R. Venkataraman as President of India (Project Report)
Submitted To:
Dr. B.K. Mahakul Faculty Member in Political Science
Submitted By:
Romit Raj .!. "". (#$%$&RS) Student
Semester III, Section – !, Roll No: '
#I!*!+&""!# %!+I$%!" "!, &%IV-RSI+* Uparwara Post, Abhanpur, New Raipur – 4!""# $%&'&(
)ate o* submission: /0/10'2 Page | 1
3ertificate
+, Romit Romit Ra, Ra, hereby hereby declare declare that, that, this this proec proectt report report entitled entitled,, 4R.Venk 4R.Venkatarama ataraman n as President of India5 submitted to -idayatullah National .aw Uni/ersity, Raipur is record o* an
ori0inal wor1 done by me under the 0uidance o* )r& B&2& 3aha1ul, aculty 3ember, -&N&.&U&, Raipur and that no part o* o * this wor1 has been pla0iari5ed without citations&
Romit Ra Semester +++ Section 6 A Roll no #!!
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Introduction
The President of India is the *ormal head o* the e7ecuti/e e7ecuti/e and and le0islature le0islature o* o* +ndia and is the commander6in6chie* o* o* the +ndian Armed orces& orces& The current president is Pranab 3u1heree& The Presid President ent is indir indirectly ectly elect elected ed by the the peop people le thro throu0h u0h elec electe ted d member memberss o* the the hous houses es o* Parliament Parliament $ $.o1 .o1 Sabha and Sabha and Raya Sabha( Sabha( and the .e0islati/e Assemblies in States and Union Territories $)elhi, Puducherry Puducherry(8 (8 and ser/es *or a term o* *i/e years& +ncumbent presidents are permitted to stand *or re6election& A *ormula is used to allocate /otes so there is a balance between the population o* each state and the number o* /otes assembly members *rom a state can cast, and to 0i/e an e9ual balance between State Assembly members and the members o* the Parliament o* +ndia&& +* no candidate recei/es a maority o* /otes, then there is a system by which losin0 +ndia candidates are eliminated *rom the contest and their /otes are trans*erred to other candidates, until one 0ains a maority& The oath o* the President is administered by the %hie* ustice o* +ndia, and in his absence, by the most senior ud0e o* the Supreme %ourt& The The Pres Presid iden entt o* +ndi +ndiaa resi reside dess in an esta estate te in New in New )elhi 1now 1nown n as the the Rashtrapati Bha/an $whi $which ch rou0h rou0hly ly trans transla late tess as Pres Presid iden ent; t;ss -ous -ouse( e(&& The The pres presid ident entia iall retr retrea eatt is The Retreat in Retreat in %hharabra %hharabra,, Shimla Shimla and and Rashtrapati Nilayam $President;s Place( in -yderabad -yderabad&& The #!th #!th and and current President is Pranab 3u1her 3u1heree ee,, who was elected on << uly <=#<, and sworn in on <> uly <=#<& <=#<& -e is also the *irst Ben0ali Ben0ali to to be elected as President& -e too1 o/er the position *rom Pratibha Patil, Patil, who was the *irst woman to ser/e in the o**ice&
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$6er6ie7 of "iterature '. Venkataram Venkataraman an R.8My R.8My President Presidential ial *ears ('992) ('992)
This boo1 deals with the e7perience o* ?en1ataraman as the President o* +ndia and his decisions and dilemma he went throu0h& . %and opal 3;aud;ry President R. Venkataraman('91<)
This boo1 pro/ides 0reat insi0ht on the relations built up by ?en1ataraman with the %ouncil o* 3inisters and his idea about +nternationalism&
