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{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
'''Dinkar Krishnalal Mehta''' (17 October 1907{{spnd}}30 August 1989) was an Indian politician and trade unionist. Mehta headed the communist movement in [[Gujarat]] for decades – leading the Gujarat state unit of the [[Communist Party of India]] between 1936 and 1964, and then the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] between 1964 and 1989. He served as a legislator of [[Bombay State]] and [[Mayor of Ahmedabad]]. Mehta was a prominent leader of the [[Mahagujarat movement]], which struggled for the creation of a [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] linguistic state.

==Early life==
Mehta was born on 17 October 1907.<ref name=ww>{{cite book|title=India Who's who|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW9mAAAAMAAJ|year=1986|publisher=INFA Publications|page=45}}</ref><ref name="Narayan2000">{{cite book|author=Jayaprakash Narayan|title=Jayaprakash Narayan: 1929-1935|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhtuAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Manohar|isbn=978-81-7304-354-3|page=122}}</ref> As a young man, Mehta become involved with the [[Sabarmati Ashram]] of [[Mahatma Gandhi]].<ref name="Basu1998"/> Mehta took part in the 1928 [[Bardoli Satyagraha]] and led the 1930 [[Dharasana Satyagraha]].<ref name=ww/><ref name="Narayan2000"/> He was jailed for his role in the [[civil disobedience|civil disobedience movements]].<ref name=ww/><ref name="Basu1998"/> He graduated in social sciences from [[Gujarat Vidyapith]] in 1929, and would later teach there until 1933.<ref name=ww/> In 1934, he took part in founding the Gujarat unit of the [[Congress Socialist Party]] (CSP).<ref name="Narayan2000"/>

==In the Communist Party==
In 1935, he became a member of the [[Communist Party of India]].<ref name="Narayan2000"/> As of 1936, the CPI placed him in charge of leading the party in Gujarat.<ref name="Basu1999"/> He served as joint secretary of the Congress Socialist Party between 1936 and 1938.<ref name="Narayan2000"/> He was suspended from the CSP membership in 1938 for disobeying its general secretary's instructions.<ref name="Joshi1992">{{cite book|author=Shashi Joshi|title=Struggle for Hegemony in India, 1920-47: The Colonial State, the Left, and the National Movement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=phduAAAAMAAJ|year=1992|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-81-7036-295-1|page=141}}</ref> He organised [[trade union]]s and other mass organizations.<ref name="Basu1998"/> He spent the years of 1940–1942 underground.<ref name="Narayan2000"/>

Mehta was arrested in 1948, but managed to escape from jail the following year.<ref name="Narayan2000"/> He would remain underground until 1951.<ref name="Narayan2000"/> Mehta stood as the CPI candidate in the Ahmedabad III constituency in the [[1952 Bombay Legislative Assembly election]], standing against Congress candidate [[Indumati Chimanlal Sheth|Indumati Chimanlal]].<ref name=bm52>Election Commission of India. ''[https://eci.gov.in/files/file/4107-bombay-1951/ Bombay 1951]''</ref> Mehta finished in second place with 4,793 votes (17.76%).<ref name=bm52/> [[1952 Ahmedabad City by-election|A by-election for one of the Ahmedabad City seats]] in the [[Bombay Legislative Assembly]] was held on 4 June 1952. The [[Indian National Congress]] fielded the Chief Minister [[Morarji Desai]], CPI fielded Mehta. Desai won the seat with 18,583 votes (61.08%) against 11,841 (38.92%) votes for Mehta.<ref name="Natesan1952">{{cite book|author=G.A. Natesan|title=The Indian Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43LjAAAAMAAJ|year=1952|publisher=G.A. Natesan & Company|page=320}}</ref><ref name="PathakParekh1966">{{cite book|author1=Devavrat N. Pathak|author2=Mathuradas Govindji Parekh|author3=Kirtidev Dahyabhai Desai|title=Three General Elections in Gujarat: Development of a Decade, 1952-1962|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0Q5AQAAIAAJ|year=1966|publisher=Gujarat University|page=40}}</ref><ref name="e">Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/ByeElection/Bye-ele-results%2052-95.xls Bye-election results 1952-95]''</ref>

He was elected to the [[Central Committee]] of CPI at its 1953 Madurai Party Congress.<ref name=wind>{{cite journal |last1=Windmiller|first1=Marshall|title=Indian Communism Today|journal=Far Eastern Survey|year=1954|volume=23|issue=4|pages=49–56|doi= 10.2307/3023926|jstor=3023926}}</ref>

