B'day Special: George Fernandes, veteran socialist leader and former Defence Minister of India

New Delhi: George Fernandes is a veteran Indian politician who is respected for setting new standards in the Indian Defense Ministry. He is a journalist, political activist, trade unionist – all rolled into one. Since 2010 George Fernandes has been diagnosed with Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. His condition is continually deteriorating. He spent his entire life fighting for a cause and even now he is fighting for his life. He has indeed been a rebel, a maverick and a survivor.On his 84th birthday on June 03, let us know more about the giant killer of Indian politics:George Fernandes was born to John Joseph Fernandes and Alice Martha Fernandes in Mangalore on 3rd June, 1930. George's mother had great respect for King George V and hence she named her son George. George Fernandes was married to Leila Kabir, daughter of former Union Minister Humayun Kabir on 21st July, 1971. The couple was blessed with a son Sean Fernandes (he is an investment banker in New York.). George and Leila parted ways in 1980s. In 2010, Leila Kabir reunited with him. George Fernandes' parents were extremely orthodox. He began his education at St Aloysius College in Mangalore and on completion of his basic education his parents sent him off to study Divinity at St Peter's Seminary in Bangalore. George Fernandes was trained as a Roman Catholic priest but at the age of 19 he left the seminary to join a group of trade union. In 1949, he started working as a proof reader for a newspaper in Mumbai. Here he came into contact with the veteran socialist Rammanohar Lohia. He accompanied him in socialist trade union movement. George Fernandes worked extremely hard for the exploited laborers. He constantly fought for justice under the influence of his mentor Rammanohar Lohia. In 1967, George decided to contest general election. He fought for Samyukta Socialist Party from South Bombay constituency and emerged victorious. In 1974 he organized a massive railway strike that resulted in thousands being sent to jail. The strike was one of the crucial factors that led to imposition of Emergency in 1975 by the Indira Gandhi led government. George Fernandes is one of the main founders of Janata Dal and Samata Party. He had to go underground when Emergency was imposed because he went public against Indira Gandhi. In 1976 he was arrested. After Emergency was lifted on 21st March, 1977 elections were conducted again. George Fernandes contested from Muzaffarpur seat in Bihar from jail. He won by over 300000 votes despite not even stepping inside the constituency. But he was often in conflict with the Janata party leaders. He felt that the elected members of the party must break their ties with RSS so that the government can work independently. But veteran leaders like Morarji Desai and Atal Behari Vajpayee refrained from doing so. So George separated from the party in 1979. From 1996 to 1998 he served in the opposition along with BJP. After National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was formed, his party too joined hands with BJP and Fernandes became its convener. NDA served in the Parliament from 1999 – 2004. George Fernandes has held important portfolios in the NDA government. His portfolios include – Railways, Industry, Communications and Defence. Interestingly he was the only Christian minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet. George Ferandes is known for his bold decisions. He instructed Coca Cola and IBM to leave the country because they had violated investment policies. He formed base for the Konkan Railway project. This was the first development project undertaken since Independence. George Fernandes was the Defense Minister during the Kargil War. As a Defense Minister he has made over 18 visits to Siachen glacier in Kashmir, a feat accomplished by no other Minister. He is remembered for raising defense budget considerably. In 2009 he was elected to Rajya Sabha for the seat vacated by JD (U) President Sharad Yadav who was elected to the Lok Sabha. He is an adamant supporter of both Sri Lankan immigrants as well as Tibetan refugees. George Fernandes has always stood for what he felt was right. He never shied away from facing crisis and faced them boldly. George was loved by the soldiers for braving the world's highest battlefield during the Kargil War and visiting soldiers in the time of crisis. As he struggles for life, may God strengthen him and bless him with many more days to come.