Ajit Prasad Jain (6 October 1902 – 2 January 1977) was an Indian politician who served as the President of the U. P. Congress Committee, member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, Union minister and

Governor of Kerala The governor of Kerala is the constitutional head of state of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The governor is appointed by the President of India, and holds office at the President's pleasure. The governor is ''de jure'' head of the govern ...

from

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...

, in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India.

Early life

He was born in Meerut in 1902 in a middle-class family. He graduated with Honours at the

Lucknow University University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

and also took his LL.B. He started his legal practice in 1926. He was an alumnus of the SM College, Chandausi. Soon after A.P. Jain was drawn to politics and joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

Political career

He took part in the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) and all later Congress movements. He soon became prominent in U.P. politics. He became a member of the U.P. Congress working committee and also the Secretary of Provincial Congress Committee. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces. He was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary in the U.P. Government 1937 and remained in office till the resignation of the Ministry in 1939. He was a member of the All India Congress Committee for a long time. He was a minister with

cabinet rank The ministerial ranking, Cabinet ranking, order of precedence in Cabinet or order of precedence of ministers is the "pecking order" or relative importance of senior ministers in the UK government. Use The ministerial ranking is said by Peter ...

in charge of the Ministry of Rehabilitation under Nehru following the constitution of the First Lok Sabha in 1952. He subsequently held the portfolio of Union Minister for Food and Agriculture in Mr. Nehru's cabinet from December 1954 to August 1959. He became President of the U.P. Congress Committee in May 1961. When

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (18 February 1894 – 24 October 1954) was a politician, an Indian independence activist and a socialist. Kidwai served as a Minister of Communications in the first Cabinet of Independent India (First Nehru Ministry). He ha ...

formed the All India Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party owing to ideological differences with the then

Congress president The national president of the Indian National Congress is the chief executive of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the principal political parties in India. Constitutionally, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of ...

Purushottam Das Tandon Purushottam Das Tandon (; 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a freedom fighter from Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is widely remembered for his opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the ''Official Languag ...

, Jain handed in his resignation to Nehru in solidarity with Kidwai. Nehru however turned it down. He succeeded

V. V. Giri Varahagiri Venkata Giri (; 10 August 1894 – 24 June 1980), better known as V. V. Giri was an Indian statesman and activist who served as the president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He also served as the vice president of ...

as the third governor of Kerala serving from 2 April 1965 to 6 February 1966 during which time the state remained under President's rule. He resigned from the post of Governor to canvass support for Mrs.

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

for position of Prime Minister following the untimely death of

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; born Lal Bahadur Srivastava; 2 October 190411 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966. He previously served as Minister ...

. He belonged to the leftist section of the Congress and wanted to strengthen this section by opposing

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist, independence activist who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading th ...

. Later he was elected to the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

in 1967 and remained a member till 1975. He accepted the Chairmanship of the Irrigation Commission and the report of this commission remains a monumental work. He was a member of the Zamidari Abolition Committee in UP and was instrumental in the drafting of Zamidari Abolition bill and in the plan to link the rivers of India. His far-sightedness in this project and in the establishment of

green revolution The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in Developed country , devel ...

led to the self-sufficiency of food in India. He established Seva Nidhi Trust in Saharanpur & in Fatehpur in UP, India, which till date is running a house for destitutes, TB clinic & free eye camps. Additionally it gives out scholarships to poor and needy students. These establishments are being guided by his son Dr K P Jain, a renowned doctor in Delhi (Ex chairman Ganga Ram Hospital). Ajit Prasad Jain won the 1952 and 1957 Lok Sabha election as the Congress Party candidate from Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and from Tumkur (Karnataka) where he won in 1962. He chaired the Uttar Pradesh Police Commission, looking into police reforms in the state, from 1960 and it submitted its report in 1961. His ''Shadow of the bear: The Indo-Soviet treaty'' was published in 1971 and ''

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

: what really happened'', based on his recollection of events that led to the arrest of

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

in 1953, in 1972.

Death

Ajit Prasad Jain died on 2 January 1977 at the age of 75. Data India Press Institute of India, 1977, Page 32
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References

External links

The city of hope: the Faridabad story By L. C. Jain
* http://dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10689/11626/9/Chapter%204_221-273p.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Ajit Prasad 1902 births 1977 deaths India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 Governors of Kerala Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People from Saharanpur district Jain Indian independence activists Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh