Gulzarilal Nanda
Gulzarilal Nanda | |
---|---|
![]() Portrait of Nanda on a 1999 stamp of India | |
Interim Prime Minister of India | |
In office 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966 | |
President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
Preceded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
Succeeded by | Indira Gandhi |
In office 27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964 | |
President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
Preceded by | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Succeeded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
Minister of Home Affairs | |
In office 29 August 1963 – 14 November 1966 | |
Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi |
Preceded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
Succeeded by | Yashwantrao Chavan |
Minister of External Affairs | |
In office 27 May 1964 – 7 June 1964 | |
Prime Minister | Himself (Interim) |
Preceded by | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Succeeded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
Personal details | |
Born | Sialkot, Punjab Province, British India | 4 July 1898
Died | 15 January 1998 Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | (aged 99)
Political party | Indian National Congress |
Spouse(s) | Lakshmi |
Children | 2 sons and 1 daughter |
Alma mater | Allahabad University |
Gulzarilal Nanda BR (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998)[1][2] was an Indian politician and economist who specialized in labour issues. He was the Interim Prime Minister of India for two 13-day stints following the deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966 respectively. Both his terms ended after the ruling Indian National Congress's parliamentary party elected a new prime minister. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1997.
Early life[edit]
Birth[edit]
Nanda was born on 4 July 1898 in Sialkot in the Punjab, British India in a Punjabi Hindu Nai family. Sialkot later became a part of the Punjab Province of Pakistan in 1947, after the partition of India. Nanda received his education in Lahore, Amritsar, Agra, and Prayagraj.[citation needed]
Research worker[edit]
Nanda worked as a research scholar on labour problems at Allahabad University (1920–1921), and became a professor of economics at National College in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1921.[citation needed] The same year, he joined the Indian Non-Cooperation Movement against the British Raj. In 1922, he became secretary of the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association where he worked until 1946. He was imprisoned for Satyagraha in 1932, and again from 1942 to 1944.[citation needed]. He was honored with "Proud Past Alumni" in the list of 42 members, from "Allahabad University Alumni Association", NCR, Ghaziabad (Greater Noida) Chapter 2007–2008 registered under society act 1860 with registration no. 407/2000.[3][4][5]
He married Lakshmi, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.[6]
Lok Sabha member[edit]
Nanda was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1957 elections, and was appointed Union Minister for Labour, Employment and Planning, and later, as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. He visited the Federal Republic of Germany, Yugoslavia, and Austria in 1959.
Nanda was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1962 elections from the Sabarkantha constituency in Gujarat. He initiated the Congress Forum for Socialist Action in 1962. He was Union Minister for Labour and Employment in 1962–1963, and Minister for Home Affairs in 1963–1966.
Nanda was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1967 and 1971 elections from the Kaithal (Lok Sabha Constituency) in Haryana.[7][better source needed]
Interim Prime Minister[edit]
Nanda was the Interim Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.[8] He was the Home Minister of India during both these periods, and this is the reason why he was chosen as Prime Minister. The Indian Constitution has no provision of Acting Prime Minister as is widely circulated but incorrectly. Both his terms were uneventful, yet they came at sensitive times because of the potential danger to the country following Nehru's death soon after a war with China in 1962 and Shastri's death after a war with Pakistan in 1965.[9] Nanda died on 15 January 1998 at the age of 99; from 25 November 1997 when former Malawian President Hastings Banda died, until his own death Nanda was the oldest living former State Leader.[10] At his death, Nanda was the last surviving member of the second and third Nehru cabinets and the last living state leader to have been born in the 19th century.[citation needed]
Gandhian Life[edit]
He lived a very simple life, with no personal property. He did not accept his INR 500 pension. He was once thrown out of his rented apartment in a residential colony by his landlord because he failed to pay his rent, but was allowed to stay for some more time on request of the neighbours. This event was recorded by a journalist, and eventually published by a newspaper, after which he had to be forced to accept an INR 500 monthly government pension by his eminent former colleagues and friends, from which he ultimately paid his rent. He was almost a centenarian by then.
He was also concerned about rising corruption in the country and suggested to decrease wasteful consumption by officials and people in general. He had also opposed Indira Gandhi's Emergency, as he felt that the sacrifices to bring democracy to India became meaningless due to the tyranny.[11]
In popular culture[edit]
A Dedicated Worker – Shri Gulzarilal Nanda is a 1999 short documentary film directed by A. K. Goorha and produced by the Films Division of India which covers Nanda's work towards labourers and others as the PM and otherwise.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ "Rediff on the NeT: Former PM Gulzarilal Nanda dead". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ Disha Experts (10 July 2017). General Awareness for SSC Exams - CGL/ CHSL/ MTS/ GD Constable/ Stenographer. Disha Publications. p. 2. ISBN 978-93-86323-29-3.
- ^ "She is Proud Past Alumni Allahabad University". auaa.in.
- ^ "Internet Archive of Proud Past Alumni". auaa.in.
- ^ "Internet Archive of Proud Past Alumni". auaa.in.
- ^ Kalhan, Promilla (1997). Gulzarilal Nanda: A Life in the Service of the People. Allied Publishers. p. xvi. ISBN 9788170236931.
- ^ "Fifth Lok Sabha -State wise Details – Haryana". Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Former PMs of India Archived 25 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Gulzarilal Nanda Biography – Gulzarilal Nanda Profile, Childhood, Life, Timeline". Iloveindia.com. 15 January 1998. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ DEATHS. The Washington Post (18 January 1998). Retrieved on 2018-11-28.
- ^ "Gulzarilal Nanda Death Anniversary: 10 Things to Know about the Former Prime Minister of India". News18. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "DEDICATED WORKER ,A – SHRI GULZARILAL NANDA' | Films Division". filmsdivision.org. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
Further reading[edit]
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- Kalhan, Promilla (1997). Gulzarilal Nanda: A Life in the Service of the People. Allied Publishers. ISBN 9788170236931.
- 1898 births
- 1998 deaths
- 1st Lok Sabha members
- 2nd Lok Sabha members
- 3rd Lok Sabha members
- 4th Lok Sabha members
- 5th Lok Sabha members
- Bombay State politicians
- Indian Hindus
- Labour ministers of India
- Lok Sabha members from Gujarat
- Lok Sabha members from Haryana
- Ministers for External Affairs of India
- Ministers of Internal Affairs of India
- Ministers of Power of India
- People from Sialkot
- Prime Ministers of India
- Punjabi people
- Railway Ministers of India
- Recipients of the Bharat Ratna
- 20th-century prime ministers of India
- Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs
- University of Allahabad alumni