Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna
Encyclopedia
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna was a Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

 leader and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh; he later joined Bharatiya Lok Dal and worked with Charan Singh.

Early life

He was the sixth child of his parents, born on 25 April 1919 in a small village called Bhugani in the district of Pauri Garhwal
Pauri Garhwal
Pauri Garhwal is a district in Uttarakhand state of India. Its headquarters is at Pauri. Pauri Garhwal district is ringed by Haridwar, Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Almora and Nainital districts from three sides. The southern boundary of Pauri Garhwal district touches with the...

 in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

. His father Ravati Nandan Bahuguna was a village Patwari and his mother Dipa a housewife. The Bahuguna family hails from Bughani, Pauri Garhwal but settled in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Honored with “Proud Past Alumni" in the list of 42 members, from "Allahabad University Alumni Association", NCR, Ghaziabad (Greater Noida) Chapter 2007-2008 registered under society act 1860 with registration no. 407/2000.

Students Parliament

He studied in D.A.V. School and Messmore Inter College of Pauri Town. He passed 10th from Pauri and went to Allahabad for higher studies. In 1937, he moved to Allahabad for further studies and was admitted into the Government Intermediate College. There he founded the first "Students Parliament" in the college and was elected its "Prime Minister".

Non-Cooperation Movement

In 1939-40 he was enrolled in B.Sc. at Allahabad University
Allahabad University
Allahabad University , is a premier Central University located in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Its origins lie in the Muir Central College, named after Lt...

. The university, besides being known as the Oxford of the east, was also a pivot of the freedom movement. Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 by 1940 had already beckoned the youth to join the Non-Cooperation Movement
Non-cooperation movement
The non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...

. In 1941 when the president of the Allahabad University Union was declared an absconder, Bahuguna was elected the dictents movement in Uttar Pradesh. His plunge into the freedom movement was deep. The British declared him a rebel and Bahuguna had to go underground. Subsequently a reward of Rs. 5000/- was offered by the British to anyone who aided in his arrest dead or alive.

In jail

An active participant in the freedom movement, Bahuguna was jailed several times in the prisons of Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...

 and Sultanpur. Finally in 1942 as a part of Quit India movement he was again jailed till 1946. In 1946 he completed his graduation in Arts.

Trade unions

India finally attained independence on 15 August 1947. Post independence period saw Bahuguna playing a major role in Trade Union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s. He was instrumental in organizing labour unions at Allahabad in the Power House, Government Press, Central Ordinance Depot, Symonds, and Dey's Medical. Unrelentingly he espoused their cause and never compromised with their cause or their welfare. A contemporary of Bahuguna, a union labour leader at Allahabad, Janab Abdul Hamid, said once, "Bahuguna Ji always fought for the cause of the labour and he was the only labour leader on whom we hed absolute faith in those days". In 1953 he became a member of the Indian National Trade Union Congress
Indian National Trade Union Congress
Indian National Trade Union Congress is the trade union wing of the Indian National Congress. It was founded May 3, 1947, and is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, INTUC had a membership of 3892011 in...

.

State cabinet

In 1952 Bahuguna entered into the main stream of Indian politics. He was elected M.L.A. from Karchana and Chail constituency in Allahabad. In the house he impressed all with his deep understanding of the legislative process. The proceedings in the house reflect his deep concern for the proletariat, the downtrodden and the minorities. He was again elected to the U.P Legislative Assembly. This time from Sirathu in 1957. The same year Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, then Chief Minister U.P impressed with Bahuguna's political acumen appointed to him Parliamentary Secretary and entrusted to him the portfolio of labour and industry. In 1960 he was elevated as a Deputy Minister with the same portfolio. In 1967 he was made the Finance Minister with the U.P Government.

Union Cabinet

In 1971 he was made State Minister for Communication in the Union Cabinet.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

1973 saw him as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...

, the largest state in India. His tenure was short and he was forced to resign by Indira Gandhi in 1975.

Parting of ways with the Congress

1976 saw parting of ways with the Congress and 1977 he was elected to the Parliament from Lucknow constituency. He was subsequently appointed as Cabinet Minister in the Department of Petroleum and Chemicals by the Prime Minister Morarji Desai. His brief stint as Petroleum Minister saw various projects which enabled the country to achieve self-sufficiency in Petroleum products.

1979 saw him as the Finance Minister with the Union Government of India. But by then the Janta Party was Plagued with conflicts amongst several Pressure groups. Disenchanted was Bahuguna again and Indira Gandhi took pains in convincing him that the Congress still stood by its ideals of socialism, and secularism. Thus the spirit was brought back in to the body.

In 1980 he won the Parliamentary elections from Garhwal with a thumping majority. But the spirit was restless again with the Congress. He left the party and resigned his seat as well. He thereby established the highest norm in the history of Indian Parliamentary Democracy. Acharys Narendra Deo, earlier being the only exception, but Bhuguna with a difference, while the Acharya lost, when he recontested, Bahuguna won again in 1982.

Between 1982-84 he revived his Democratic Socialist Party. Later he joined the Lok Dal and became its Vice-President and subsequently its President.

His last endeavor was to forge a common minimum programme amongst the like minded opposition parties. But they did not reciprocate. He warned the heads of parties against believing their own lies and Bahuguna parted company with them for he upheld Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...

's maxim of a 'genius': "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men — that is genius."

While a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

, he was noted for his popularity among the Muslim communities of UP.

1984 Lok Sabha Elections

He contested against the congress candidate, Amitabh Bachhan, in 1984 Parliamentary elections from Allahabad constituency. Bachhan won the election by approximately 1,87,000 votes. Later his wife Kamla Bahuguna also stood up for by-elections from Allahabad.

Death

He was later taken ill, for his heart was choked. Doctors advised him another by-pass surgery. He flew to the United States of America to find a 'by-pass' to establish the truth for all men, but on 17 March 1989 when the nation was gearing to felicitate H.N Bahuguna on completing 50 years of his chequered and dedicated career in Indian politics, it had to mourn his death when he breathed his last at the Cleveland Hospital.

Other

Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University is a public university located at Srinagar town in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. Named after Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, the university is residential cum affiliating with jurisdiction over Garhwal district of the region...

 is Uttaranchal's largest university, in Garhwal, is named after him. H.N. Bahuguna's two children, Vijay Bahuguna
Vijay Bahuguna
Vijay Bahuguna is son of Late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna who was a freedom fighter and eminent politician in India. Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna was also former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Vijay Bahuguna is a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India...

 and Rita Bahuguna Joshi
Rita Bahuguna
Rita Bahuguna Joshi is a Congress leader and current president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee. She is the daughter of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh .-Early life:...

, are in politics too.

Little is known about his first marriage.

Timeline



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK