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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Balwantrai Mehta
|image =Balwantrai Mehta 2000 stamp of India (cropped).jpg
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1899|2|19}}
|birth_place = [[Bhavnagar]], [[Bhavnagar State]], [[British India]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1965|9|19|1900|2|19}}
|death_place = [[Suthari]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
|death_cause = [[Gujarat Beechcraft incident|Assassination]]
|constituency =
|term_start = 25 February 1963
|term_end = 19 September 1965
|order = 2nd
|office = Chief Minister of Gujarat
|predecessor = [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]]
|successor = [[Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai]]
|office1 = [[Member of parliament, Lok Sabha]]
|term_start1 = 17 April 1952
|term_end1 = 31 March 1962
|predecessor1 = ''Constituency established''
|successor1 = [[Jashvant Mehta]]
|primeminister1 = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
|constituency1 = [[Bhavnagar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gohilwad, Gujarat]]
|party = [[Indian National Congress]]
|spouse = Sarojben
|children =
|footnotes =
|date=
|| year =
|source =
}}

'''Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta''' ({{Birth date|df=yes|1900|2|19}} – {{Death date|df=yes|1965|9|19}}) was an Indian politician who served as the second [[Chief Minister]] of [[Gujarat]], [[India]]. Balwantrai Mehta was the only sitting Chief Minister of an Indian state to have been killed by a different country during war. He participated in the [[Indian independence movement]]. After the independence of India, he was elected to the [[Lok Sabha]], the lower house of the [[Parliament of India]] from [[Bhavnagar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gohilwad]], [[Gujarat]] as a member of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name="Singhvi2002">{{cite book|author=Laxmi Mall Singhvi|title=Democracy and Rule of Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qONAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=3 November 2020|year=2002|publisher=Ocean Books|isbn=978-81-88322-02-2|page=103}}</ref><ref name="Sharma1994">{{cite book|author=Dr. Shakuntla Sharma|title=Grass Root Politics and Panchayati Raj|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOotj52KG9QC&pg=PA131|accessdate=3 November 2020|year=1994|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|pages=131–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://loksabhaph.nic.in/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/846.htm | title=Lok Sabha Profile | publisher=[[Lok Sabha]] | accessdate=3 November 2020}}</ref>
He is considered as the 'Architect of ''[[Panchayati Raj]]'' ' due to his contributions towards democratic decentralisation.

He was assassinated by Pakistan during 1965 war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Upendra |date=2022-11-28 |title=Podcast: How Pakistan Assassinated Balwantrai Mehta, a Sitting CM{{!}}Siyasat |url=https://www.thequint.com/podcast/balwantrai-mehta-assassination-pakistan-gujarat-chie-minister-podcast |access-date=2025-12-27 |website=TheQuint |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta was born on 19 February 1900 in [[Bhavnagar State]] in a middle-class family.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} He studied up to B.A class, but refused to take the degree from the foreign government.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

== Political career ==
He joined the national movement of non-co-operation in 1920. He founded Bhavanagar [[Praja Mandal]] in 1921 for carrying on the freedom movement in that state. He participated in the Civil Disobedience movement from 1930 to 1932. He also participated in [[Bardoli Satyagraha]]. He was sentenced for three years imprisonment in [[Quit India Movement]] of 1942. He spent total seven years in prison during British colony. On [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s suggestion, he accepted membership of the Congress Working Committee. When [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] became president of All India Congress Committee, he was elected its general secretary. He was twice elected, in [[1951–52 Indian general election|1952 Indian general Election]] {{citation needed|date=January 2014}} and was again elected in [[1957 Indian general election]] to the [[2nd Lok Sabha]] from [[Bhavnagar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Gohilwad (Bhavnagar) Constituency]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistical Report on General Elections, 1957 to the Second Lok Sabha, (Vol. I)| url = http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/LS_1957/Vol_I_57_LS.pdf |publisher=Election Commission of India|page=65| access-date = 27 May 2014 }}</ref>

