Shankar Dayal Sharma (Hindi pronunciation: [ˈɕəŋkəɾ d̪əˈjaːl ˈʃəɾmaː] ⓘ; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997.

He was assertive with the P. V. Narasimha Rao ministry, forcing his government to sack a governor, instigating a strong response to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and refusing to sign ordinances presented to him on the eve of elections.

Sharma's appointment of H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral as prime ministers followed the assurance of support to their candidature by the Congress party but neither government lasted more than a year.

Sharma completed his schooling in Bhopal and then studied at St. John's College, Agra and at the Allahabad and Lucknow universities obtaining a MA in English, Hindi and Sanskrit and an L.L.M.

[7][8][9] During 1948–49, Sharma underwent eight months' imprisonment for his leadership of the popular movement for merging the princely state of Bhopal with India.

The popular movement had the support of the Praja Mandal and an interim government with Chatur Narain Malviya as its head was constituted by the Nawab in 1948.

[23][24][25] During this time he was a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh government and variously held portfolios of education, law, public works, industry and commerce and revenue.

[26] As minister for education, he emphasized secular pedagogy in schools and textbooks were revised to avoid religious bias.

[10] As president, Sharma launched a public campaign against the CIA accusing it of being actively involved in fomenting violence in India.

[34][35][36] In October 1974, Sharma was appointed Minister of Communications in the Indira Gandhi ministry and was succeeded as president of the Congress by D. K.

[59][60][61] Sharma was sworn in as governor of Maharashtra in April 1986 and served until September 1987 when he was elected vice president of India.

[70] Sharma, who was also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, offered to quit in February 1988 after his ruling admitting a discussion in the house of the purported extravagance of the then governor of Andhra Pradesh was vociferously objected to by members of the government.

[90][91][92]On 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished by a fanatic Hindu mob which led to widespread rioting across India.

Sharma expressed his deep anguish and pain at the demolition and condemned the action as being contrary to the traditional ethos of India of respecting all religions and as opposed to the precepts of Hinduism.

[95][96][97] The following day, the Government of India, by way of a presidential ordinance, acquired 67 acres (27 ha) of land in and around the spot where the mosque had stood and provided that all litigation relating to the disputed area would stand dissolved following the acquisition.

[98] In January 1993, a reference was made by Sharma to India's Supreme Court as to whether a Hindu temple or religious structure had existed prior to the construction of the Babri Masjid at the disputed area where the mosque stood.

In 1994, by a majority decision, the Court refused to answer the reference as it held it to be contrary to the spirit of secularism and likely to favour a religious community.

Questions about its financing, the role of the state in its reconstruction and the presence of constitutional functionaries during the installation of the idol had been marked by debates on secularism in the years following India's independence.

In 1996, however, two ordinances sent to him by the Rao government seeking to extend the benefits of reservations in state employment and education for Christian and Muslim Dalits and to reduce the time allowed for campaigning in elections, were returned by Sharma on the grounds that elections were imminent and therefore such decisions should be left to the incoming government.

[105] On 15 May 1996, Sharma invited Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as the leader of the single largest party, to be the prime minister on the condition that he prove his majority on the floor of the house before 31 May.

Unlike presidents Ramaswamy Venkataraman or Neelam Sanjiva Reddy who had asked prime ministerial candidates to produce lists of their supporting MPs, thus satisfying themselves that the prime ministers appointed would be able to win a vote of confidence, Sharma had made no such demands of Vajpayee and had appointed him solely by the principle of inviting the leader of the largest party in Parliament.

[114][115] The Communist parties criticized Sharma's decision as he had been elected president with their backing but had chosen to invite their ideological opponent to be the prime minister.

[117] Sharma's deadline of two weeks given to Vajpayee to prove his majority was much shorter than the time given to prime ministers in previous instances and was a move to discourage horse trading.

[118] Gowda and a 21 member council of ministers sworn in on 1 June and won a vote of confidence within the deadline of twelve days set by Sharma.

[122] Gowda lost the vote of confidence on 11 April 1997 and continued to head a caretaker government as President Sharma considered a further course of action.

[126][127] He was the third prime minister to be sworn in by Sharma and his government would last 322 days when the Congress party again withdrew support to the United Front ministry.

[128][129][130] As president, Sharma led state visits to Bulgaria, Chile, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Namibia, Oman,[d] Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

These include The Congress Approach to International Affairs, Studies in Indo-Soviet cooperation, Rule of Law and Role of Police, Jawaharlal Nehru: The Maker of Modern Commonwealth, Eminent Indians, Chetna Ke Strot and Hindi Bhasha Aur Sanskriti.