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$bjecti6es of t;e Study The primary obecti/e o* this proect report is to present the role o* R& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman as the President o* +ndia& The other speci*ic obecti/es o* this proect report include: • •
To present the early li*e and stru00les To analyse the steps ta1en and role played as the President&
Met;odolo=y This study has been carried out in a descripti/e and analytical manner& Secondary and published documented data has been collected throu0h /arious sources and analy5ed accordin0ly& 3any o* the a/ailable literature and studies ha/e also been consulted and re/iewed to ma1e the study more obecti/e& No *ield wor1 has been carried out in the de/elopment o* this wor1&
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R. Venkataraman Venkataraman Ramaswamy ?en1ataraman was born in ##= in Raamadam /illa0e in Tamil Nadu& -e *inished his schoolin0 *rom National %olle0e -i0her Secondary School at Trichy and attained his 3aster@s )e0ree, *rom .oyola %olle0e in %hennai, in economics& .ater he completed his law de0ree *rom the .aw %olle0e and oined the 3adras -i0h %ourt in #!>& hile practicin0 law, ?en1ataraman also acti/ely participated in the +ndian National %on0ress led stru00le a0ainst British occupation& -e was detained *or two years *or participatin0 in the uit +ndia 3o/ement o* #4<& # ?en1ataraman had an a/id interest in labor laws and since early in his career as a lawyer he honed his s1ills and *ortitude in all *orms o* labor law& hen he was released *rom prison by the British in #44, he too1 up the Cr0ani5ation o* the .abor Section o* the Tamil Nadu Pro/incial %on0ress %ommittee& Subse9uently, in #4, he *ounded the .abor .aw ournal that was soon ac1nowled0ed as a specialist ournal and edited the ournal till #>D& ?en1ataraman also be0an to acti/ely participate in trade union mo/ements and led se/eral unions& -e also established a number o* trade unions to loo1 into the wel*are o* the labor *orce& +n #4", when +ndependence was imminent, ?en1ataraman was selected in a panel o* lawyers tas1ed with de*endin0 +ndian nationals in 3alaya and Sin0apore who were char0ed with collaboration durin0 the apanese occupation o* the two places&
1 Biography of R. Venkataraman http://www.gloriouin!ia."om/#iographie/r$%enkataraman.htm &lat a""ee! on 15/'(/2'15) Page | *
+n #4D he became the secretary secretary o* the 3adras Pro/incial Pro/incial Bar ederation ederation and ser/ed ser/ed till #>=& +n #>#, ?en1ataraman became a member o* the Supreme %ourt& <
R. Venkataraman in Politics Because o* his labor acti/ism and s1ill as a lawyer, it was only natural that ?en1ataraman *ound himsel* dri*tin0 into politics at a time when the newly independent nation o* +ndia re9uired /isionaries to cur/e its identity. ?en1atara n1ataraman man became became a member member o* the %onsti %onstitue tuent nt Assem Assembly bly,, which which dra*te dra*ted d the %onstitution o* +ndia& The >=@s saw *er/ent political acti/ity when he was elected to the Pro/incial Parliament ser/in0 till #><, when he was elected to the *irst Parliament in which he ser/ed till #>D& +n the same year, he was re6elected to the Parliament, but resi0ned *rom his seat to oin the %hennai State 'o/ernment