View source for Bhim Sen Sachar

{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name               = Bhim Sen Sachar
|image              = File:Bhim Sen Sachar.png
|caption            = 
|office             = 2nd [[Chief Ministers of Punjab (India)|Chief Minister of Punjab]]
|term_start         = 13 April 1949
|term_end           = 18 October 1949
|predecessor        = [[Gopi Chand Bhargava]]
|successor          = [[Gopi Chand Bhargava]]
|term_start2        = 17 April 1952 
|term_end2          = 23 January 1956
|predecessor2       = [[President's rule]]
|successor2         = [[Pratap Singh Kairon]]
|office3            = [[List of leaders of the opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly|Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly]]
|term_start3         = 1940
|term_end3           = 1946
|predecessor3        = [[Gopi Chand Bhargava]]
|successor3          = [[Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot]]
|office4             = [[List of governors of Odisha|5th Governor of Odisha]]
|term_start4        =12 September 1956
|term_end4          =31 July 1957
|predecessor4     = [[P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja]]
|successor4        = [[Y. N. Sukthankar]]
|office5             = [[List of governors of Andhra Pradesh|Governor of Andhra Pradesh]]
|term_start5        = 1957
|term_end5         =  1962
|predecessor5      = [[Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi]]
|successor5         = [[S. M. Shrinagesh]]
|birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1894|12|01}}
|birth_place        = [[Peshawar]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]] (now in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]]) <ref>{{cite book|title=Who's who: Punjab Freedom Fighters, Volume 1|date=1972|publisher=Punjabi University|location=Patiala|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jp8BAAAAMAAJ&q=bhim+sen+sachar+peshawar|accessdate=19 June 2014}}</ref>
|death_date         = {{Death date and age|1978|01|18|1894|12|01|df=yes}}
|death_place        = 
|restingplace       = 
|restingplacecoordinates =
|birthname          =
|nationality        = Indian
|party              = [[Indian National Congress]]
|otherparty         = 
|spouse             = 
|children           = 
|residence          = 
|profession         = Politician
|religion           = 
|Alma Mater         = 
|signature          =
|signature_alt      =
|website            =
|footnotes          =
}}

'''Bhim Sen Sachar''' (1 December 1894<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rajbhavanorissa.gov.in/formergovernor.asp |title=Our Governors |accessdate=2 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225081608/http://www.rajbhavanorissa.gov.in/formergovernor.asp |archivedate=25 February 2012  |publisher=Rajbhavanorissa.gov.in}}</ref> – 18 January 1978<ref>[http://www.mapsofindia.com/who-is-who/history/bhim-sen-sachar.html Bhim Sen Sachar Biography, History and Facts]. Mapsofindia.com.</ref>) was an Indian politician. He was the [[Chief Minister of Punjab (India)|Chief Minister of Punjab]], thrice.

==Early life==
Sachar was born on 1 December 1894. He did [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] and [[LLB]] in [[Lahore]] and practiced law in [[Gujranwala]],<ref>{{cite web|title=B. S. Sachar|url=http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Alpha/B/B.S.%20SACHAR|publisher=India Post|date=14 August 1986|accessdate=12 June 2014}}</ref> which is now in [[Pakistan]]. He was attracted to the freedom movement and joined the [[Indian National Congress]] party at a young age. In 1921, he was elected as the Secretary of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. By the time India gained independence in 1947, he was an important member of the party.

==Years in Pakistan==
Around the time of [[Independence of India|Independence]], Sachar accepted [[citizenship of Pakistan]] and became a member of the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan|First Pakistan Constituent Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=A one nation theory|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/698797-a-one-nation-theory|access-date=2021-05-05|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Constituent Assembly of Pakistan debates|url=https://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAC000053/00016|access-date=2021-05-05|website=digital.soas.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref> He later relinquished the Pakistan citizenship and returned to India.

==Back in India==
In 1949, the Congress selected him for the office of [[Chief Minister]] of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]. He took oath on 13 April 1949 and served until 18 October 1949.<ref name="Arora1991">{{cite book|author=Subhash Chander Arora|title=Current Issues and Trends in Centre-state Relations: A Global View|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=is3EsOhHAOEC&pg=PA60|year=1991|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-307-0|page=60}}</ref> However, bitter factional politics in the state party unit between [[Gopi Chand Bhargava]] and Sachar led to the first ever imposition of [[President's rule]] in any state in India under [[Article 365]] of [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution.]] [https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/4067-congress-factionalism-gave-life-article-356]

The first elections in independent India were held in 1952 and the Punjab legislative assembly was formed for the first time that year. The Congress party won the provincial elections at this time, and Sachar became chief minister again, serving from  17 April 1952 to 23 January 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://punjabassembly.nic.in/members/showcm.asp |title=Chief Ministers  |accessdate=21 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213075808/http://punjabassembly.nic.in/members/showcm.asp |archivedate=13 February 2007  |publisher=punjabassembly.nic.in}}</ref>

Bhim Sen Sachar was the father-in-law of famous journalist  and form Indian Ambassador to the UK Kuldip Nayar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sikh24.com/2014/07/05/july-4-1955-when-indian-police-entered-darbar-sahib-with-shoes/#.XwCqxChKgdU|title = July 4, 1955: When Indian Police Entered Darbar Sahib with Shoes|date = 5 July 2014}}</ref>

After he demitted office (due to internal party politics), Sachar was named governor of [[Odisha]] by the union government. He served from 1956 to 1957. He was then named governor of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and served from 1957 to 1962.

During [[The Emergency (India)|the Emergency]], he was arrested and sent to jail with some other dissident leaders of Congress party, who belonged to the "old school" of the party and had spoken against the increasing authoritarianism of [[Indira Gandhi]] and her son [[Sanjay Gandhi|Sanjay]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Janak Raj Jai|title=Narasimha Rao, the Best Prime Minister?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nFt32ZyyUmUC|year=1996|publisher=Regency Publications|isbn=978-81-86030-30-1|page=101}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Sachar was married at an early age to a girl of his own community, in a match arranged by parents. His son, [[Rajinder Sachar]] (b. 1923) was a lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court,<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041211/haryana.htm Punjab ignores, Haryana honours Bhim Sen Sachar]. ''The Tribune'', Chandigarh, India. 10 December 2004</ref> and was famously the Chairman of the [[Sachar Committee]] which produced a  report on the status of religious minorities in India. Another son, Capt. Vijay Sachar of the [[Indian Army]], was [[killed in action]] in Gaza, where he was serving in the Indian contingent of the [[United Nations Emergency Force|UNEF]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/delhi/news-detail-510371|title=Must boost public investment in health, says Narayana Murthy}}</ref> Veteran Indian journalist, left-wing activist and peace activist [[Kuldip Nayar]] is Sachar's son-in-law.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box
| before= [[C.M. Trivedi]]
| title = [[List of Governors of Andhra Pradesh|Governor of Andhra Pradesh]]
| years = 1957–196
| after = [[S.M. Shrinagesh]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Chief Ministers of Punjab (India)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachar, Bhim Sen}}
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians]]
[[Category:Chief Ministers of Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Governors of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Governors of Odisha]]
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Peshawar]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Punjab, India MLAs 1952–1957]]
[[Category:Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Punjab (British India)]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:Chief ministers from Indian National Congress]]