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 ...

, Union minister and Governor of Kerala from

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

, in the state of

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 1950 ...

, India.

Early life

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

Lucknow University The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher ed ...

and also took his LL.B. He started his legal practice in 1926. He was an alumnus of the SM College,

Chandausi Chandausi is a city and a municipal board in Sambhal district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The original name of the city was "Chanda Si", meaning "moon-like" (in Indian poetry the moon is considered to be beautiful). Actually, Chan ...

. Soon after A.P. Jain was drawn to politics and joined the

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 ...

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 Pete ...

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

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 Langu ...

, Jain handed in his resignation to Nehru in solidarity with Kidwai. Nehru however turned it down. He succeeded V. V. Giri 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 for position of Prime Minister following the untimely death of

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White R ...

. 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 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 ...

. Later he was elected to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, 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 legisl ...

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, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...

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 The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police), ( IAST: ), is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the ''Police Act, 1861' ...

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 The Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation was a treaty signed between India and the Soviet Union in August 1971 that specified mutual strategic cooperation. This was a significant deviation from India's previous position of ...

'' was published in 1971 and '' Kashmir: what really happened'', based on his recollection of events that led to the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah 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