Khandubhai Kasanji Desai (23 October 1898 - 17 April 1975) was an Indian politician who served as Union Minister of Labour from 1954 to 1957 and as

Governor of Andhra Pradesh This is a list of governors of Andhra, including Andhra State and United Andhra Pradesh, in office from 1953 to the present date. The official residence of the governor is the Raj Bhavan, situated in Vijayawada. E. S. L. Narasimhan is the lon ...

between 11 April 1968 until 5 January 1975.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004090900290903.htm&date=2004/09/09/&prd=th&

Life

Khandu Bhai Desai was born on 23 October 1898 in

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ (Gujarati: વલસાડ), historically known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. The city of Valsad ...

district of Gujarat. After his early education in Valsad, he was admitted to the Wilson College in Mumbai. But in 1920,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

came out after boycotting the college in the non-cooperation movement. Later he completed his education at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad, established by Gandhiji. Labor movement Khandu Bhai Desai soon joined the labor movement. He took up the work of 'Mazur Mahajan', an organization of cotton mill workers of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. Anusuya Ben Sarabhai, Shankarlal Banker, Gulzari Lal Nanda were his colleagues. Khandu Bhai propagated the spirit of Swadeshi and self-respect of the workers. Gradually the labor union began to expand. As a result, the Indian National Trade Union Congress was established and in 1947 Khandubhai Desai was elected its first secretary. He was also the president of this institution from 1950 to 1953. In 1950, he represented the workers of India in the 'World Labor Union'. In 1962, he was also the representative of India in the conference of independent trade unions of the world.

Political life

The activities of Khandu Bhai Desai were equally important in other areas as well. In 1937, he was elected a member of the Bombay State Legislative Assembly. In 1946, he was nominated as a member of the Constituent Assembly of the country. From 1950 to 1952 he served as a member of the Provisional Parliament. Khandubhai was elected a member of the

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 ...

from the

Mehsana Mehsana (), also spelled Mahesana, is a city and municipality in Mehsana district, in the Indian state of Gujarat. Established in 14th century, the city was under Gaekwads of Baroda State from 18th century to the independence of India in 1947 ...

-(West) parliamentary seat in the 1952 parliamentary elections as a Congress candidate. From 1954 to 1957 he served as the Labor Minister in the central government of Jawaharlal Nehru. After this (1959 to 1966) he was a member of the

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 ...

. From 11 April 1968 to 25 January 1975 he served as the 5th Governor of Andhra Pradesh. After retiring from the post of Governor, he started living in

, and he died on 17 April 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Khandubhai 1898 births 1975 deaths People from Valsad district Governors of Andhra Pradesh Labour ministers of India India MPs 1952–1957 Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Indian independence activists from Gujarat Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Activists from Gujarat Gujarati people Gandhians Indian trade unionists Members of the Constituent Assembly of India