I.K. Gujral was the Prime Minister of India in the United Front government formed in 1996. He was born on December 4, 1919 at Jhelum in Pakistan. After the partition, his family moved to India. As a young boy he started a movement of young children in Jhelum town and participated in the freedom struggle. In 1942, during the Quit India movement, he was jailed. Gujral was a member of the Indian delegation to the U.N.E.S.C.O session in 1970, 1972 and 1974.
He was also the ambassador of India to U.S.S.R from 1976 to 1980. Gujral was a Union Minister of State holding different portfolios in the Congress Government from 1967 to 1976 and became the Union Minister for External Affairs in 1989-90 during the rule of V. P. Singh. In 1997, after the stepping down of Deve Gowda, Gujral became the Prime Minster of India. He tried to normalise relations with Pakistan. I. K. Gujral is a well-known writer and commentator on national and foreign affairs.