Lala Avtar Narain Gujral (also, Lala Avatar Narayan Gujral; died 1976) was an Indian politician from Punjab and the father of I. K. Gujral, the 12th prime minister of India (hence also the father-in-law of noted Hindi poet Sheila Gujral), and artist Satish Gujral. He represented the non-Muslim population of West Punjab in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan for a few months.
His grandson Naresh Gujral is also a politician in India.
Personal life
Gujral was born in Pari Darwaza, a hamlet about twenty five miles away from Jhelum; he lost his father Duni Chand at an age of sixteen to bubonic plague.[1] Gujral was an alumnus of D.A.V. Lahore, and finished his higher secondary schooling from Jammu; he was a lawyer, by profession.[1] He was married to Pushpa.[1]
Gujral's son described him as a Hindu reformist who drew inspiration from the Arya Samaj movement and especially, Lala Lajpat Rai.[1]
Political career
British India
Gujral served as the district-president for the Jhelum unit of the Indian National Congress.[1] He was jailed multiple times by the British Government for engaging in subversive activities.[1]
Pakistan
As the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India decided on partitioning India, Gujral chose to stay in Pakistan; he was ensured of a harmonious environment by Ghazanfar Ali Khan, a lawyer from Jhelum and a leading League politician.[2] On 4 July 1947, Gujral was elected by the non-Muslim members of the (yet-undivided) Punjab Assembly to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan;[3][a] he attended the inaugural session on 10 August.[4]
Three days later, the non-Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly met in Gujral's home at Karachi, and formed the "Pakistan Congress"; he was elected as the Chief Whip.[1] Soon, Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan, sent him to Delhi to ensure the safety of Muslims who wished to migrate to Pakistan; while in Delhi, Gujral arranged for the migration of his extended family and esp. the women.[1] He stayed with his son in Karachi for a while, before following suit.[1][b] A year later, in January 1949, the "Committee on Addition and/or Redistribution of Seats" recommended the dissolution of his seat in the Constituent Assembly.[c]
India
Gujral settled in Jalandhar; at Nehru's behest, he was appointed as a Judge in the Punjab Industrial Tribunal.[5] He died on 30 May 1976 of cardiac arrest.[6]
Notes
- ^ He was nominated by the Congress; his fellow victors were Bhim Sen Sachar (Congress) and Ganga Saran (Ind.)
- ^ I. K. Gujral claims that they had no plans of leaving Pakistan until the 1948 Karachi riots motivated their decision;[1] his elder brother Satish Gujral claims likewise and cites a tribal invasion of Jhelum district for triggering their migration.[2] In October 1947, the local branch of the Hindu Mahasabha attacked Gujral for commending the protection afforded to the minority community in Jhelum; it was sarcatically noted that Gujral himself had "removed all [of his] relatives and capital to the Indian Union".[2]
- ^ The post-migration population of Hindus in the province, as of May 1948, was deemed insufficient by the Committee to secure any representation.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gujral, I. K. (2011). Matters of Discretion: an autobiography. Penguin Books. pp. 17–18, 23, 28–30. ISBN 978-938048080-0.
- ^ a b c Nair, Neeti (2011). "Memory and the Search for Meaning in Post-Partition Delhi". Changing Homelands: Hindu Politics and the Partition of India. Harvard University Press. pp. 220–224. ISBN 9780674057791.
- ^ "Punjab Speaker Defeated: Pakistan Assembly". Times of India. 5 July 1947. p. 8.
- ^ Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Sunday, 10th August, 1947. Vol. I (1). Lahore: Government of Pakistan. 1947. pp. 3–4.
- ^ Shukla, Rajeev (2022). Scars Of 1947: Real Partition Stories. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789354924101.
- ^ "Former ambassador to Moscow K.P.S. Menon awarded the Lenin Prize". India Today. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
This page was last edited on 19 April 2024, at 08:55