Yashwantrao Chavan
Yashwantrao Chavan | |
---|---|
3rd Chief Minister of Bombay State | |
In office 1 November 1956 – 30 April 1960 | |
Preceded by | Morarji Desai |
Succeeded by | Office Abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan 12 March 1913 Indian National Congress-Socialist (1978–1981) |
Spouse |
Venutai Chavan (m. 1942) |
Alma mater | University of Mumbai, ILS Law College |
Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan (Marathi pronunciation:
He was a strong Congress leader, co-operative leader, social activist and writer. He was popularly known as Leader of Common People. He advocated social democracy in his speeches and articles and was instrumental in establishing co-operatives in Maharashtra for the betterment of the farmers.[1]
Early life
Yashwantrao Chavan was born in a
Chavan was an active participant in the struggle for independence of India. As a schoolboy in
After completing his high school education from Tilak High school Karad in 1934, he joined the
During his college years, Chavan was involved in many social activities and was closely associated with the
Political career
Offices held in the State Government of Bombay
In 1946, Yashwantrao was first elected as Member of Legislative Assembly of the
Roles in Central Government
After the resignation of
In the by-elections in 1962, Chavan was elected unopposed as Member of Parliament from the Nashik parliamentary constituency. On 14 November 1966, he was appointed Home Minister of India by Prime minister, Indira Gandhi. Yeshwantrao came in for criticism at the time of the first congress split in 1969. He had stuck to his earlier commitment to vote for the official Congress candidate,
On 26 June 1970, she appointed him the Finance Minister of India. During his term, Indian economy went into recession for the first time since 1966 and real GDP growth fell by 0.55% in 1972.
He was appointed as the Foreign Minister on 11 October 1974. In June 1975, an Internal State of Emergency was declared in India by the Indira Gandhi Government. This period saw a severe crackdown on leaders and parties opposed to Mrs. Gandhi's rule. Yashwantrao remained in her Government during this period. In the subsequent general elections 1977, the Congress was routed with the party leader and Prime minister, Indira Gandhi herself losing her parliamentary seat. Therefore in the new Parliament, Chavan was elected the Congress Party Parliamentary leader. As Congress now the biggest opposition party, he became the Leader of opposition.
Split in Congress
The annual session of the Congress party was held in Bengaluru at the end of 1978. On this occasion, the party suffered a split, and two separate political parties emerged, namely
Yashwantrao Chavan's political career suffered a major setback following his decision to move away from Indira Gandhi. Devaraj Urs himself soon joined the Janata Party, following which the Congress(Urs) was renamed the Indian Congress (Socialist). Yeshwantrao was appointed as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India in the short-lived cabinet of Prime Minister Charan Singh in 1979.
In the general elections of January 1980, Congress (I) won a majority in Parliament and came to power under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. In this election, Yashwantrao Chavan was the only candidate elected from Maharashtra as MP on a Congress(S) ticket. In 1981, Yashwantrao was allowed to return to the Indira-led Congress after a six-month wait. Critics at that time commented that the "Fence-sitter has come home to roost".[9]
In 1982, he was appointed the Chairman of the 8th Finance Commission of India. He died in 1984.
Public office positions held
Chaven held many important positions during a long and distinguished career. These included:
Death and legacy
Chavan held all the senior portfolios in the Indian government such as Finance Defence, Home, and External Affairs. His last position was as deputy prime minister in the short lived Charan singh government. He brought important changes in all fields where he held power, he also played crucial role in rebuilding Indian army back after 1962 Sino India War. After his appointment as Defence Minister, he rapidly expanded and modernized military and restored it's dignity which directly helped India in 1971 war.[10][11] He also played crucial role in 1965 India Pakistan War. [12][13] Yashwantrao Chavan died of a heart attack on 25 November 1984 in Delhi. He was 71. He was cremated in Karad with full state honours on 27 November and his Samadhi (resting place) is situated at Krishna-Koyna Pritisangam.
Legacy
- Yashwantrao Chavan holds the record of being the only Maharashtrian leader who held the 4 most important portfolios in the Union government. They are Home, External Affairs, Defence and Finance.
- When Yashwantrao was appointed Federal Defence minister following the China war in 1962, a popular saying arose in Maharashtra- "हिमालयाच्या हाकेला धावला सह्याद्री" ("Himalayachya Hakela Dhavla Sahyadri"), translated in English, Sahyadri (the mountain range that separates Konkan from the Deccan Plateau) came rushing on the call (for help) by the Himalaya.
- During the 1960s and early 70s when Yashwantrao was at the peak of his power and influence, he was called Pratishivaji or New Shivaji.[14]
Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishtan (Foundation)
- In 1985, soon after his death, Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishtan (Foundation) was established in Bombay.