as a 3inister o* .abor, %ooperation, +ndustries, Power, Transport and %ommercial Ta7es, Ta7es, on the in/itation o* 2& 2amra, 2a mra, and held the post till #>D& rom #>! to #>4, ?en1ataraman wor1ed as the Secretary to the %on0ress Parliament Party& +n #><, he was also sent as wor1ers@ dele0ate to attend the Session o* the 3etal Trades %ommittee o* +nternational .abor Cr0ani5ation and went to New Eealand as a member o* the +ndian Parliamentary )ele0ation to the %ommonwealth Parliamentary %on*erence& )urin0 this time, time, ?en1atara n1ataraman man also also led the 3adras 3adras .e0isl .e0islati ati/e /e %ouncil %ouncil&& +n #"D, #"D, ?en1atara n1ataraman man was entrusted with the port*olio o* +ndustry, .abor, Power, Transport, %ommunications, and Railways as a member o* the Union Plannin0 %ommission and held the position until #D#& www&yo0asan0eeta&or0 $last accessed on #>F=GF<=#>( 2 www&yo0asan0eeta&or0
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rom #D> to #DD, ?en1ataraman edited the ma0a5ine ;Swaraya; while pursuin0 his political acti/ity& At /arious times, he ser/ed as a member o* the Political A**airs %ommittee and the Hconomic A**airs %ommittee o* the union cabinet& ?en1ataraman was elected to the .o1 Sabha in #DD *rom the south 3adras constituency and ser/ed as a 3ember o* Parliament in the Cpposition& At the same time, he was also the %hairman o* the Public Accounts %ommittee& ?en1ataraman re6entered the national political scene in #G= when he was re6elected to the .o1 Sabha and was made the inance 3inister in the +ndira 'andhi 0o/ernment& .ater, he was appointed the )e*ence 3inister in #G!& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman initiated a radical chan0e in +ndia@s missile missile pro0ramme by b y consolidatin0 the entire missile system into +nte0rated 'uided 3issile )e/elopment Pro0ram& +t was ?en1ataraman who trans*erred AP Abdul 2alam to the missile pro0ramme *rom the space pro0ramme, who was later 1nown as the ;3issile 3an o* +ndia@ *or leadin0 the ballistic missile and space roc1et technolo0y& ?en1ataraman was, then, made the ?ice President o* +ndia in #G4, and later in uly #GD he was sworn in as the President o* +ndia ser/in0 till #<& )urin0 his tenure, ?e ?en1ataraman had the distinction o* wor1in0 with *our Prime 3inisters amon0 which he himsel* had appointed three o* them& +t was also durin0 his tenure tha t saw the ad/ent o* coalition politics& !cademic #onours and !7ards: 0
R& ?en1ataraman has recei/ed the )octorate o* .aw *rom Uni/ersity o* 3adras and Na0aruna Uni/ersity& -e has been awarded ITamra ITamra PatraJ *or participatin0 in the *reedom stru stru00l 00le& e& The The titl titlee o* ISat ISat Se/a Se/a Ratn RatnaJ aJ had had been been con* con*er erre red d on him him by his his holi holine ness ss,, the the San1aracharya o* 2ancheepuram& &.%. 3ommittee and 3onferences: 0
R& ?en1at n1atar aram aman an was was a dele dele0a 0ate te to the the Unit United ed Nati Nation onss 'ene 'enera rall Assem ssembl bly y in #>!,#>>,#>",#>,#"= and #"#&-e was the leader o* the +ndian )ele0ation to the 4G( and represented +ndia in the +nter
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Parliamentary %on*erence in ?ienna $#DG(&-e was a member o* United Nations Administrati/e Tribunal *rom #>> to #D and was its President *rom #"G to #D&!
