| Morarji Desai (1896 - 1995) |
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The son of a village teacher, Desai was educated at the University of Bombay and in 1918 joined the provincial civil service of Bombay as a minor functionary. In 1930 he resigned to join civil-disobedience movement and spent almost 10 years in British jails during the days of freedom struggle. During the 1930s and '40s he alternated prison service with ministerial posts in the government of Bombay, rising to the chief ministerial post in 1952. He gained a reputation for administrative skill as well as for harshness.
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In 1956 Desai was named commerce and industry minister, for which he worked until 1963. He became deputy Prime Minister of India in 1967. In 1969 he again resigned to become chairman of the opposition to Indira Gandhi and the Congress Party. He was arrested in 1975 during Emergency for his political activities and detained in solitary confinement until 1977, whereupon he became active in the Janata Party. That same year, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi unexpectedly held elections after a 19-month suspension of political processes, and Janata achieved a surprising and overwhelming victory. Desai was chosen to be Prime Minister after two years of political tension the Janata coalition began to unravel. Desai announced his resignation on July 15, 1979, after numerous defections from the coalition in Parliament, to avoid a vote of no confidence.
Morarji bhai was a true Gandhian. He believed in non-violence and natural therapy. He is one of the oldest politicians to live from Gandhi's time. A blessing he owed to his urine therapy.
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| Category filed under: Political |
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