M. C. Davar (24 April 1913 – 9 November 1977) was a freedom fighter and associate of

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

who is remembered for his

opposition to the partition of India Opposition to the partition of India was widespread in British India in the 20th century and it continues to remain a talking point in South Asian politics. Those who opposed it often adhered to the doctrine of composite nationalism. The Hindu, C ...

, his work among the refugees from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and his championing the idea of a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Pakistan.

Early life and education

Davar began his political career as a revolutionary during his school and college before joining 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 successful doctor graduating from Calcutta, also attended the Vidysagar College and did his post graduation in TB from Calcutta. He however gave up his medical career on the advice of Subhash Chandra Bose following in the paths of Motilal Nehru and C. R. Das who had renounced lucrative legal careers for their participation in the freedom struggle. Davar however treated many prominent participants in the freedom struggle including

Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya ( (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and ...

, Rajendra Prasad and

Fazlul Haque Fazlul Haq ( ar, فضل الحق) is a male Muslim given name, meaning ''bounty of the Truth'', referring to ''Al-Haqq'', one of the Names of God in Islam. Both parts of the name are subject to varying transliteration, as the first part may be writ ...

. He played a key role in getting the Central Assembly to recognise

homoeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dise ...

, a resolution that was later adopted by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

Role in the freedom struggle

Davar joined the Indian National Congress after witnessing its annual session at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in 1929 where Jawaharlal Nehru succeeded his father Motilal to the presidency of the Congress. In April 1930 he was arrested for his participation in the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

. Davar is remembered for his staunch opposition to the proposal for the Partition of India. To prevent this and to bridge the divide between the Congress and the Muslim League, he formed the United Party of India of which he served as secretary general and which had among its members the ex-Premier of Bengal A. K. Fazlal Haque, Sir Syed Sultan Ahmed and Mahatma Bhagwan Din. Despite his efforts, India was partitioned for which he blamed the British bureaucracy.

Life in independent India

Davar headed the All-India Refugee Convention and was a member of the High Power Committee on Refugee Rehabilitation in which roles he worked for the rehabilitation of refugees from Pakistan in

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 ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

where refugee colonies such as Rajendra Nagar and Lajpat Nagar were established. Davar was an advocate of peace between India and Pakistan, leading a goodwill mission to Pakistan in 1955 and advocating a no war pact between the two nations as president of the council of Indo-Pakistan affairs. His proposal for a confederation with Pakistan, made in 1956, was endorsed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jawaharlal Nehru. Following the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, Davar expanded the proposal for the confederation to include that country as well. Although a supporter of close ties between India and China, he became a bitter critic of China after the

Indo-China War of 1962 The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tib ...

during which he made an appeal to every family to donate 'one man and one tola gold' to defeat the Chinese forces. Throughout his career Davar was a supporter of Jawaharlal Nehru, campaigning for him at Phulpur in the General elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962 and later campaigning for

Vijayalakshmi Pandit Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit ('' née'' Swarup Nehru; 18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician who was the 6th Governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964 and 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly from 19 ...

in the by-election of 1964 necessitated by Nehru's demise. Following Nehru's death, Davar advocated the establishment of a Nehru Peace Foundation to promote

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as n ...

and universal peace. He contested against

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

in the Presidential Election of 1967. Davar was President, Mandal Re-Organisation in the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

. In 1954 he opposed the linguistic reorganisation of India and in the '60s, sided against Morarji Desai in the succession contests following the deaths of Prime Ministers Nehru and

Shastri Shastri or Shastry is a Brahmin surname. The word ''shastri'' translates to 'scholar'. It is derived from Sanskrit and means one who is proficient in the Shastras (Ancient Indian Texts). Notable people with the surname include: Shastri * Anant M ...

Death and commemoration

Davar died in 1977 at the age of 65. His death was condoled by several leaders including Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

and

I. K. Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian diplomat, politician and freedom activist who served as the 12th prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998. Born in Punjab, he was influenced by nationalist ...

. ''Dr. M. C. Davar: A Revolutionary Visionary'' is a forthcoming book on his life by Purushottam Goyal, a former Speaker of the

Delhi Legislative Assembly The Delhi Legislative Assembly, also known as the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists o ...

. He was survived by four sons and a daughter. A road in Delhi from the Outer Ring Road to Rohini honours his memory. Dr MC Davar was also recommended for the Nobel Prize for Peace in the 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davar, M.C. 1913 births 1977 deaths Place of birth missing 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian independence activists