Shankar Dayal Sharma

3.5.1. Governor of Andhra Pradesh

Sharma was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh on August 24, 1984, succeeding Thakur Ram Lal amid a major political crisis. On August 15, 1984, Ram Lal had controversially dismissed N. T. Rama Rao, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), despite Rama Rao's claim of majority support in the Assembly. Ram Lal then appointed N. Bhaskara Rao, the former finance minister under Rama Rao, as the new Chief Minister, granting him a month to prove his majority. Widespread public protests and accusations of impropriety led to Ram Lal's resignation.

Upon assuming office, Governor Sharma sought to resolve the constitutional impasse. He convened a session of the Assembly on September 11, 1984. As N. Bhaskara Rao failed to prove his majority within the stipulated one-month period, Sharma suggested that he resign, effective September 16. When Bhaskara Rao refused, seeking a reconvening of the Assembly a few days later, Sharma dismissed him and reappointed N.T. Rama Rao as Chief Minister. Rama Rao successfully won a vote of confidence when the Assembly reconvened on September 20, 1984. Shortly thereafter, the Rama Rao government called for fresh elections, and Sharma dissolved the Assembly in November 1984.

In the Assembly election of 1985, the TDP secured a two-thirds majority, and Rama Rao returned as Chief Minister. A few months later, relations between Sharma and the state government soured when he refused to repromulgate three ordinances sent to him by the Rama Rao government. These ordinances pertained to the abolition of offices of part-time village officers, the formation of districts, and the payment of salaries and removal of disqualifications of government employees. Sharma stated that ordinances require ratification by the legislature and that their repeated repromulgation would constitute a constitutional impropriety, thus asserting his constitutional limits on executive power.

On July 31, 1985, a profound personal tragedy struck Sharma: his daughter, Gitanjali, and his son-in-law, the Congress politician Lalit Maken, were assassinated by Sikh militants outside their Kirti Nagar residence in West Delhi. The attack was carried out by Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha, and Ranjit Gill 'Kuki', in retaliation for Maken's alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. While Gitanjali was caught in the crossfire, Maken was specifically targeted for his alleged role in the killing of around 3,000 Sikhs during the riots. After this tragic event, Sharma was transferred to Punjab as governor, and Kumudben Joshi succeeded him in Andhra Pradesh.

3.5.2. Governor of Punjab

Shankar Dayal Sharma succeeded Hokishe Sema as Governor of Punjab in November 1985. His appointment came in the aftermath of the assembly elections in the state and against the backdrop of the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, which aimed to resolve the ongoing insurgency in Punjab. Sharma's tenure as Governor was characterized by continued violence and political unrest due to the complex security situation. He served in this challenging role until April 1986, when he was replaced by Siddhartha Shankar Ray. During this period, he also concurrently served as the Administrator of Chandigarh.

3.5.3. Governor of Maharashtra

In April 1986, Shankar Dayal Sharma was sworn in as Governor of Maharashtra. His tenure in this state was relatively brief, lasting until September 1987, when he resigned from the gubernatorial post after being elected unopposed as the vice president of India.

3.7.1. Presidential Election and Inauguration

In June 1992, the Congress party selected Shankar Dayal Sharma as its candidate for the presidential election to succeed Ramaswamy Venkataraman. His nomination received crucial support from various communist parties, broadening his political backing. The election was held on July 13, 1992, with votes counted three days later. Sharma secured a decisive victory, polling 675,804 votes (approximately 66% of the electoral college vote) against his main opponent, George Gilbert Swell, the nominee of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, who received 346,485 votes. Two other candidates, Ram Jethmalani and Kaka Joginder Singh, garnered a small number of votes. Sharma was officially declared elected on July 16, 1992, and was sworn in as the ninth President of India on July 25, 1992.

In his inaugural address, President Sharma articulated his core vision for India, stating that "Freedom has little meaning without equality and equality has little meaning without social justice." He committed his presidency to combating critical national challenges, including terrorism, poverty, disease, and communalism. The validity of his election was subsequently challenged before the Supreme Court of India, but the challenge was unsuccessful.

3.7.2. Narasimha Rao Government

President Sharma's election was perceived as a victory for the Congress party and Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, who led a minority government at the time. Although the office of the President in India is largely ceremonial, it holds significant constitutional importance, particularly in situations of a hung Parliament or when a government loses a vote of confidence, as the President is responsible for nominating a new head of government. During its tenure, the Rao ministry faced three no-confidence motions, the third of which, in July 1993, was marred by serious allegations of bribery and subsequent criminal indictment against Rao himself.

A pivotal moment during Sharma's presidency occurred on December 6, 1992, when the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished by a fanatic Hindu mob, leading to widespread communal rioting across India. President Sharma publicly expressed his deep anguish and pain at the demolition, condemning the act as being contrary to India's traditional ethos of respecting all religions and the fundamental precepts of Hinduism. His strong condemnation prompted the Rao government to swiftly dismiss the state government of Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya is located, and impose President's rule on the same evening. The following day, the Government of India, by means of a presidential ordinance, acquired 67 acre ^{(67 acre)} of land in and around the site where the mosque had stood, stipulating that all litigation related to the disputed area would be dissolved following the acquisition. In January 1993, Sharma made a reference to India's Supreme Court, seeking an opinion on whether a Hindu temple or religious structure had existed prior to the construction of the Babri Masjid at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi site. However, in 1994, the Supreme Court, by a majority decision, declined to answer the reference, deeming it contrary to the spirit of secularism and potentially favoring a particular religious community.

