George Fernandes, the man who fought against emergency and threw out Coca-Cola from India

^{Manorama online}

He was a prominent leader in the fight against the Emergency period imposed by the then Prime Minsiter Indira Gandhi. The political upheaval led to Janata party defeating the Congress government in 1977.

^{Manorama Online}

When Janata Party won the general election in 1977, Fernandes was in prison. He had won from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

^{George Fernandes (left) and Donald Rumsfeld (right) | Wikipedia.org}

Upon release from jail, he was appointed Industries Minister by the government voted into power in 1977. In a political career that spanned decades since, Fernandes held different positions including railways and communications too.

^{Fernandes at Pentagon | Defence archive}

As a industries minister in 1977, George Fernandes took on mighty companies like Coca-Cola and IBM. He demanded that foreign companies must abide by the law and transfer 60% of their ownership in India to a local company. He also led the demand for Coca Cola to reveal its formula. The American beverage giant wrapped up its business in India only to reenter in 1993.