Jivraj Mehta

Jivraj Mehta

Jivraj Narayan Mehta ( Gujarati : ડૉ. જીવરાજ મહેતા; born August 29, 1887 in Amreli , Princely State of Baroda , British India ; † November 7, 1978 in Bombay ) was an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress (INC) who, among other things, between 1960 and Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1963 and High Commissioner in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1966 . He was also a member of the Lok Sabha , the First Chamber of the Indian Parliament (Bhāratīya Saṃsad) between 1967 and 1977 and was honored for his services with the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 , the second highest Indian civilian merit after the Bharat Ratna .

Life

Doctor, involvement in the struggle for independence and imprisonment

Mehta, son of Shri Narayan Mulji Mehta, began after the visit of Amreli High School , a study of the medicine on 1845 founded Grant Medical College in Bombay, which he at the London Hospital Medical College continued. There he earned a Doctor of Medicine (MD) and also became a member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP). He served as secretary of the Indian Guild for Science and Technology from 1911 to 1913 and as founding president of the London Indian Association between 1912 and 1913. He worked between 1914 and 1915 as the assistant director of the clinical laboratory at the Royal London Hospital and from 1923 to 1924 he served as the director of the Medical Service of the Princely State of Baroda . Between 1923 and 1925 he was a member of the parliament (Dhara Sabha) of the State of Baroda. He was then founding dean of the King Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College in Bombay between 1925 and 1942 . In addition, he was active in 1930 as President of the Indian Medical Association and the All-Indian Medical Conference and from 1931 to 1932 as a member of the Medical Council of Bombay.

In the early 1930s, Mehta also began his political engagement and supported Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the fight for India's independence . He took part in Gandhi's non-cooperation campaign and was therefore imprisoned for the first time between 1932 and 1933. He was again a member of the Medical Council of Bombay from 1937 to 1947 and also a member of the Indian Medical Council between 1938 and 1942.

Because of his participation in the Quit India movement , he was imprisoned again from 1942 to 1944. In 1945 he was again President of the Indian Medical Association and the All-Indian Medical Conference.

Independence of India and Minister of the State Government of Bombay

After India gained independence from the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947, Mehta was Director General for Medical Services and Secretary in the Ministry of Health between 1947 and 1948 and again a member of the Indian Medical Council from 1947 to 1963. He was then from 1948 to 1949 Dewan von Baroda and at the same time President of the Parliament of this state. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly of the State of Bombay . After the princely state of Baroda was annexed to India and incorporated into the state of Bombay on May 1, 1949, he was a member of the legislative assembly of this state between 1949 and 1960 . At the same time he held the office of Minister for Public Works in the government of the Chief Minister of Bombay Bal Gangadhar Kher between 1949 and 1951 . He was also president of the Indian Conference for Social Work for the first time in 1950.

Mehta served as Minister of Finance, Industry and Prohibition in the governments of the Chief Ministers of Bombay Morarji Desai and Yeshwantrao Balwantrao Chavan between 1952 and 1960 . At the same time he was again President of the Indian Conference for Social Work between 1952 and 1954, President of the Committee for Atomic Research from 1953 to 1960 and President of the International Conference for Social Work between 1957 and 1958. He also served as head of the Indian delegation to the International Conference on Social Work held in Tokyo from 1958 to 1959, and from 1958 to 1962 both as President of the Board of Directors of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and as Chairman of the Executive Board of the Lucknow- based Central Drug Research Institute .

Chief Minister of Gujarat, High Commissioner and Member of Lok Sabha

After the state of Bombay was divided into the newly formed states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on May 1, 1960, Mehta became the first Chief Minister of Gujarat . He held this office until September 17, 1963 and was then replaced by Balwantrai Mehta , who was also a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) of Gujarat between 1960 and 1963 .

Mehta himself replaced Mahommedali Currim Chagla as High Commissioner in the United Kingdom in September 1963 and was also accredited as Ambassador to Ireland . He held these diplomatic functions until 1966.

In the parliamentary elections from February 15 to 21, 1967 , Mehta was elected for the first time for the INC in the constituency of Gujarat-Amreli as a member of the Lok Sabha , the First Chamber of the Indian Parliament (Bhāratīya Saṃsad) . In the parliamentary election from March 1 to 10, 1971 , he was re-elected in this constituency and belonged to the Lok Sabha until the parliamentary election of March 16 to 20, 1977 . For his services he was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 , after the Bharat Ratna the second highest Indian civilian merit order .

His marriage to Shrimati Hansa Mehta on January 3, 1924 resulted in a son and a daughter.

Web links

• Entry on the Lok Sabha homepage
• Entry in rulers.org
• India: States after 1947 AL (rulers.org)