R.Venkataraman as t;e President of India R& ?en1ataraman was the ei0hth President o* +ndia and was sworn on <>th uly,#GD& -e had the most e/ent*ul years as President because he had to deal with *our Prime 3inisters6Rai/ 'andhi,?&P& Sin0h, %handra She1har and P&?& Narsimha Rao&)urin0 his tenure as President o* +ndia, he had to *ace the most contro/ersia1 issues li1e Sri .an1a,Bo*ors,Punab etc& hile ma1in0 appointments, e/en *or his personal secretary,he was ne/er in*luenced on the basis basis o* reli0i reli0ion, on,re0 re0ion ion,cas ,casre, re,com commun munity ity or reli0i reli0ion& on& -e only only conside considered red their their abilit ability y, e**iciency and inte0rity&
Some of t;e issues dealt by R. Venkataraman as t;e President of India are as follo7s: 0 '. Postal stal ill
3 ,n thi -ay http://www.mapon!ia."om a""ee! on 15/'(/2'15 Page |
'iani Eail Sin0h,the *ormer President,had neither cleared nor assented the Postal Bill&-e hoped that his successor would 0i/e assent to this bill& R& ?en1ataraman on the ad/ice o* the Attorney 'eneral, assented the bill& 4 . Spec Specia iall Marr Marria ia=e =e il illl R& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman had been a staunch supporter o* awaharlal Nehru& +t was Nehru@s brainchild
to brin brin0 0 in the the idea idea o* di/o di/orc rcee by mutu mutual al cons consen entt in the the Spec Specia iall 3arr 3arria ia0e 0e Bill Bill&& R& ?en1ataraman ad/ocated this idea and introduced an amendment which led to the acceptance o* the idea o* mutual di/orce under Special 3arria0e Bill Act& . Sati Sati Pre Pre6e 6ent ntio ion n ill ill Sati Pratha was one o* the most barbaric act in those days& The Raasthan ISatiJ Pre/ention
Bill,#GD was pendin0 be*ore Raasthan -i0h %ourt and the bill was challen0ed see1in0 its /alidity& The petition was dismissed and more restriction was put and punishment was put *or attempt to commit ISatiJ, any abetment o* ISatiJ and punishment *or 0lori*ication o* ISatiJ& R& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman without any an y reser/ation 0a/e assent to the bill on #st )ecember, #GD& >. 3ontradi 3ontradictin ctin= = ianji5 ianji5ss stateme statement nt hen there were whispers in the public that the President was 0oin0 to dismiss the Prime 3inist 3inister er,, Rai/ Rai/ 'andhi 'andhi,,
?en1ataram n1ataraman an contra contradic dicted ted the alle0e alle0ed d statem statement ent made made by his
predecessor in which he was wron0ly in/ol/ed& 2. +;e 3onstit 3onstitutio ution n !mend !mendmen mentt ill(2 ill(29 9 t; !mendment) There had been a deterioratin0 situation in law and order in Punab&The daily 1illin0 o*
innocent men and women in mar1et places,buses and trains was mountin0&The police was totally demorali5ed and a*raid o* the terrorists& +n spite o* the *rantic e**orts by the opposition parties,both the houses o* Parliament P arliament adopted the >th Amendment Bill and the *inal call was to be ta1en by the President& Cn !=th 3arch, #GG, the President 0a/e his assent to the Bill, in spite o* the stron0 opposition& ?.
efamation ill The 0o/ernment wanted to introduce a )e*amation Bill in the Parliament, which sou0ht to
shi*t the burden o* proo* on the de*endant and enhance the punishment *or ma1in0 un*ounded char0es o* criminal o**ence a0ainst a person& The President reacted sharply and told them that Ksome spade wor1 by way o* consultation with the opposition, the Press and eminent people
4 ai Ra ana1,President o* +ndia,#>=6<==! Pa0e #" Page | 1'
should ha/e preceded the introduction o* a measure, which was ob/iously contro/ersial& The result was ob/ious and the bill was *iercely opposed& <. +;e +;e ofor oforss 3on 3ontr tro6 o6ers ersy y The %omptroller and Auditor 'eneral Report indicted the Rai/ 'andhi 'o/ernment *or
procedural *ailures and also *ound that commission a0ents were employed and paid&The President ad/ised Rai/ 'andhi, as also the -ome 3inister Buta Sin0h and Sheila )i7it the then Parliamentary A**airs 3inister to place %&A&'& Report on the table o* the house but his ad/ice was o/er6ruled by his better ad/isors and the report thus wasn@t tabled on the loor o* -ouse be*ore adournment which led to a hu0e hue and cry in both the houses o* the Parliament and there was a demand *or the resi0nation o* the Prime 3inister&> 1. +;e +;e Role Role of of o6e o6ern rnme ment nt R& ?en1ataraman *elt /ery bad when he saw that the 'o/erners had been playin0 in the hands
