NEW DELHI: Morarji Desai the former prime minister was Jan 25th honoured with Bharat Ratna India’s highest award while Gulzari Lal Nanda a veteran politician and twice a stop-gap premier was honoured with Padma Vibhushan.
Nanda a Gandhian by conviction first became the premier after Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964. He again took the reins in 1966 after Premier Lalbahadur Shastn’s sudden demise at Tashkent and held the saddle till Indira Gandhi’s appointment as the new prime minister.
Prof. Hiren Mukherjee and Prof N G Ranga both veteran freedom fighters and eminent educationists were among the eight recipients of the nation’s second highest award the Padma Vibbushan.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 1, 1991