In 1995, President Sharma dedicated the reconstructed Somnath temple in Gujarat to the Indian people. During the dedication ceremony, he reiterated his belief that all religions teach the same lesson of unity and that humanism transcends all other considerations. The construction of the temple had spanned five decades and had been a subject of ongoing debate concerning its financing, the role of the state in its reconstruction, and the presence of constitutional functionaries during the installation of the idol, all of which raised significant questions about India's secular character since its independence.

President Sharma generally maintained cordial relations with the Narasimha Rao government. However, in 1995, he demonstrated his constitutional assertiveness by compelling the government to seek the immediate resignation of Sheila Kaul, the governor of Himachal Pradesh. This action came after the Supreme Court expressed concern that Kaul was leveraging her gubernatorial immunity to evade criminal proceedings. In 1996, on the eve of general elections, Sharma returned two ordinances sent to him by the Rao government. These ordinances aimed to extend the benefits of reservations in state employment and education to Christian and Muslim Dalits and to reduce the time allowed for election campaigning. Sharma justified his refusal on the grounds that such significant policy decisions, given the impending elections, should rightfully be left to the incoming government, thereby upholding democratic propriety.

3.7.3. Vajpayee, Deve Gowda, and Gujral Governments

Sharma's final year in office was marked by unprecedented political fluidity, requiring him to exercise his constitutional powers in appointing three prime ministers due to successive hung Parliaments.

Following the general elections of 1996, no single party secured a clear majority in Parliament. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 160 seats out of 543, while the ruling Congress party came second with 139 seats. On May 15, 1996, President Sharma invited Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as the leader of the single largest party, to form the government, with the condition that he prove his majority on the floor of the house by May 31. Vajpayee and a cabinet of 11 ministers were sworn in the following day. President Sharma addressed the new Parliament on May 24. This address, provided for under Article 87 of India's constitution, outlines the government's policy and plans and is typically followed by a motion of thanks. However, in 1996, to avoid a political crisis, no motion of thanks was moved on this address given the Vajpayee government's swift resignation and the subsequent Deve Gowda ministry's disagreement with its contents. However, during the motion for a vote of confidence, which was debated on May 27 and 28, Vajpayee announced his resignation before the motion could be put to a vote. This resulted in the government lasting only 13 days, making it the shortest tenure for a Prime Minister in India's history.

President Sharma's decision to invite Vajpayee to form the government drew criticism from various quarters. Unlike previous Presidents such as Ramaswamy Venkataraman or Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who had requested prime ministerial candidates to provide lists of their supporting MPs to satisfy themselves of their majority, Sharma did not make such demands of Vajpayee. Instead, he appointed Vajpayee solely based on the principle of inviting the leader of the largest party. Furthermore, Sharma did not issue any press communiqués to explain the rationale behind his decision, unlike his predecessors. Communist parties, which had supported Sharma's presidential bid, particularly criticized his decision to invite their ideological opponent, the BJP, to form the government. However, Sharma's decision was also attributed to the fact that no other party had immediately staked a claim to form the government, and the United Front, a coalition of thirteen parties, took time to decide on their leader and secure support from the Congress party. The two-week deadline given to Vajpayee to prove his majority was also considerably shorter than in previous instances, a measure intended to discourage horse trading among legislators.

Following Vajpayee's resignation, President Sharma asked him to continue as a caretaker prime minister. On May 28, 1996, after receiving assurances of support from the Congress party for his candidature, Sharma appointed H. D. Deve Gowda as prime minister. Gowda and a 21-member council of ministers were sworn in on June 1 and successfully won a vote of confidence within the 12-day deadline set by Sharma. Gowda, a former chief minister of Karnataka, became India's third prime minister in as many weeks and led a diverse coalition comprising regional parties, leftists, and lower caste Hindu politicians. He was also notable as India's first prime minister not conversant in its official language, Hindi. Gowda's government lasted ten months, its survival dependent on the support of the Congress party. In April 1997, the Congress party, under its new president Sitaram Kesri, withdrew its support, alleging that the prime minister had failed to prevent the growth of Hindu nationalist political parties in North India. Sharma then directed Gowda to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament. Gowda lost the vote of confidence on April 11, 1997, and continued to head a caretaker government while President Sharma deliberated on the next course of action.

On April 21, 1997, Inder Kumar Gujral, who had served as the foreign minister under Deve Gowda, was sworn in as prime minister. He was given two days to win a vote of confidence in Parliament. Gujral was the third prime minister to be sworn in by President Sharma during his single term. His government lasted 322 days before the Congress party once again withdrew its support from the United Front ministry. At the conclusion of his term, President Sharma opted not to seek a second term in office. He was succeeded in the presidency by then-Vice President K. R. Narayanan.

3.7.4. State Visits

During his presidency, Shankar Dayal Sharma undertook numerous significant state visits, fostering diplomatic ties and strengthening India's international relations. These included visits to Bulgaria, Chile, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Namibia, Oman, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

A particularly notable visit was to Oman in 1996, where Sultan Qaboos personally received President Sharma at the airport, setting aside diplomatic protocol. Sultan Qaboos famously silenced critics by stating that he had come to receive his "guru." This exceptional gesture stemmed from a personal connection: Qaboos had received his secondary education in Pune, India, where Sharma had privately tutored him. In 1996, Zimbabwe presented India with a diplomatic gift of a pair of African elephants. The male elephant, named Shankar in honor of President Sharma, resides alone in the Delhi Zoo following the death of its companion, Bombai, in 2005. The plight of the elephant has been taken up by animal rights activists, leading the Delhi High Court to order the zoo to explore options for acquiring a female companion for Shankar.