- In 2010, The Pratishtan instituted a corpus at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for the conduct of an annual Y B Chavan Memorial lecture. Yashwantrao was the founding President of IDSA.[15] The inaugural lecture in 2010 was delivered by Prof. Sunil Khilnani. Prof. Kanti Bajpai, and Ambassador Kanwal Sibal delivered the 2011 and 2012 lectures respectively[16]
Places named after Yashwantrao Chavan
- In 1980, Ujjani Back water named Yashwant Sagar on Bhima River village Ujjani in Solapur district.
- In 1984, an engineering college named Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering was established in Nagpur.
- In 1989, an open university named 'Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University' was established at Nasik in Maharashtra.
- Rayat Shikshan Sanstha's renowned 'Science College' in Satara was christened as Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara in 1986.
- The expressway between Pune and Mumbai is named after him as are the auditoriums in the Kothrud suburb of Pune, at Nariman Point in Mumbai and the Town Hall in Karad.
- Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial hospital in Sant Tukaram Nagar area of Pimpri is named after him.
- Shivaji University, Kolhapur has established 'Yashwantrao Chavan School of Rural Development'.
- In 2009, the Mumbai Pune Expressway, India's first Express-Way, was named Yashwantrao Chavan Mumbai-Pune Express-Way.
- In 1985, a manmade sanctuary was declared near Devrashtre village, was named as Yashwantrao Chavan Sagreshwar Wildlife Sanctuary
Literature
Yashwantrao Chavan took a keen interest in literature. He established the Marathi Sahitya Mandal and supported the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan(Conference). He was very closely associated with many poets, editors and several Marathi and Hindi writers. He initiated compilation of Marathi Vishwakosh (a Marathi language encyclopedia). For this, he nominated Lakshman Shastri Joshi as a chairman. He had planned to write his autobiography in three parts. The first part covers his early years in Satara district. Since his native place is situated on the banks of Krishna River he named the first volume as Krishna Kath. His years as the Chief Minister of the bilingual Bombay state and later as that of the newly formed Maharashtra state were spent in Bombay and so the proposed name for the second volume was "Sagar Tir". Later in 1962 he was appointed Defence Minister of India by Nehru. From then he was in Delhi until his death in 1984; so he had proposed the name "Yamuna Kath" for his third volume. He was able to complete and publish only the first volume.
In popular culture
Yashwantrao Chavan Bakhar Eka Vaadalaachi, a 2014 Indian Marathi-language biographical film by Jabbar Patel covers his role as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Ashok Lokhande portrayed the titular role of Chavan.[17]
External links
References
- ^ "YB Chavan was Centre's troubleshooter: Pranab". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ISBN 978-81-250-1477-5.
- ^ Jadhav, V., 2006. Elite politics and Maharashtra's Employment Guarantee Scheme. Economic and Political Weekly, pp.5157-5162.
- ISBN 978-81-7154-855-2.
- ^ Hatalkar, VG; Ray, NR (1986). Dictionary of National Biography: Supplement (Vol. 1). Calcutta: Institute of Historical Studies. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ISBN 9788174369581. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "MAHARASHTRA LEGISLATURE, MUMBAI" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Pradhan, R. D. (1999). Debacle to Revival: YB Chavan as Defence Minister, 1962-65. Orient Blackswan, 11.
- ^ a b Hatalkar, V.G. (1986). Ray, N.R. (ed.). DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY (Supplement) Volume I (A-D). Calcutta: N. R. Ray Director, Institute of Historical Studies. p. 245342. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Debacle to Resurgence Y.B. Chavan Defence Minister (1962-66): Buy Debacle to Resurgence Y.B. Chavan Defence Minister (1962-66) by Pradhan R.D. at Low Price in India". Flipkart.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "India's Defence and Foreign Policy: Role of Yashwantraoji Chavan Dated: March 25, 2012 - Indian Council of World Affairs (Government of India)". www.icwa.in. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Pradhan, R. D. "'I hate these Pakistanis'". Rediff. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Pradhan, R. D. (2 February 2017). Pradhan, R. (ed.). 1965 War: The Inside Story (Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's Diary of India-Pakistan War): Defence Ministers Diary of the India-Pakistan War.
- ISBN 81-7154-835-0.
- ^ "Inaugural Y.B. Chavan Memorial Lecture". IDSA. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ "Past Y B Chavan Memorial Lectures". IDSA. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ Yashwantrao Chavan - Bakhar Eka Vadalachi Movie Review {3.5/5}: Critic Review of Yashwantrao Chavan - Bakhar Eka Vadalachi by Times of India, retrieved 29 April 2021