Singh, V.P.

Singh, V.P.

▪ prime minister of India
in full  Vishwanath Pratap Singh 
born June 25, 1931, Allahabad, India
died Nov. 27, 2008, New Delhi

      politician and government official who was prime minister of India in 1989–90.

      Singh studied at Allahabad and Pune (Poona) universities and became a member of the Legislative Assembly of his home state of Uttar Pradesh in 1969 as a member of the Congress Party (Indian National Congress). He won election to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) in 1971 and was appointed a deputy minister of commerce by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Gandhi, Indira) in 1974. He was minister of commerce in 1976–77, and, when Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, he served as chief minister (governor) of Uttar Pradesh until 1982 and resumed his post as commerce minister in 1983.

      Upon the death of Indira Gandhi in 1984, her son and successor as prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi (Gandhi, Rajiv), appointed Singh minister of finance. In this post, Singh's efforts to reduce governmental regulation of business and to prosecute tax fraud attracted widespread praise. Transferred to the post of minister of defense in January 1987, Singh resigned from Gandhi's cabinet later that year after his investigations of arms-procurement fraud were squelched.

      Soon afterward, Singh resigned from the government altogether and left Gandhi's Congress (I) Party (Indian National Congress). He soon assembled a nationwide coalition of centrist opposition parties called the National Front, which contested the general elections of December 1989. After that election, Singh as the leader of the National Front was able to form a coalition government in alliance with two other major opposition parties. He was sworn in as India's prime minister on Dec. 2, 1989. After state legislative elections in March 1990, Singh's governing coalition achieved control of both houses of India's Parliament. The coalition was riven by disputes having to do with religious and caste issues, however, and Singh resigned on Nov. 7, 1990, after receiving a vote of no confidence in the Parliament. Singh later was one of the forces behind the broad United Front coalition that governed the country in 1996–97.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Singh — (Hindi/Panjabi: Löwe, Sanskrit: Siṃha) ist ein im indischen Raum weit verbreiteter Name, der insbesondere im Sikhismus als religiöser Nachname genutzt wird. Er wird von allen männlichen Sikhs getragen und soll die Verbunden und Gleichheit in der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Singh — est un nom de famille d origine indienne souvent assimilé aux Sikhs. Issu du mot sanskrit sinha, Singh signifie « lion ». On retrouve ce terme dans le nom de la cité État de Singapour, qui est « la ville du lion ». En Inde et… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Singh — common surname and middle name in North India, later (1699) adopted by Sikhs as a title after their initiation ceremony, also a surname adopted by male Sikhs; 1620s in English, from Hind. Singh, from Skt. simhah lion …   Etymology dictionary

  • Singh — Singh, Manmohan …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Singh — Très fréquent aujourd hui en Angleterre, le nom est surtout porté par les Sikhs, qui l ont donné à pratiquement tous les hommes. Il signifie lion …   Noms de famille

  • Singh — Also see Sinha Singh (Hindi: सिंह singh, Punjabi: ਸਿੰਘ, Gujarati: સિંહ sinh) is a common title, middle name, or surname in Northern India and South India used by Hindu Kshatriya warriors and kings.[1] eg. Man Singh I, Maharana Pratap Singh. It is …   Wikipedia

  • Singh — Found recorded in the spellings of Sinha and Singh, this famous surname is Sikh (Hindi Indian) in origin. Given the translation of The lion , it is perhaps not surprising that it is one of the most popular names in the world, however that is not… …   Surnames reference

  • singh — ba·ra·singh; singh; …   English syllables

  • Singh — indischer Name zu Sanskrit simha »Löwe«. Singh ist eigentlich ein Namenzusatz oder Titel, den männliche Sikhs vor ihrem Familiennamen tragen …   Wörterbuch der deutschen familiennamen

  • Singh — [sɪŋ] noun a title or surname adopted by certain warrior castes of northern India, especially by male members of the Sikh Khalsa. Origin from Punjabi siṅgh lion , from Sanskrit siṃha lion …   English new terms dictionary

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