Gulzarilal Nanda
Interim Prime Minister of India
In office
11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966
PresidentSarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Vice PresidentZakir Husain
Preceded byLal Bahadur Shastri
Succeeded byIndira Gandhi
In office
27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964
PresidentSarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Vice PresidentZakir Hussain
Preceded byJawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded byLal Bahadur Shastri
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
29 August 1963 – 14 November 1966
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Indira Gandhi
Preceded byLal Bahadur Shastri
Succeeded byYashwantrao Chavan
Minister of External Affairs
In office
27 May 1964 – 7 June 1964
Prime MinisterHimself (Interim)
Preceded byJawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded byLal Bahadur Shastri
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
In office
17 February 1953 - 21 September 1963
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byV. T. Krishnamachari
2nd Leader of the House in Lok Sabha
In office
11 January 1966 - 24 January 1966
Preceded byJawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded byLal Bahadur Shastri
In office
27 May 1964- 9 June 1964
Preceded byLal Bahadur Shastri
Succeeded bySatya Narayan Sinha
Personal details
Born(1898-07-04)4 July 1898
Sialkot, Punjab Province, British India
Died15 January 1998(1998-01-15) (aged 99)
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseLakshmi
Children2 sons and 1 daughter
Alma materAllahabad University

Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998)[1][2] was an Indian politician and economist who specialised in labour issues. He was the Interim Prime Minister of India for two 13-day tenures 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

Birth

Nanda was born on 4 July 1898 in Sialkot in the Punjab, British India in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.[3] 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 Allahabad.

He met Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, where he settled in Gujarat on his request.

Research worker

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. 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.. He was honoured 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.[4][5][6]

He married Lakshmi, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.[7]

Lok Sabha member

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. He was a principled man. In 1971, he resigned from the Congress saying that he did not like the politics of that era. [8]

Interim Prime Minister

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 Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.

Gandhian life

He lived a very simple life, with no personal property at the time of his death. He never allowed politics to influence his family life. Yet he always had enough time for his family. He once engaged his government provided driver for a car that was used by his family. He never allowed his family to use his official vehicle. He once got angry with his staff when he learned that his grandson, Tejas used his office paper and drew a picture. He immediately purchased paper from market and gave his grandson to draw on it.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Rediff on the NeT: Former PM Gulzarilal Nanda dead". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Puri, Baij Nath (1988). The Khatris, a Socio-cultural Study. M.N. Publishers and Distributors.
  4. ↑ "She is Proud Past Alumni Allahabad University". auaa.in.
  5. ↑ "Internet Archive of Proud Past Alumni". auaa.in.
  6. ↑ "Internet Archive of Proud Past Alumni". auaa.in.
  7. ↑ Kalhan, Promilla (1997). Gulzarilal Nanda: A Life in the Service of the People. Allied Publishers. p. xvi. ISBN 9788170236931.
  8. ↑ "Fifth Lok Sabha -State wise Details – Haryana". Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Former PMs of India Archived 25 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Gulzarilal Nanda Biography – Gulzarilal Nanda Profile, Childhood, Life, Timeline". Iloveindia.com. 15 January 1998. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  11. ↑ DEATHS. The Washington Post (18 January 1998). Retrieved on 2018-11-28.
  12. ↑ "Gulzarilal Nanda — Frugal and honest life dedicated to country". Times Of India. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Gulzarilal Nanda Death Anniversary: 10 Things to Know about the Former Prime Minister of India". News18. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "DEDICATED WORKER ,A – SHRI GULZARILAL NANDA' | Films Division". filmsdivision.org. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

Further reading

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Swarup Rani Nehru (née Thussu, 1868 – 10 January 1938) was the wife of the barrister and Indian National Congress leader Motilal Nehru and mother of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru

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