George Fernandes: The man who threw out Coca-Cola and IBM from India ( Birth anniversary)

New Delhi ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : A prominent trade unionist and socialist, he was elected to the Lok Sabha nine times.A charismatic trade union leader, Mr Fernandes will be best remembered for resisting emergency rule in the mid-1970s when then prime minister Indira Gandhi suspended civil liberties. He will also be known as the man who threw out Coca-Cola and IBM from India when he was the industry minister in the late 1970s.

George Fernandes held several prominent positions throughout his political career, serving as India's Minister of Defence (1998–2004), Minister of Railways (1989–1990), Minister of Industry (1977–1979), and Minister of Communications (1977).

Known to be honest and forthright, Mr Fernandes was often described as a rebel who fought for the rights of the poor people and low-paid workers. In his early years, he wanted to become a Catholic priest and joined a seminary in the southern city of Mangalore at the age of 16. But two years later, he quit, disillusioned by "the hypocrisy of the church", and moved to Mumbai (then Bombay) in search of work.

In the 1967 election, he defeated senior Congress leader SK Patil, earning the sobriquet "George the giant killer". In Mumbai, he led the taxi drivers' union and was jailed several times for participating in protests and shutdowns that disrupted life.As head of the railway employees's union in 1974, he called on its 1.4 million workforce to strike and brought the service to a halt for days. Thousands of protesters, including Mr Fernandes, were arrested and jailed by Mrs Gandhi's government.

But his most shining moments came after Mrs Gandhi declared the state of emergency in June 1975.As most prominent political leaders were jailed on flimsy charges, Mr Fernandes became a "most wanted man on the run" and managed to evade arrest for a year, disguising himself first as a fisherman and later as a turbaned Sikh.

In 1994, Mr Fernandes launched his own Samata Party and later joined the coalition government headed by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and served as defence minister.

Despite being a life-long campaigner against nuclear weapons, he supported and oversaw India's nuclear tests in 1998, saying they were necessary to ensure the country's security. He also oversaw the 1999 conflict with Pakistan on the border in Kargil.

He resigned in 2004 after his associate Jaya Jaitly was named in an arms bribery scandal, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing by two inquiry commissions. Mr Fernandes last served in parliament in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, from 2009 to 2010.