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Morarji Desai (29 Feb 1896 - 10 Apr 1995)
Morarji Desai was born on February 29, 1896 in Bhadeli village, now in the
Bulsar district of Gujarat. His father was a school teacher. He was educated at
St. Busar High School and passed his matriculation examination. Shri Desai and
Gujraben were married in 1911. He graduated from Wilson Civil Service of the
then Bombay Province in 1918. He served as a Deputy Collector for twelve years.
In 1930, Desai resigned from Government service and participated in freedom
struggle. Shri Desai was imprisoned thrice during the freedom struggle. He
became a Member of the All India Congress Committee in 1931 and was Secretary of
the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee untill 1937.
In 1937 Desai became Minister for Revenue, Agriculture, Forest and Co-operatives
in the Ministry headed by Shri B.G. Kher in the then Bombay Province. Shri Desai
was arrested in the individual Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi, released
in October, 1941 and arrested again in August, 1942 at the time of the Quit
India Movement. He was released in 1945. After the elections to the State
Assemblies in 1946, he became the Minister for Home and Revenue in Bombay. In
1952, he became the Chief Minister of Bombay. He became the Union Cabinet
Minister for Commerce and Industry on November 14, 1956. Later, he took the
Finance portfolio on March 22, 1958.
In 1963, he resigned from the Union Cabinet under the Kamraj Plan. Shri Lal
Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Pt. Nehru as Prime Minister, pursuaded him to
become Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission for restructuring the
administrative system. His long and varied experienced of public life stood him
in good stead in his task.
In 1967, Shri Desai joined Smt. Indira Gandhi’s cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister in charge of Finance. In July, 1969, Smt. Gandhi took away the
Finance portfolio from him. While Shri Desai conceded that the Prime Minister
has the prerogative to change the portfolios of colleagues, he felt that his
self-respect had been hurt as even the common courtesy of consulting him had not
shown by Smt. Gandhi. He, therefore, felt he had no alternative but to resign as
Deputy Prime Minister of India.
When the Congress Party split in 1969, Shri Desai remained with the Organisation
Congress. He continued to take a leading part the opposition. He was re-elected
to Parliament in 1971. In 1975, he went on an indefinite fast on the question of
holding elections to the Gujarat Assembly which had been dissolved. As a result
of his fast, elections were held in June, 1975. The Janata Front formed by the
four opposition parties and Independents supported by it, secured an absolute
majority in the new House. After the judgement of the Allahabad High Court
declaring Smt. Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha null and void, Shri Desai felt
that in keeping with democratic principles, Smt. Gandhi should have submitted
her resignation. Shri Desai was arrested and detained on June 26, 1975, when
Emergency was declared. He was kept in solitary confinement and was released on
January 18, 1977, a little before the decision to hold elections to the Lok
Sabha was announced. He campaigned vigorously throughout the length and breadth
of the country and was largely instrumental in achieving the re-sounding victory
of the Janata Party in the General Elections held in March, 1977 . Shri Desai
was himself selected to the Lok Sabha from the Surat Constituency in Gujarat. He
was later unanimously elected as Leader of the Janata Party in Parliament and
was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on March 24, 1977.
In 1979, Charan Singh pulled his support from Janata alliance, and Desai
resigned from office and retired from politics, 83 years old. He died at the age
of 99. He had been honored much in his last years as the last great
freedom-fighter of his generation alive. He was also well-known for his advocacy
of unorthodox medical treatments like the consumption of one's own urine.