George Fernandes
George Fernandes is an Indian politician. India's Defense Minister. Born in 1930, in what is now the state of Karnataka, he came to prominence in the 1970's, first as a railway union leader, and afterwards as an opponent of Indira Gandhi's imposition of Emergency, which caused his imprisonment. In the Janata Party government that came into power in 1977, he became industries minister and forced several multinational corporations out of the country, notably Coca Cola and IBM.
His Samata Party became a member of the BJP-led coalition government in 1998, making him Defense Minister. He presided over India's first nuclear tests in 24 years shortly afterwards. He resigned in February 2001 after accusations of corruption in the Defense Minstry, brought by the independent newspaper Tehelka, but was reinstated a few months later, after he was cleared. In 2003,his Samata Party merged with the Janata Dal (U), taking the latter's name, and becoming the head of the combined party.
