Balwantrai Mehta ( – ) was an Indian politician who served as the second

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

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 ...

state, India. He participated in

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

and later held various public offices. He is considered as the 'Architect of ''

Panchayati Raj The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

'' ' due to his contributions towards democratic decentralisation.

Early life

Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta was born on 19 February 1900 in

Bhavnagar State Bhavnagar State was a princely state with 13 Gun Salutes during the British Raj. It was part of Kathiawar Agency in Saurashtra. The State of Bhavnagar covered an area of 2,961 sq. miles and had a population of 618,429 in 1941. Its ruler ...

in a middle-class family. He studied up to B.A classes but refused to take the degree from the foreign government.

Political career

He joined the national movement of non-co-operation in 1920. He founded Bhavanagar Praja Mandal in 1921 for carrying on the freedom movement in that state. He participated in the Civil Disobedience movement from 1930 to 1932. He also participated in

Bardoli Satyagraha The Bardoli Satyagraha, in the state of bardoli, India during the British Raj, was a major phase of civil disobedience and revolt in the Indian Independence Movement on 12 June 1928. The movement was eventually led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a ...

. He was sentenced for three years imprisonment in Quit India Movement of 1942. He spent total seven years in prison during British colony. On

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- ...

's suggestion, he accepted membership of the Congress Working Committee. When

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 ...

became president of All India Congress Committee, he was elected its general secretary. He was twice elected, in 1949 and was again elected in

1957 Indian general election General elections were held in India between 24 February and 9 June 1957, the second elections to the Lok Sabha after independence. They were held five years after the 1951–52 elections in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution o ...

to the

2nd 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 ...

from Gohilwad (Bhavnagar) Constituency. He was the Chairman of Estimate committee of Parliament. He chaired the

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

set up by

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, ...

in January 1957 to examine the working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service and to suggest measures for their better working. The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of 'democratic decentralisation' which finally came to be known as ''Panchayati Raj''. He also remained President of

Servants of the People Society Servants of the People Society (SOPS) (Hindi ( ISO) : Lōka Sēvaka Maṇḍala ) is a non-profit social service organization founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, a prominent leader in the Indian Independence movement, in 1921 in Lahore. The society is d ...

(Lok Sevak Mandal), a social service organisation founded by

Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...

, in 1921. He succeeded

Jivraj Narayan Mehta Jivraj Narayan Mehta (29 August 1887 – 7 November 1978) was an Indian politician and the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also served as the first "Dewan" (Prime Minister) of the erstwhile Baroda state, and Indian high commissioner to the ...

as the

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's ter ...

on 25 February 1963.

Death

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, on 19 September 1965, then serving chief minister Mehta flew in a

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general avi ...

commuter aircraft from Tata Chemicals, Mithapur to the Kutch border between India and Pakistan. The plane was piloted by Jahangir Engineer, a former Indian Air Force pilot. It was shot down by

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

pilot Qais Hussain, who assumed it to be a reconnaissance mission. Mehta was killed in the crash along with his wife, three members of his staff, a journalist and two crew members. In August 2011 Qais Hussain wrote to Jahangir Engineer's daughter apologizing for his mistake, stating that a "civilian plane was mistaken for a reconnaissance aircraft by Pakistani controllers, and he was ordered to shoot it down".

Commemoration

The Department of Post, Government of India has issued a special postage stamp of face value INR 3.00 to commemorate his 100th birth anniversary on 17 February 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Balwantrai Year of birth uncertain 1965 deaths People from Bhavnagar Indian independence activists from Gujarat Chief Ministers of Gujarat Assassinated Indian politicians People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 People murdered in Gujarat Victims of aircraft shootdowns Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in India Members of the Constituent Assembly of India India MPs 1957–1962 Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Indian National Congress politicians 1965 murders in India

Early life

Political career

Death

Commemoration

See also

References