Gulzarilal Nanda Birth Anniversary: All You Need To Know About Former Prime Minister

GULZARILAL NANDA BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Gulzarilal Nanda served as Acting Prime Minister of India twice for 13 days each. He was first chosen as the interim Prime Minister in 1964, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru. The second time Gulzarilal Nanda took charge was when Lal Bahadur Shastri, the second Prime Minister of India, died in 1966.

Nanda served in the cabinet of Nehru and Shastri. He is known for his work on labor issues and was a part of India’s freedom struggle against British rule. In 1921, he joined the non-cooperation movement and was imprisoned several times.

Gulzarilal Nanda was born on July 4, 1898, in undivided Sialkot in the Punjab, into a Punjabi Hindu family. He completed his education at the Universities of Lahore, Amritsar, Allahabad and Agra. He married Lakshmi and they had two sons and a daughter. He died on January 15, 1998.

On his birthday today, July 4, here are some interesting facts about his life:

1. Gulzarilal Nanda was a researcher on labor issues at Allahabad University before becoming Professor of Economics at the National College, Bombay. He participated in the Indian Non-Cooperation Movement against British rule in the same year.
2. Nanda was imprisoned many times for satyagraha. In 1922, he was appointed secretary of the Ahmedabad Textile Workers’ Association, where he remained until 1946.
3. Gulzarilal Nanda was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1937, and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Bombay Government (For Labor and Excise) from 1937 to 1939. He was Minister for Labor in the Bombay Government from 1946 to 1950, and he successfully spearheaded the Dispute Bill Labor in the state legislature.
4. Nanda was a trustee of the Kasturba Memorial Fund, Chairman of the Bombay Housing Board, and Hindustan Secretary Mazdoor Sivak Sangh.
5. In March 1950, Gulzarilal Nanda was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, and in September 1951, he was appointed Minister of Planning in the government.
6. Thousands of people tried to infiltrate parliament on November 7, 1966, to force legislators to outlaw the slaughter of cows. Nearly eight people were killed and hundreds injured. As a result, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi removed Gulzarilal Nanda from the post of Home Minister.
7. In 1997, he was awarded India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.