Uma Shankar Dikshit (12 January 1901 – 30 May 1991) was an Indian politician, cabinet minister and

Governor of West Bengal The Governor of West Bengal is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of West Bengal and a representative of the President of India. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. His official residence is the Raj ...

and

Governor of Karnataka The Governor of Karnataka is the constitutional head of the Indian state of Karnataka. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is '' de jure'' he ...

.Governors

website.

Life

He was born on 12 January 1901 at village Ugu of

Unnao Unnao is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Unnao district and a part of Lucknow division, between Kanpur and Lucknow. Unnao is a large industrial city with three industrial suburbs around it ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

state, to Ram Sarup and Shiv Pyari. He later studied at the

Christ Church College, Kanpur Christ Church College, Kanpur is a college established in 1866, affiliated with Kanpur University, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Earlier in 1840, SPG Mission School was established to educated Christian students. Later its name turned to prese ...

. As a student, he joined the freedom movement and became the Secretary of the District Congress Committee Kanpur during the period when

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (26 October 1890 – 25 March 1931) was an Indian journalist, a leader of the Indian National Congress and an independence movement activist. He was an important figure in the non-cooperation movement and the freedom mo ...

was the President of the Committee. He served the Country as the Home Minister, Health Minister and Governor of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. He also served as treasurer of All India Congress Committee, and Managing Director of Associated Journals at Lucknow. He founded a Girls Intermediate College at his village Ugu in the memory of his mother.
He was awarded

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 ...

, the second highest civilian award in India in 1989, by the

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, ...

Career

After Independence, he remained close to Nehru and later sided with Indira Gandhi during the 1969 split in

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 ...

. He joined the Indira Gandhi cabinet in 1971, thereafter he remained Minister for Works and Housing, Govt. of India, 1971-72 later given additional charge of Health and Family Planning, Minister for Home Affairs, 1973–74 and Minister for Shipping and Transport, 1975. He also remained Treasurer,

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 ...

(AICC), 1970-75. He remained the

, 1976–77 and

1984-1986. He died at New Delhi on 30 May 1991 after a prolonged illness at the age of 90 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikshit, Uma Shankar 1901 births 1991 deaths People from Unnao district Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians Members of the Cabinet of India Governors of West Bengal Governors of Karnataka Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Ministers of Internal Affairs of India Leaders of the Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Health ministers of India