Mohan Lal Sukhadia

Mohan Lal Sukhadia ( Hindi : मोहन लाल सुखाड़िया , Mohan Lāl Sukhāṛiyā ; born July 31, 1916 in Jhalawar ; † February 2, 1982 in Bikaner , Rajasthan ) was an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress (INC), Chief Minister of Rajasthan and Governor of the States of Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu .

biography

Study and fight for India's independence

The son of a well-known cricketer began studying electrical engineering at Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai after completing primary school in Nathdwara and Udaipur . During his studies he was general secretary of the student council. As such, he vehemently opposed the idea of ​​the British director of the institute to invite the governor of Bombay and instead insisted on inviting Chief Minister Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher , which was ultimately forbidden by the institute administration. It was then Sukhadia who led a revolt against the British occupation. During his studies he also came into contact with prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress such as Subhash Chandra Bose , Vallabhbhai Patel , Yusuf Meherally and Ashok Mehta . After earning his diploma as an electrical engineer, he founded a small electrical installation company in Nathdwara, where he also met with friends to discuss British occupation policy and socio-economic reforms in the region. This resulted in several educational and social programs that Sukhadia planned and implemented with his colleagues.

Due to the excessive taxes and the autocratic rule of the princes and military nobles (jagirdars), Praja Mandal, an association for the dissemination of human rights and administrative reforms , was founded in Rajputana . In 1938 Mewar Praja Mandal was founded in Udaipur under the chairmanship of the well-known social activist and freedom fighter Manikya Lal Verma , later Chief Minister of Rajasthan , who in 1939 persuaded Sukhadia to join the Mewar Praja Mandal. In the subsequent efforts for freedom, Sukhadia sought contact with local small farmers and tribal people in order to meet the resistance of British rule, but also local princes and nobles. Fear of reprisals, however, only a few locals offered protection and support to the freedom fighters.

In 1942, after Mahatma Gandhi's appeal, the "Quit India" movement was founded , which also included associations from Rajputana under politicians such as Manikya Lal Verma, Hiralal Shastri , Gokulbhai Bhatt , Jai Narayan Vyas and Sukhadia. As a result, he was arrested in 1942 and served a sentence of 18 months.

After his release in 1943, after Bhilwara was destroyed by heavy rains, he organized the supply of the population with food, medicine and clothing.

In 1946 several local Praja Mandal organizations merged to form the Rajputana Prantiya Sabha, in whose executive committee Sukhadia was elected. In the period that followed, party meetings took place every two to three months, in which the representatives of the various regions discussed the problems of Rajputana. He soon achieved significant influence within the organization due to his speeches.

India's independence and promotion to Chief Minister of Rajasthan

On August 15, 1947, 22 larger and smaller princely states of Rajastan joined the Indian Union . However, full unification took place over a period of two years. In the first phase, the princely states of Alwar , Bharatpur , Dholpur and Karauli formed the Matsayas Union on March 17, which other princely states joined in the following weeks and months, so that on March 28, 1948, under the formal introduction by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the union of Rajasthan with Chief Minister Gokul Lal Asawa , which later became the state of Rajasthan. As Manikya Lal Verma Chief Minister less than a month later, Sukhadia was Minister for Irrigation and Labor in his cabinet until April 6, 1949. In April 1948, the Rajputana Prantiya Sabha became part of the Indian National Congress .

Between April 26, 1951 and March 2, 1952 he was first minister in the cabinet of Jai Narayan Vyas. When Vyas was again Chief Minister after the first elections to the state parliament on November 1, 1952, he appointed Sukhadia as Minister for Taxes, Irrigation and Agriculture. Sukhadia herself represented the electoral district of Udaipur between 1951 and 1972 in the State Assembly (Legislative Assembly). After the elections, 22 Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad party members joined the Indian National Congress at the persuasion of vyas. However, this led to disputes within the INC, as most of these politicians of the Ram Rajya Parisha were former nobles who could impede land reform in the newly established state. Due to the resulting growing criticism of Vyas, the leadership of the INC asked him to submit a vote of confidence . Sukhadia then announced that he would run against Vyas.

In the following vote he was elected Chief Minister of Rajasthan on November 13, 1954 with a majority of 8 votes and held this office until July 8, 1971. This record tenure of 17 years as Chief Minister of an Indian state was only broken in 1994 by Jyoti Basu , the Chief Minister of West Bengal . At the same time, at the age of 38, he was the youngest chief minister of a state until then. With him the first six troubled years of the new state came to an end, in which there were only six Chief Ministers from the ranks of the INC.

When he became Chief Minister in 1954, the necessary land reform in particular lay before him. 1959 followed the passage of the Rajasthan Zamindari and Biswedari Abolition Act, which led to the prohibition of the Zamindari system (the supremacy of the nobles) and land ownership by tenants and thus ended the centuries-old system. Furthermore, during his tenure, he campaigned for the modernization of the education and health system. In addition, he tried to implement social projects despite a precarious budget situation. As a result, by the late 1970s, Rajasthan's spending on health and education was significantly higher than that of the northern Indian states and the Indian average.

Governor of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

After the end of his tenure as Chief Minister, he was first appointed Governor of Karnataka on February 1, 1976 . Subsequently, he became governor of the state of Andhra Pradesh for a short time on January 10, 1976 . On June 16, 1976, after being appointed by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed , he took over the office of governor of Tamil Nadu and held this until April 8, 1977.

The Mohan Lal Sukhadia University in Udaipur was named in his honor.

swell

• rulers.org

Individual evidence

1. ^ Election Results of Udaipur, Rajasthan
2. ↑ University homepage