died aged 88). He was educated in a government school and a mission school in Mangalore. While in fifth grade, he enrolled in St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. He dropped out of high school. In 1946, at the age of 16, George was sent to St. Peter’s Seminary in Bangalore to fulfill his family’s tradition of training as a Roman Catholic priest. However, the church’s culture of bias led to frustration and frustration, and he dropped out of training after three years. Since then he has worked in various hotels, transportation industries and restaurants to suit his needs.
In 1949, at the age of 19, George moved to Bombay in search of work. He struggled for days until he got a job as a proofreader for a newspaper. Due to his interest in journalism, he served as editor of Konkani monthly magazine Konkani Yuvak in 1949. He is also the editor of the English-language monthly magazine The Other Side. Besides being an editor, George is also the chairman of Pratipaksh, a Hindi monthly magazine.
George Fernandez’s early life
During the 1950s and 1960s, George was a member of the Socialist Trade Union, which fought for the rights of small-scale industrial workers and launched various strikes across Mumbai. As a member of the Bombay Municipal Corporation from 1961 to 1968, he advocated for the rights of exploited workers. His outstanding organizational skills made him the most powerful union leader. His concern for the welfare of his people won him respect and admiration. In 1967, George became a national figure overnight after defeating veteran Congress leader SK Patil from the South Bombay constituency with 48.5% of the vote. George was known as “Giant Killer George” as his victory ended SK Patil’s political career.
In 1974, as president of the All India Railway Workers’ Federation, George launched a railway strike to end a decade of workers’ dissatisfaction. More than 1.5 million workers took part in the strike, and thousands of them were arrested.
George Fernandez, during the 1974 railway strike
In 1975, George challenged the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and went underground, disguised as a turbaned and bearded Sikh man. On June 10, 1976, George and others were arrested and accused of smuggling explosives to blow up railway tracks and government buildings in the Vadodara dynamite case. In 1977, George contested the Lok Sabha elections from prison and won a landslide victory in the Muzaffarpur constituency in Bihar.
George Fernandez arrested during state of emergency
George Fernandez in times of emergency
Family, wife and caste
George was born into a Mangalore Catholic family, his father was John Joseph Fernandez and his mother was Alice Martha Fernandez. He is the eldest of six children. He had five brothers, namely Michael Fernandez (trade union leader), Aloysius Fernandez, Paul Fernandez, Lawrence Fernandez (socialist political leader) and Richard Fernandez.
In 1975, George, along with his brother and parents
Michael Fernandez, brother of George Fernandez
In 1971, George met Laila Kabir, the daughter of former Union Minister Humayun Kabir, on a flight back to Delhi from Calcutta. The two love each other. After a long period of dating, they tied the knot on July 21, 1971. The couple has a son, Sean Fernandes, an investment banker in New York.
george and lyla
George Fernandez’s sons, daughters-in-law and grandsons
In the mid-1980s, conflicts arose between George and Lyla, and they broke up. After George’s separation from Laila, he was reportedly often seen with former Samatha Party chief Jaya Jaitley.
George Fernandes and Jaya Jaitley
However, after learning the news that George has Alzheimer’s disease, Lyla returns to his life and gives him strength during his difficult time.
George Fernandez and Leila
George and Leila with his grandson Ken
Profession
From 1969 to 1973, George served as the General Secretary of the Samyukta Socialist Party. From 1973-77, he served as president and president of the All India Railway Workers’ Federation. After the 1977 Emergency, the PPP led by Morarji Desai came to power and George became a senior minister of the party. He became the federal industry minister and said that IBM and Coca-Cola violated investment procedures, forcing them to exit India. After the People’s Party returned to power in 1989, he became the Minister of Railways. In 1994, George founded the Samata Party.
