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Gulzarilal Nanda | |
|---|---|
 Nanda in 1965 | |
| Prime Minister of India | |
| In office 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966 | |
| President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| Vice President | Zakir Husain |
| Preceded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Succeeded by | Indira Gandhi |
| In office 27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964 | |
| President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| Vice President | Zakir Husain |
| Preceded by | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Succeeded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Union 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 |
| Union Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 27 May 1964 – 7 June 1964 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Succeeded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission | |
| In office 17 February 1953 – 21 September 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | V. T. Krishnamachari |
| Leader of the House in Lok Sabha | |
| In office 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966 | |
| Preceded by | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Succeeded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| In office 27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Succeeded by | Satya Narayan Sinha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1898-07-04)4 July 1898 |
| Died | 15 January 1998(1998-01-15) (aged 99) |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Allahabad University |
| Occupation |
|
Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998)[1][2] was an Indian politician and economist who specialised inlabour issues. He served as the actingPrime Minister of India for two 13-day tenures following the deaths ofJawaharlal Nehru in 1964 andLal Bahadur Shastri in 1966 respectively. Both his terms ended after the rulingIndian National Congress's parliamentary party elected a new prime minister. He was awarded theBharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1997.
Nanda was born on 4 July 1898 inSialkot in thePunjab,British India in aPunjabi HinduKhatri family.[3] Sialkot later became a part of thePunjab Province of Pakistan in 1947, after the partition ofIndia. Nanda received his education inLahore,Amritsar,Agra, andAllahabad.
He metMahatma Gandhi in 1921 and he settled inGujarat on his request.[citation needed]
Nanda worked as a research scholar on labour problems atAllahabad University (1920–1921), and became a professor of economics at National College inBombay (Mumbai) in 1921.[citation needed] The same year, he joined the IndianNon-Cooperation Movement against the British Raj. In 1922, he became secretary of the AhmedabadTextile Labour Association where he worked until 1946. He was imprisoned forSatyagraha in 1932, and again from 1942 to 1944.[citation needed]
He married his wife Lakshmi, with whom he had two sons and a daughter.[4]
Nanda was elected to the Lok Sabha in the1957 elections, and was appointed Union Minister for Labour, Employment and Planning, and later, as Deputy Chairman of thePlanning Commission. He visited theFederal Republic of Germany,Yugoslavia, and Austria in 1959.
Nanda was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1962 elections from theSabarkantha constituency inGujarat. He initiated the Congress Forum for Socialist Action in 1962. He was Union Minister for Labour and Employment in 1962–1963, andMinister for Home Affairs in 1963–1966.
Nanda was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1967 and 1971 elections from theKaithal Constituency inHaryana. In 1971, he resigned from the Congress saying that he did not like the politics of that era.[5][better source needed]
Nanda was the Acting Prime Minister of India twice for thirteen days each: the first time after the death of the country's first Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru in 1964, and the second time after the death of Prime MinisterLal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.[6] He was the Home Minister of India during both these periods, which is the reason for him being chosen as Prime Minister. The Indian Constitution has no provision for an "acting" Prime Minister.[7] 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 theSino-Indian War in 1962 and Shastri's death after theIndo-Pakistani war of 1965.[8]
Nanda died on 15 January 1998. Possibly from 25 November 1997, when formerMalawian PresidentHastings Banda died, until his own death, Nanda was the oldest living former state leader.[9] 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.
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.[10]
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 theEmergency imposed byIndira Gandhi, as he felt that the sacrifices to bring democracy to India became meaningless due to the tyranny.[11]
A Dedicated Worker – Shri Gulzarilal Nanda is a 1999shortdocumentary film directed by A. K. Goorha and produced by theFilms Division of India which covers Nanda's work towards labourers and others as the PM and otherwise.[12]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Home Affairs 1963–1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of India 1964 | Succeeded by |
| Chairperson of thePlanning Commission 1964 | ||
| Minister of External Affairs 1964 | ||
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of India 1966 | Succeeded by |
| Chairperson of thePlanning Commission 1966 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