o* the rulin0 party, and would not hesitate to act in /iolation o* pro/ision o* the %onstitution, i* it suited the 0o/ernment at the centre& The President said that the healthy practice o* the Prime 3inister consultin0 the President had been established durin0 the Raendra Prasad era,slowly *ell into disuse howe/er the Prime 3inisters he dealt with in*ormally consulted him on the appointment o* 'o/erners& 9. Pros Prosec ecuti ution on of of Raji6 Raji6 and and;i ;i Shanti Shanti Bhusha Bhushan, n, the *ormer *ormer .aw 3inis 3inister ter,, wrote wrote to the Presid President ent see1in see1in0 0 sancti sanction on to
prosecute Prime 3inister Rai/ 'andhi *or corruption and bribery char0es in the Bo*ors 'un )eal&A*ter recei/in0 the letter, the President called the Attorney6'eneral *or discussions& A*ter ha/in0 0one throu0h the papers re0ardin0 alle0ations made by Shanti Bhushan in his undate undated d letter letter,, which which were were mainly mainly based based on newspape newspaperr report reports, s, the Presid President ent sent sent the *ollowin0 order: IThe application o* Shri Shanti Bhushan *or sanction o* the prosecution o* Prime 3inister is hereby reected&J" '/. @e;ar Sin=;5s Sin=;5s mercy mercy petition petition
5 ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman passes away http:FFarchi/e&indiane7press&comF http:FFarchi/e&indiane7press&comFnewsF*ormer6presid newsF*ormer6president6r6/en1ataraman6 ent6r6/en1ataraman6 passes6awayF4#>D=4F passes6awayF4#>D=4F accessed on #>F=GF<=#> #>F=GF<=#>
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2ehar Sin0h@s mercy petition be*ore the President e7poses the reality as to how the mercy petitions are dealt with& +t is the 0o/ernment, and not the President who decides the *ate o* these petitions&The real decision is with the 0o/ernment and it only bears the si0nature o* the President& The President contended that a*ter the reection o* the plea,warrants *or e7ecution were issued *or carryin0 carryin0 out the sentence sentence but this was challen0ed challen0ed by ethmalani ethmalani contendin0 contendin0 that the President had *ailed to e7ercise his urisdiction by declinin0 to hear representati/es on behal* o* the prisoners&D President went on record and said that he was o* the opinion that in the conditions pre/ailin0 in the country o* re/iew should rest with the udiciary and not with the President,i&e, the e7ecuti/e& +n case o* clashes,the rulin0 party ta1es the upper hand and thus the rule o* law will be desecrated&
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3onclusion The President o* +ndia is the *ormal head o* the e7ecuti/e e7ecuti/e and and le0islature le0islature o* o* +ndia and is the commander6in6chie* commander6in6chie* o* o* the +ndian Armed orces& orces& R& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman was the ei0hth President o* +ndia and bein0 the head o* the nation had /arious responsibilities as well& The wor1s done by him as the President is commendable and he has achie/ed a lot *or +ndia as a nation& Apart *rom bein0 the head o* the country,?en1ataraman was a /ery 0ood human bein0 as well&-is wor1s ha/e always been *or the bene*it o* the people& -e was a polite leader and too1 all the decision 1eepin0 in mind the opinion o* the people&-e wor1ed *or the interest o* the people and always too1 their ideals and thin1in0 as the supreme demand per se& Presidents li1e ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman are rarely *ound&-e was internationalist as well and attended a lot o* con/entions and represented the ideals and the stand o* +ndia at /arious con*erences& -e too1 +ndia at a di**erent le/el and made +ndia a better country&
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iblio=rap;y ooks Nand 'opal %haudhry, President R& ?en1ataraman ?en1ataraman,. <& Attar %hand, The 'reat -umanist Ramaswami ?en1ataraman& ?en1ataraman& !& ?en1ataraman R&, 3y Presidential Lears& 1.
,ebsites #& <& !& 4&
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