Singh, Vishwanath Pratap

Related Category: South Asian History: Biographies

(vĭshwän´ät prä´täp sĭng), 1931–, Indian politician and prime minister (1989–90). As finance minister under Rajiv Gandhi (1984–87) he pursued policies of economic liberalization. Expelled from Gandhi's Congress faction in 1989, he formed an anti-Congress coalition, the Janata Dal. He became prime minister in a minority government when he deprived the Congress of a majority in the election (1989). Inherently unstable, his government was marked by factionalism, and he was forced to resign in 1990.