==Mahagujarat movement==
Mehta was the Vice President of [[Mahagujarat movement|Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad]] between 1957 and 1960.<ref name="Narayan2000"/> He contested the unreserved seat of Gomtipur constituency in the [[1957 Bombay Legislative Assembly election]] as an independent candidate, obtaining 37,862 votes (897 less votes than the winning candidate).<ref name=bm57>Election Commission of India. ''[https://eci.gov.in/files/file/4108-bombay-1957/ Bombay, 1967]''</ref> He was a Member of the Legislative Council of the Bombay State between 1958 and 1960.<ref name="Narayan2000"/> He stood as the Nutan Maha Gujarat Janta Parishad candidate in the Dariapur Kazipur constituency in the [[1962 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election]], finishing in second place with 17,237 votes (48.69%).<ref name=gj62>Election Commission of India. ''[https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3828-gujarat-1962/ Gujarat 1962]''</ref>

==CPI(M) leader==
When the [[1964 split in the Communist Party of India|CPI was split in 1964]], Mehta would join the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]].<ref name="Narayan2000"/> Before the split, Mehta was the CPI Gujarat State Council Secretary and a member of the National Council of the party.<ref name=guj143>{{cite book|title=Documents of the Communist Movement in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZfaAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=National Book Agency|isbn=978-81-7626-011-4|page=143}}</ref><ref name=thnc>{{cite book|title=Thought|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAIdAQAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Siddharta Publications|page=clxxxvii}}</ref> He had not joined walk-out protest at the CPI National Council meeting on 11 April 1964, which marked the emergence of the Left CPI (later CPI(M)) as a separate party, but was identified as a leftist within CPI.<ref name=guj143/><ref name=thnc/> Mehta attended the Tenali convention of the Left CPI in July 1964, and afterwards organised a special convention at Ahmedabad to present a report from Tenali.<ref name=thgj>{{cite book|title=Thought|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAIdAQAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Siddharta Publications|page=246}}</ref> On 5 August 1964, the Maha Gujarat Janata Parishad organized a state-wide [[hartal]] (general strike).<ref name=guj143/><ref>{{cite book|title=Poverty and Vulnerability in a Globalising Metropolis, Ahmedabad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3PaAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Manak Publications|isbn=978-81-7827-031-9|page=221}}</ref> Mehta took part in mobilising mill workers to join the strike.<ref name="Majmundar1973">{{cite book|author=Paresh Majmundar|title=An Anatomy of Peaceful Industrial Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sl7NAAAAMAAJ|year=1973|publisher=N. M. Tripathi|pages=203–204}}</ref> After the hartal, Mehta and other party leaders were arrested.<ref name=guj143/>

Mehta was elected to the Central Committee of CPI(M) at the 7th Party Congress, held at Calcutta in October–November 1964.<ref name="Basu1999">{{cite book|author=Jyoti Basu|title=Memoirs, a Political Autobiography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46BuAAAAMAAJ|year=1999|publisher=National Book Agency|isbn=978-81-7626-054-1|pages=184, 188–189}}</ref> He became the Gujarat State Committee Secretary of CPI(M), a post he would hold until his death.<ref name="Basu1998">{{cite book|author=Jyoti Basu|title=Documents of the Communist Movement in India: 1989-1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6HaAAAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=National Book Agency|isbn=978-81-7626-037-4|pages=94–95}}</ref> Mehta authored many works on Marxist theory in [[Gujarati language]].<ref name="Basu1998"/>

Mehta was elected the [[Mayor of Ahmedabad]] in 1966, and served in the role until 1967.<ref name="Narayan2000"/><ref name="Basu1998"/> He contested the Dariapur Kazipur seat again in the [[1967 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election]], as an independent, finishing in second place with 19,574 votes (43.68%).<ref name=gj67>Election Commission of India. ''[https://eci.gov.in/files/file/3829-gujarat-1967/ Gujarat 1967]''</ref>

Dinkar Mehta died on 30 August 1989.<ref name="Narayan2000"/><ref name="Basu1998"/> He had suffered from ill health during the last years in his life.<ref name="Basu1998"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Dinkar}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Bombay Legislative Council]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians]]
[[Category:Mayors of Ahmedabad]]

Dinkar Mehta - Revision history

->SdkbBot at 03:39, 5 January 2022