Sri Gulzarilalnanda was born on July 4, 1898, in Sialkot, Punjab, and had his education in Lahore, Agra, and Allahabad. In 1921, he became Professor of Economics at the National College (Bombay), after working as a research scholar on labor issues at the University of Allahabad (1920-1921). In the same year, he joined the Non-Cooperation Movement. He became Secretary of the Ahmedabad Textile Labor Association in 1922, and remained there until 1946. In 1932, he was imprisoned from 1942 to 1944, he was imprisoned again. Sri Gulzarilalnanda was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1937 and served as the Government of Bombay's Parliamentary Secretary (Labor and Excise) from 1937 to 1939. Later, as the Bombay Government's Labor Minister (1946-50), he successfully pushed the Labor Disputes Bill through the State Assembly. He was on the National Planning Committee as well. He played a key role in the formation of the Indian National Trade Union Congress and later served as its President. He attended the International Labor Conference in Geneva as a government representative in 1947. He served on the Conference's 'Freedom of Association Committee,' and travelled to Sweden, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and England to research labor and housing problems. He became Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission in March 1950. He was appointed Planning Minister in the Union Government in September of the same year. He was also given responsibility for the portfolios of Irrigation and Power. He was re-appointed Minister for Planning, Irrigation, and Power after being elected to the House of People from Bombay in the general elections of 1952. In Singapore in 1955, he led the Indian Delegation to the Plan Consultative Committee In 1959, the International Labor Conference was held in Geneva. In the 1962 general elections, he was re-elected to the Constituency. In 1962, he founded the Congress Forum for Socialist Action. In 1962 and 1963, he served as Union Minister for Labor and Employment, and from 1963 to 1966, he served as Minister for Home Affairs. On May 27, 1964, he was sworn in as Prime Minister of India following the death of Pt. Nehru. He was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time on January 11, 1966, following Sri Lalbahadurshastri's death in Tashkent.
Sri Gulzarilalnanda served as India's Interim Prime Minister twice, each for thirteen days, the first after the death of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and the second after the death of Prime Minister Sri Lalbahadurshastri's death in 1966. He served as India's Home Minister during both of these eras, which is why he was nominated as Prime Minister. Acting Prime Minister is not a clause of the Indian Constitution, contrary to popular belief. Both of his tenure were uneventful, although they occurred at a delicate moment for the country, following Nehru's death in 1962, shortly after a conflict with China, and Sri Lalbahadurshastri's death in 1965, shortly after a war with Pakistan. On that day, Sri Gulzarilalnanda passed away. He died on January 15, 1998, at the age of 99, making him the oldest living former State Leader from the death of former Malawian President Hastings BARDA on November 25, 1997, until his own death on January 15, 1998. Sri Gulzarilalnanda was the last surviving member of the second and third Nehru cabinets, as well as the last remaining state leader born in the nineteenth century, when he died. He had no personal belongings and lived a very modest life. He refused to take his INR 500 pension. He was once evicted from his rented unit in a residential colony by his landlord after failing to pay his rent, but was permitted to return after the neighbors requested it. After his eminent former colleagues and friends convinced him to take an INR 500 monthly government pension, from which he eventually paid his rent, the event was captured by a journalist and later published by a newspaper. He was almost a century old at the time. He was also concerned about rising corruption in the country and advised that leaders and citizens reduce unnecessary expenditure. He also criticized Indira Gandhi's Emergency, believing that the sacrifices made to restore democracy to India had been rendered meaningless by the tyranny.
You must be logged in to post a comment.