Jaisukhlal Hathi (19 January 1909 – 2 February 1982) was born at Muli, Saurashtra, in the Indian state of Gujarat. He served as a Union Minister in the Indian Government and also as governor of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

. He was as a member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, and

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

. He was born in

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 ...

in 1909 and died in 1982.

Early life

His father Lalshankar Hathi was from Saurashtra. He married Padmavati on 27 May 1927, and he had four sons and one daughter. He studied at Alfred High School in Rajkot district, after which he moved to Bombay and cleared the Advocates Examination to join the Bar Council.

Administrative career

In 1943, he was appointed District and Sessions Judge in the erstwhile Rajkot State. In 1948, he became the Chief Secretary of the erstwhile Princely State of Saurashtra.

Parliamentary career

He was a member of the Constituent Assembly (1946-47) representing the State of Saurashtra. He was also elected to the Provisional Parliament in 1950. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 3 April 1952 to 12 March 1957; and in 1957, he was elected to the

Second Lok Sabha The Second Lok Sabha (5 April 1957 – 31 March 1962) was elected after the 1957 Indian general election. The 2nd Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years till 1962. 15 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 2nd Lok Sabha after ...

representing the Indian National Congress. Hathi was elected to Rajya Sabha in April 1962 and served till 3 April 1968, following which he was reelected the same day and served till 2 April 1974.

Minister and Governor

Hathi served as Deputy Minister, Minister of State, and as Minister of Irrigation in the Union Council of Ministers holding portfolios of Irrigation and Power, Supply, Home Affairs, Defence from 1952-1962. He served as Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation from 1962–64 and 1967-69. He was appointed Governor of Haryana on 14 August 1976 and he served till 23 September 1977, following which he was transferred to Punjab on 24 September 1977, where he served till 26 August 1981. He resigned from Governorship of Punjab on health grounds.

Other Administrative Positions and Public Life

He headed the Commission on Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in 1974, where he submitted a report that is known as the Hathi Commission report (1975). He also served as Chairman of National Lawyers Forum. He was a Director in the Press Trust of India. He worked with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan since its inception serving as Chairman of Bhavan's International Chapter and as Chairman of Central Kendra Committee. He served as a trustee of the Somnath and Dwarka Temples.

Writings

He wrote "Position of Indian States In Federation" in 1939 with an aim to define the roles that various Indian states would play in the Indian federation. "Sidelights on Indian Princess" was his second publication which was published in 1975. He also wrote a number of short stories for Bhavan's Journal from 1970-1974. His biography was titled "As It Happened."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hathi, Jaisukhlal 1909 births 1982 deaths Governors of Punjab, India Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat Governors of Haryana Members of the Constituent Assembly of India India MPs 1957–1962 Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Leaders of the Rajya Sabha