Digvijaysinh Pratapsinhji Jhala (20 August 1932 – 4 April 2021) was an Indian politician from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. He served as India's first environment minister in the central government.

Early life

Jhala was born at Ranjit Vilas Palace at

Wankaner Wankaner is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the State of Gujarat. Until 2013, Wankaner was part of the Rajkot district. Etymology The city was named after its location on the Machhu River, "Wankaner" translating to "riverbend" ( ...

on 20 August 1932, the eldest son of Captain Maharana Raj Shri Pratapsinhji Sahib of the princely state of Wankaner, by his wife, Sisodiji Maharani Sri Rama Kanwar Sahiba. He was educated at

Rajkumar College, Rajkot The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 26-acre (105,000 m²) campus in Rajkot. History The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designe ...

and graduated from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and obtained a doctorate from Delhi University's St Stephen's College.

Family

In 1955, Jhala married Maharajkumari Baiji Lal Pratap Kumari Sahiba, eldest daughter of Sir Tej Singhji, Maharaja of

Alwar State Alwar State was a kingdom from 1770 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. Initially its capital was Macheri and then the city of Alwar. The nobility of Alwar State belonged to the Naruka branch of the Kachwaha dyna ...

. Jhala married again in 1982, to Vibha Singh, daughter of a senior bureaucrat and diplomat Shri Bhagwan Singh. She was media personality and also served as a consul general of Nauru. Jhala and Vibha's only son, Kesarisihji, was born in 1983. Kesarisihji is a member of the

Bharatiya Janta Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

Wankaner State

Jhala was heir apparent to the throne of the princely state of Wankaner at birth, holding the title Yuvraj Sahib of Wankaner officially from 1932, when the State merged with newly-independent India. He succeeded his father in 2007 as the titular King of Wankaner and head of its royal house.

Political career

Jhala entered politics after the independence of India and joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. He was a Member of Legislative Assembly for

in the

Gujarat Legislative Assembly Gujarat Legislative Assembly or Gujarat Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Gujarat, in the state capital Gandhinagar. Presently, 182 members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected from single-member cons ...

for the years 1962-67 and 1967-71. He was then elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Surendranagar Surendranagar Dudhrej is a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Dudhrej municipality is directly connected with Wadhwan city and Wadhwan municipality. Etymology Dudhrej was o ...

for two terms, from 1980 to 1989. He also served as the Union Deputy Minister for Ecology and the Environment from 1982 to 1984.

Personal life

Being very active in public life, Jhala was also Convener of the Indian Heritage Hotels Association, Gujarat, Chairman of Gujarat Hotels Association and President of the Wankaner Co-op Agricultural Bank Ltd for 1962-1964. He was Director of Shree Amarsinhji Mills Ltd since 1960, a cotton textile mill founded in 1951 by his grandfather Sir Amarsinhji Banesinhji, which was later taken over by Kores India in 1980. He served as a director of

India Tourism Development Corporation The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is a hospitality, retail and education company owned by Government of India, under Ministry of Tourism. Established in 1966, it owns over 17 properties under the Ashok Group of Hotels brand, acros ...

for the years 1968-1982. He was a founder member of the Indigenous Horse Society of India founded in 1999. He was also a member of the Gujarat State Water Pollution Control Board since 1976, National Committee for Environmental Planning since 1981 and president of the

Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha also known as All India Kshatriya Mahasabha was founded in the year 1897 It was formed to promote, protect and fight for rights and interests of Kshatriya community of the Indian society. Early years After Rev ...

since 1989. Jhala died on 4 April 2021 at the age of 88, after a brief illness.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jhala, Digvijaysinhji 1932 births 2021 deaths Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Gujarat MLAs 1962–1967 Gujarat MLAs 1967–1971 Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat 20th-century Indian royalty Gujarati people People from Rajkot district India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 Delhi University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Indian environmentalists Indian businesspeople in textiles