K. R. Narayanan

Kocheril Raman Narayanan was born in Uzhavoor, Kerala, in 1920 and overcame poverty and caste barriers to study English literature at Travancore and political science at the London School of Economics. He worked as a teacher and journalist before joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1949. His assignments included Rangoon, Tokyo, London, Canberra, and Hanoi, followed by ambassadorships in Thailand, Turkey, and China. ^{1, 2}

After retiring from the Foreign Service, Narayanan became vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University and then returned to diplomacy in Washington. Colleague T.P. Sreenivasan recalled the difficulty of explaining India's position on the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to American officials. Narayanan also challenged the suspension of fuel supplies to Tarapur, arguing that the bilateral agreement did not authorize demands covering all of India's nuclear installations. ^{2, 3}

Narayanan entered electoral politics in 1984, represented Ottapalam in the Lok Sabha, and held ministerial office before becoming vice-president and then president. His presidential term, from 1997 to 2002, made him the first Dalit to hold the office. He exercised its constitutional powers actively, returning proposals to dismiss the governments of Uttar Pradesh in 1997 and Bihar in 1998 for reconsideration. ^{1, 2}

He maintained links with Kerala and its overseas communities. Sreenivasan credited him with encouraging the creation of the Federation of Kerala Associations of North America. Narayanan died in November 2005. ^{3, 2}