Mohan Dharia (14 February 1925 - 14 October 2013) was a Union minister, a lawyer and social worker. During his last days he stayed in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

. Dharia was an environmentalist and ran a non-government organisation Vanarai. He was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

twice from

Lok Sabha constituency, first in 1971 as an

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

(INC) member and became a Minister of State, and later in 1977 as a

Bharatiya Lok Dal Bharatiya Lok Dal ( English: Indian Peoples' Party) was a political party in India. The BLD or simply BL was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Part ...

member, and joined the

Morarji Desai Ministry The premiership of Morarji Desai extended from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979. In the 1977 Indian general election Morarji Desai led the Janata Party to victory against the Congress party. Upon taking office, Morarji Desai became the first India ...

as Union

Minister of Commerce A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial polic ...

. Prior to it, he remained member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

twice from INC, first 1964-1970 and then 1970- 1971 He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

, India's second highest civilian honour in 2005, 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, ...

for his contribution in social work.

Early life and education

Born in at village Nate, then

Kolaba district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: �aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Maratha E ...

, present

Mahad Mahad ( əɦaːɖ is a city in Raigad district (formerly Kulaba district) situated in the North Konkan region of Maharashtra state, India. It is located from District's headquarter Alibag, and from Mumbai, the state capital of Maharashtr ...

Taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Raigad district Raigad district (Marathi pronunciation: �aːjɡəɖ, previously Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The district was renamed to Raigad after the fort that was the first capital of the former Marath ...

, to Manikchand Dharia, he did his schooling from Konkan Education Society,

. Later he joined

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

Pune to become a surgeon, but abandoned his studies to join the independence movement in 1942. Thereafter he studied law at

ILS Law College ILS Law College, or in its full name Indian Law Society's Law College, is a government-aided law school in Pune, India. It was established in 1924 and offers courses that include three-year and five-year degrees. ILS is located on Law College ...

Pune University Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

.Biography
vanaraitrust]

Career

He started his career as an advocate at the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ...

and in time started his political career. He was previously associated with the Praja Socialist Party and also participated in National Struggle. He was General Secretary of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee 1962—67 and Member of

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

1962—75. A highlight of Dharia's political career was his staunch opposition to the

Thirty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of India The Thirty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act, 1975, made the declaration of " The Emergency" final and conclusive. In particular it codified and enlarged the State' ...

, introduced in 1975 by Prime Minister,

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 and was al ...

. He called it 'a surrender of parliamentary democracy to the coming dictatorship'. His opposition to the imposition of a state of

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

in June 1975 led to his detention by the government with other dissenting leaders such as

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar ( 17 April 1927 – 9 August 2015) was an Indian politician who served as the 8th Prime Minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal with ...

and others. He quit Congress after the emergency after 1975. He held various positions in Public life: * Member,

Pune Municipal Corporation The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC, IAST: Puṇe Mahānagarpālikā) is the civic body that governs the inner limits of Pune, India. It is in charge of the civic needs and infrastructure of the metropolis, which is spread over an area of 48 ...

, 1957—60, * Chairman of its Transport Undertaking, 1957–58; * Elected to

in 1964 and 1970; * Member, Fifth Lok Sabha, 1971—77 from

* Minister of State for Planning, May 1971 to October, 1974, * Minister of State for Works & Housing, October 1974 to March 1975; * Member, Sixth Lok Sabha, 1977-1980 from Pune. * Minister of Commerce, Civil Supplies and Co-operation since March, 1977; *

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Since the Prime Minister of India happened to be the ex-officio chairperson of Planning Commission of India, the position of the deputy chairperson had great significance. List of Deputy Chairpersons of the Plann ...

, Dec 90 - June 91

Awards

: Highest Padma Award, * D.Lit, *

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Awards or IPVM Awards are given by Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India to individuals and institutions who have done pioneering and exemplary work in the field of afforestation and wastela ...

, * Yashwantrao Chavan Award for Excellence, * Rajiv Gandhi Paryavaran Ratna Award, * Pune’s Pride Award, * Jeevan Gaurav Award, * Development Jewel Award, *26th

Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration The Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration is a prestigious award accorded by the Indian National Congress, after Indira Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India. The award is given annually, starting from 1985, to distinguished persons/ ...

References

External links

Founder President, Vanrai Trust website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dharia, Mohan 1925 births 2013 deaths People from Raigad district Politicians from Pune India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1977–1979 Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in social work Desai administration Members of the Cabinet of India Union ministers of state of India Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra Indian National Congress politicians from Maharashtra Indian environmentalists Indian independence activists from Maharashtra Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Lok Sabha members from Maharashtra Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Bharatiya Lok Dal politicians Social workers Social workers from Maharashtra Commerce and Industry Ministers of India Indian National Congress (U) politicians Indian National Congress politicians Janata Party politicians