A homage to the first Chief Minister of Bombay State Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher as flashed on the f.b. on Feb.01.2011

Bishwa Nath Singh


I remember that I had asked few days earlier a social gathering to name as who was the first and last Prime Minister of Bombay Province and the first Chief Minister of Bombay State (now bifurcated into Maharsashtra and Gujarat State), to my utter surprise, none had replied correctly and since then, I had thought of flashing it .Let me answer this question as he was none else than Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher popularly called B.G.Kher. Here, one can have glimpse of his life in brief.

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 (Photo of the  first Chief Minister of Bombay State Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher )


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Bishwa Nath Singh :
Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher who was also popularly called as B. G. Kher was born on August 24, 1888 at Ratnagiri in a middle class family who had a privilege to be the first chief minister (then called Prime Mnister) of Bombay State which con...sisted of present day Maharastra and Gujrat States of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1954.He was a lawyer, solicitor and social worker by choice and politician by necessity, He was often described as “Sajjan”, good and gentle who was a well-known scholar, an accomplished orator, and a man with no pretensions. During his childhood, he had spent some years of his boyhood at Kundgol in the then Jamkhandi State. Later, he migrated at the instance of Gopal Krishna Gokhale to Pune to study at the New English School. Later he obtained the degree of B.A. in 1908 from the Wilson College, with high distinction and received the Bhau Daji Lad prize for standing first in Sanskrit.His political career began in 1922 and he was chosen as Secretary of the Bombay branch of the Swaraj Party. During the Civil disobedience movement he was arrested and sentenced to eight months' rigorous imprisonment and fine in 1930. He was again arrested in 1932 and sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment and fine. He became the first Prime Minister of Bombay Province in 1937 at the instance of Mahatma Gandhi and continued in office till October, 1939. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1940. During the Quit India struggle, he was again arrested and imprisoned in August, 1942. He was released from prison on July 14, 1944. He again became Prime Minister of Bombay province on March 30, 1946 and continued in office till January 25, 1950.Again,he served as the Chief Minister of Bombay State from January 26,1950 to April 21, 1952 His Ministry had earned the reputation of being the most progressive State Ministry in India. As Chief Minister, he was an ex-office member of the Constituent Assembly, and he had layed a very notable part in the drafting of the Constitution. Mass education, land reforms, and women’s equity/empowerment were the three pronged strategies on which the constitution makers of India had visualized the socio-economic transformation of a free India. This was evident from the initial steps that the government took, such as the Zamindari Abolition Act, community development program, and the Hindu Code Bill .B.G.Kher had felt that the future and hope of mankind lie in educational advancement and a Welfare State, has to make suitable provision for the same. Advocates of State supported education in the past have usually rested their case predominantly on the two extra economic considerations of equality of opportunity and social cohesion. That is, the state being responsible for ensuring that the advantaged sections got the preferred weight age and discriminations in this field does not lead to a in the social fabric of the society. As the Mass education, land reforms, and women’s equity/empowerment were the three pronged strategies. On which the constitution makers of India had visualized the socio-economic transformation, community development program, and the Hindu Code Bill The Constitution makers like him felt that the future and hope of mankind lie in educational advancement and a Welfare State has to make suitable provision for the same. Advocates of State supported education in the past have usually rested their case predominantly on the two extra economic considerations of equality of opportunity and social cohesion. That is, the state being responsible for ensuring that the disadvantaged sections got the preferred weight age and discriminations in this field does not lead to a rupture in the social fabric of the society. declined to stand for election in Bombay in 1952, he was elected as Member of Rajya Sabha by the Bombay Legislative Assembly. He also served as Indian's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom. In recognition of his distinguished service to the country, the President conferred upon him the honor of Padma Vibhusahn in 1954. In June 1955 he was appointed Chairman of the Official languages Commission. He had taken keen interest in the Tribal Welfare work. In 1956 he was appointed Chairman of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi. He started the quarterly `Gandhi Margo' as forum for propagation of ideals of Mahatma Gandhi.He had died in Pune on March 8, 1957 leaving behind millions to mourn his passing away.He will be remembered as the most dynamic leader for many years to come.Let us join to pay our humble obeisance and respectful homage to that great man who had distinction to be an ideal administrator, social worker, a great politician and a statesman!
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.Atul Mishra :
Good Information !!

..Atul Bharadwaj :
Very Informative...thanks for sharing.....!


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f.b.
Feb.01,,2011