George Fernandez with Morarji Desai and Biju Patnaik in 1977
George was appointed Minister of Defense in the second and third National League for Democracy governments from 1998 to 2004. As defense minister, he played a key role in strengthening India’s hand against Pakistan during the Kargil War and urged India to conduct nuclear tests in Pokhran. In 1999, he became the leader of the United Parliamentary Party of Lok Sabha.
George Fernandez and U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
In March 2001, George was forced to resign as defense secretary after becoming famous in the Matthew Samuel sting operation known as the Tehelka Scandal. However, a few months later, he was reappointed as defense minister by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. George has denied accusations of corruption in the arms procurement scandal.
In 2004, George won the Lok Sabha election for the ninth time. In the 2009 general election, George was denied the vote of Janata Dal (Manchester United) and he has since been unable to contest elections. He serves as convenor and is also an effective spokesperson for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. He is a close friend of the Dalai Lama.
Dalai Lama wishes George Fernandez 87th birthday
Apart from his active participation in politics, George also authored various political books such as The Troubles of the Socialist (1972), The Kashmir Question, Railway Strike (1974), Dignity for All: Social Essays on Socialism and Democracy (1991)”, and an autobiography entitled “Speeches of George Fernandez” (1991).
George Fernandez Books
dispute
- In 1997, George organized a controversial public meeting of pro-LTTE members in New Delhi. He was a supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in their struggle for an independent state in northern Sri Lanka.
- George becomes the center of the media spotlight when journalist Matthew Samuels conducts a sting operation. Samuel reportedly paid bribes to then-BJP president Bengaluru Laxman, a senior Indian Army officer, and Samatha Party general secretary Jaya Jaitley. Following the aforementioned sting operation, George was forced to resign as defense secretary.
- As chairman of the Socialist Party of India, U.S. diplomatic cables claimed that George was prepared to accept CIA funds when the French government refused to provide funding for organizing underground sabotage.
- In 2002, George was found guilty in the coffin scam, accused of buying 500 low-quality aluminum coffins from the United States for 13 times more than their actual price to transport the bodies of fallen soldiers after the Kargil War.
- On October 10, 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against Admiral George, Jaya Jaitly and Sushil Kumar (former Chief of Naval Staff) for allegedly illegally purchasing 7 billion units ($110 million) from Israel in 2000 ) Barak 1 system. George claimed that former Indian President Dr Abdul Kalam approved the missile deal.
net worth
In 2009, George’s net worth was approximately Rs 95 crore.
die
George Fernandez suffers from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In 2010, at the request of his wife Laila Kabir, he underwent treatment at Baba Ramdev Ashram in Haridwar. The Delhi High Court granted visitation rights to his brother and later the Supreme Court of India allowed Jaya Jaitley to visit him. George was last seen in public nine years ago while suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Dalai Lama visits George Fernandez in his final days
George Fernandes died on January 29, 2019 in New Delhi.
fact
- From 1967 to 2004, George won nine Lok Sabha elections.
- His father wanted him to become a lawyer.
- At St. Peter’s Seminary, he observed various discriminations; one of which was that the rector of the church ate better food and sat at a higher table than the seminarians. It all left him frustrated and frustrated.
- He describes his struggling days in Mumbai: “When I came to Mumbai, I used to sleep on a bench at Chowpatty Sands. The police used to come and wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me to move on.”
- George joined the trade union movement in his native Mangalore and P.D’Mello became his mentor.
- He is fluent in ten languages including Konkani, Tulu, Kannada, English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Latin .
- On August 4, 2009, he became a member of the Lok Sabha after failing to qualify from the Janata Dal to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
- At his 80th birthday celebration, he couldn’t even recognize his own family due to Alzheimer’s disease.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbQ1vItCZ-w
- George is a member of Amnesty International, People’s League for Civil Liberties and the Press Council of India.
- In an interview, George expressed his childhood, life goals, professional achievements and many other things.
- His favorite actresses are Madhu Bala, Nargis and Suraiya Jamaal Sheik.
- He likes to listen to western and classical music.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education