| File:Balwantrai Mehta 2000 stamp of India (cropped).jpg | |
| Office | Chief Minister of Gujarat |
|---|---|
| Office | Member of parliament, Lok Sabha
|
| Term start | 25 February 1963 |
| Term end | 19 September 1965 |
| Predecessor | Jivraj Narayan Mehta |
| Successor | Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai |
| Predecessor | Constituency established |
| Successor | Jashvant Mehta
|
| Constituency | Gohilwad, Gujarat |
| Born | 1899-2-19 |
| Born | Bhavnagar, Bhavnagar State, British India |
| Died | Template:Death date and age |
| Place of death | Suthari, Gujarat, India
|
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse | Sarojben
|
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Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta (1900-2-19 – Template:Death date) 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 Gohilwad, Gujarat as a member of the Indian National Congress.[1][2][3] He is considered as the 'Architect of Panchayati Raj ' due to his contributions towards democratic decentralisation.
He was assassinated by Pakistan during 1965 war.[4]
Early life
Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta was born on 19 February 1900 in Bhavnagar State in a middle-class family.Template:Citation needed He studied up to B.A class, but refused to take the degree from the foreign government.Template:Citation needed
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 1952 Indian general Election Template:Citation needed and was again elected in 1957 Indian general election to the 2nd Lok Sabha from Gohilwad (Bhavnagar) Constituency.[5]
He was the Chairman of Estimate committee of Parliament. He chaired the 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.[6][7]
He also remained President of Servants of the People Society (Lok Sevak Mandal), a social service organisation founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, in 1921.[8]
He succeeded Jivraj Narayan Mehta as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on 25 February 1963.
Death
Template:Main 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.[9][10]
Commemoration
The Department of Post, Government of India has issued a special postage stamp of face value INR 3.00 to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary on 17 February 2000.[11][12]
See also
References
- ↑ Democracy and Rule of Law{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Ocean Books(2002). ISBN 978-81-88322-02-2
- ↑ Grass Root Politics and Panchayati Raj{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Deep & Deep Publications(1994)
- ↑ Lok Sabha Profile. Lok Sabha.
- ↑ Podcast: How Pakistan Assassinated Balwantrai Mehta, a Sitting CM|Siyasat, Kumar, Upendra. TheQuint(2022-11-28). Retrieved 2025-12-27.
- ↑ Statistical Report on General Elections, 1957 to the Second Lok Sabha, (Vol. I). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ↑ Status of Panchayati Raj in the States of India, 1994{{#if:Mathew|, Mathew}. Concept Publishing Company(1995). ISBN 978-81-7022-553-9
- ↑ Grassroots Democracy in Action: A Study of Working of PRIs in Haryana{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Concept Publishing Company(1 January 2004). ISBN 978-81-8069-107-2
- ↑ Political Thinkers of Modern India: Lala Lajpat Rai{{#if:Grover|, Grover}. Deep & Deep Publications(1993). ISBN 978-81-7100-426-3
- ↑ Pak Pilot's Remorse for 1965 Shooting of Indian Plane, Laskar, Rezaul(10 August 2011). Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ↑ Pakistan pilot's 'remorse' for 1965 shooting down. BBC(10 August 2011). Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ↑ Phila India Guide Book{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Philatelia(2008)
- ↑ 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). postagestamps.gov.in. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
External links
Template:Chief Ministers of Gujarat Template:Authority control