Obituary Events in 1997
21st Jan
Admiral S. N. Kohli, 80, former chief of Naval staff.
19th Feb
Mr. Deng Xiaoping, 92, Chinese leader.
9th Mar
Mr. Bezawada Gopala Reddy, 89, former Union Minister and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
14th Mar
Mr. Veerendra Patil, 73, twice former Chief Minister of Karnataka.
1st Apr
Mr. Lakhubhai Pathak, 76, NRI businessman, main prosecution witness in cheating case against Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao and godman Chandraswami.
17th Apr
Mr. Biju Patnaik, 81, Janata Dal leader and important personality in Orissa politics.
29th Apr
R. N. Malhotra, 71, former RBI Governor.
29th May
Kerala Agriculture Minister and senior CPI leader Mr. V. K. Rajan (57), in Thiruvananthapuram.
16th Jun
Malayalam film actor P. Sukumaran (50) in Kochi.
20th Jun
Film-maker, Basu Bhattacharya (65), in Mumbai.
2nd Jul
James Stewart (89), lanky slow-talking actor who embodied American values of decency and moral courage in movies such as ``Mr. Smith goes to Washington'' and ``It's a wonderful life,'' at his Beverly Hills home.
31st Jul
Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Minister, Mr. V. Thangapandian (64), at Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district.
16th Aug
Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (49), in London.
24th Sep
Former Chief Justice of India, Mr. E. S. Venkataramiah (72), in Bangalore.
1st Oct
Gul Mohammed (36) world's shortest man, dies in New Delhi. Standing 56.16 cm tall, Mohammed enters Guinness Book of World Records in 1992.
Parliamentarian and All-India Forward Bloc general secretary, Mr. Chitta Basu dies during journey by Howrah-bound Danaput Express from Patna. He was 72.
13th Oct
John Denver (53), dies in plane crash. Famous singer of country music songs - ``Rocky Mountain High,'' ``Take Me Home Country Roads.''
15th Oct
Writer Harold Robbins (81), who has penned several best-sellers capturing the fast paced life of the rich and the famous, dies of pulmonary arrest.
28th Oct
Veena maestro Dr. V. Doreswamy Iyengar (77), household name among Carnatic music lovers, dies in Bangalore.
9th Dec
Dr. K. Shivarama Karanth (95), doyen of Kannada literature and Jnanpith Award winner, in Manipal.