Jaya at 12:01, 28 February 2026

2026-02-28T12:01:39Z

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2023}}
'''Lala Avtar Narain Gujral''' (also, '''Lala Avatar Narayan Gujral'''; died 1976) was an Indian politician from [[Punjab]] and the father of [[Inder Kumar Gujral|I. K. Gujral]], the 12th prime minister of India (hence also the father-in-law of noted Hindi poet [[Sheila Gujral]]), and artist [[Satish Gujral]]. He represented the non-Muslim population of [[West Punjab]] in the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]] for a few months.

His grandson [[Naresh Gujral]] is also a politician in India.

== Personal life ==
Gujral was born in Pari Darwaza, a hamlet about twenty five miles away from [[Jhelum]]; he lost his father Duni Chand at an age of sixteen to bubonic plague.<ref name=":0" /> Gujral was an alumnus of D.A.V. Lahore, and finished his higher secondary schooling from Jammu; he was a lawyer, by profession.<ref name=":0" /> He was married to Pushpa.<ref name=":0" />

Gujral's son described him as a Hindu reformist who drew inspiration from the [[Arya Samaj|Arya Samaj movement]] and especially, [[Lala Lajpat Rai]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gujral |first=I. K. |title=Matters of Discretion: an autobiography |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-938048080-0 |pages=17–18, 23, 28–30 |language=en}}</ref>

== Political career ==

=== British India ===
Gujral served as the district-president for the Jhelum unit of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name=":0" /> He was jailed multiple times by the British Government for engaging in subversive activities.<ref name=":0" />

=== Pakistan ===
As the [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India]] decided on partitioning India, Gujral chose to stay in Pakistan; he was ensured of a harmonious environment by [[Ghazanfar Ali Khan]], a lawyer from Jhelum and a leading League politician.<ref name=":Nair">{{Cite book |last=Nair |first=Neeti |title=Changing Homelands: Hindu Politics and the Partition of India |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780674057791 |pages=220–224 |language=en |chapter=Memory and the Search for Meaning in Post-Partition Delhi}}</ref> On 4 July 1947, Gujral was elected by the non-Muslim members of the (yet-undivided) [[Punjab Legislative Assembly (British India)|Punjab Assembly]] to the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]];<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 July 1947 |title=Punjab Speaker Defeated: Pakistan Assembly |pages=8 |work=Times of India |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/347195954|id={{ProQuest|347195954}} }}</ref>{{Efn|He was nominated by the Congress; his fellow victors were [[Bhim Sen Sachar]] (Congress) and [[Ganga Saran]] (Ind.)}} he attended the inaugural session on 10 August.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Sunday, 10th August, 1947 |publisher=Government of Pakistan |year=1947 |volume=I (1) |location=Lahore |pages=3–4 |language=en}}</ref>

Three days later, the non-Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly met in Gujral's home at Karachi, and formed the "Pakistan Congress"; he was elected as the Chief Whip.<ref name=":0" /> Soon, [[Liaquat Ali Khan]], the first prime minister of Pakistan, sent him to Delhi to ensure the safety of Muslims who wished to migrate to Pakistan; while in Delhi, Gujral arranged for the migration of his extended family and esp. the women.<ref name=":0" /> He stayed with his son in Karachi for a while, before following suit.<ref name=":0" />{{efn|I. K. Gujral claims that they had no plans of leaving Pakistan until the [[1948 Karachi riots]] motivated their decision;<ref name=":0" /> his younger brother Satish Gujral claims likewise and cites a tribal invasion of Jhelum district for triggering their migration.<ref name=":Nair" /> In October 1947, the local branch of the [[Hindu Mahasabha]] attacked Gujral for commending the protection afforded to the minority community in Jhelum; it was sarcatically noted that Gujral himself had "removed all [of his] relatives and capital to the Indian Union".<ref name=":Nair" />}} A year later, in January 1949, the "Committee on Addition and/or Redistribution of Seats" recommended the dissolution of his seat in the Constituent Assembly.{{efn|The post-migration population of Hindus in the province, as of May 1948, was deemed insufficient by the Committee to secure any representation.}}

=== India ===
Gujral settled in [[Jalandhar]]; at Nehru's behest, he was appointed as a Judge in the Punjab Industrial Tribunal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shukla |first=Rajeev |title=Scars Of 1947: Real Partition Stories |publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited |year=2022 |isbn=9789354924101 |language=en}}</ref> He died on 30 May 1976 of [[cardiac arrest]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former ambassador to Moscow K.P.S. Menon awarded the Lenin Prize |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/signposts/story/19790531-former-ambassador-to-moscow-kps-menon-awarded-the-lenin-prize-822087-2014-03-13 |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=India Today |date=13 March 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gujral, Avtar Narain}}
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Gujral administration]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Politicians from Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:People from Jhelum District]]
[[Category:People from Jalandhar]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Pakistani emigrants to India]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of India]]
[[Category:Members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab]]

Avtar Narain Gujral - Revision history

Jaya at 12:01, 28 February 2026