He was the Chairman of Estimate committee of Parliament. He chaired the [[Balwant Rai Mehta Committee|committee]] set up by [[Government of India]] in January 1957 to examine the working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service and to suggest measures for their better working. The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of 'democratic decentralisation' which finally came to be known as ''Panchayati Raj''.<ref name="Mathew1995">{{cite book|last=Mathew|first=George|title=Status of Panchayati Raj in the States of India, 1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6DQEoh0EJ8C&pg=PA5|year=1995|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-553-9|pages=5–}}</ref><ref name="MisraDhaka2004">{{cite book|last1=Misra|first1=Suresh|last2=Dhaka|first2=Rajvir S.|title=Grassroots Democracy in Action: A Study of Working of PRIs in Haryana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3MbwdXsDLT8C&pg=PA11|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-107-2|pages=11–}}</ref>

He also remained President of [[Servants of the People Society]] (Lok Sevak Mandal), a social service organisation founded by [[Lala Lajpat Rai]], in 1921.<ref name="Grover1993">{{cite book|last=Grover|first=Verinder|title=Political Thinkers of Modern India: Lala Lajpat Rai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pls8YeINi1sC&pg=PA547|year=1993|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=978-81-7100-426-3|pages=547–}}</ref>

He succeeded [[Jivraj Narayan Mehta]] as the [[Chief Ministers of Gujarat|Chief Minister of Gujarat]] on 25 February 1963.

==Death==
{{Main|Gujarat Beechcraft incident}}
During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], on 19 September 1965, then serving chief minister Mehta flew in a [[Beechcraft]] commuter aircraft from Tata Chemicals, Mithapur to the Kutch border between India and Pakistan. The plane was piloted by Jahangir Engineer, a former [[Indian Air Force]] pilot. It was shot down by [[Pakistan Air Force]] pilot Qais Hussain, who assumed it to be a reconnaissance mission. Mehta died in the crash along with his wife, three members of his staff, a journalist and two crew members.<ref name="OI20110810">{{cite web|url=http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?730835 |title=Pak Pilot's Remorse for 1965 Shooting of Indian Plane |last=Laskar |first=Rezaul |date=10 August 2011 |work=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]] |access-date=11 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812231400/http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?730835 |archive-date=12 August 2011 }}</ref><ref name="BBC20110810">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14481483|title=Pakistan pilot's 'remorse' for 1965 shooting down|date=10 August 2011|work=BBC|access-date=11 August 2011}}</ref>

==Commemoration==
The Department of Post, Government of India has issued a special postage stamp of face value [[Indian rupee|INR]] 3.00 to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary on 17 February 2000.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jain, Manik|year=2008| title= Phila India Guide Book| publisher= Philatelia| pages=166}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Postage Stamps:: Postage Stamps,Stamp issue calendar 2014, Paper postage, Commemorative and definitive stamps, Service Postage Stamps, Philately Offices, Philatelic Bureaux and counters, Mint stamps (unused stamps)|url=https://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps_List.aspx|last=|first=|date=|website=postagestamps.gov.in|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505123635/http://postagestamps.gov.in/Stamps_List.aspx|archive-date=5 May 2020|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of assassinated Indian politicians]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://loksabhaph.nic.in/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/846.htm Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website]

{{Chief Ministers of Gujarat}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Balwantrai}}
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bhavnagar]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Chief ministers of Gujarat]]
[[Category:People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]
[[Category:People murdered in Gujarat]]
[[Category:Victims of aircraft shootdowns]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in India]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1965]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:India MPs 1957–1962]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Chief ministers from Indian National Congress]]
[[Category:Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 1965]]
[[Category:Indian politicians assassinated in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Assassinated subnational legislators]]

Balwantrai Mehta - Revision history

Creativesketchbook at 11:25, 27 December 2025