INDER Kumar Gujral's brief but eventful prime ministership has only lovers and haters. There are many who believe he was an unmitigated disaster,a man out of touch with the times, suited more to the rarefied, genteel environs of the India International Centre than to the rough and tumble of coalition politics. However, those hastily writing I.K. Gujral's political obituary might like to remember the following:
- Gujral, after Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's most innovative and courageous foreign minister. He single -handedly, and in the teeth of tremendous opposition, dramatically improved the country's relations with its neighbours.
- The Gujral Doctrine may be a bit of a joke in some circles here, but outside the country, in Washington, London, Dhaka, etc, it was seen as a brave attempt to set new norms in the conduct of bilateral relations. For this writer, his discarding of the pernicious doctrine of "reciprocity", long the mantra at the MEA, was a landmark. This whole ridiculous business of you-give-two-visas-a-month-so-I-will-give-two-visas-a-month was given a long overdue burial.
- Gujral was the most accessible (perhaps too accessible) of all prime ministers for the media. He genuinely enjoyed the company of journalists—even the gossip they retailed interested him—and was remarkably well-informed about what was going on in newspaper houses, including the shenanigans of some proprietors. He had no press advisor because he knew many senior journalists on a first-name basis. His one weakness? He read his own press. And took what newspapers wrote a little too seriously. I once told Mrs Gujral that it would not be a bad idea if she occasionally hid the morning papers from her husband. She liked the idea.
- Gujral was the most urbane and literate prime minister we have had since Jawaharlal Nehru. His reading habits ranged from Henry Kissinger to Salman Rushdie to Khushwant Singh. His favourite morning paper was the Hindu.
- Gujral was easily India's best-dressed prime minister, with Rajiv a close second. His clothes were never flashy, but always immaculately cut and elegant. People frequently asked him the name of his tailor.
- Gujral was the politest, least arrogant of India's PMs.
