Bhalchandra Vaidya (22 June 1928 – 2 April 2018), also known as Bhai Vaidya, was an Indian politician who served as the Home Minister of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n state of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
, a revolutionary, Member of
Legislative Assembly of the state of Maharashtra, Mayor of
Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
city, veteran
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
leader and head of the
Socialist Party of India
The Socialist Party was an Indian political party. It won 12 seats at the 1951 Indian general election, coming third. Despite Jayaprakash Narayan's personal popularity, its electoral fortunes did not improve. It merged with the Kisan Maz ...
.
Brief biography
Bhai was born on 22 June 1928 at
Dapode village in
Velhe taluka
Velhe Taluka, officially renamed as, Rajgad Taluka (''Vēlhē tālukā''), is a taluka in Haveli subdivision of Pune district of state of Maharashtra in India. The Taluka is entirely rural, and consists of 130 villages.
Demographics
Velhe ta ...
,
Poona District in a Marathi
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) or historically and commonly known as Chandraseniya Prabhu or just Prabhu is a caste mainly found in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. Th ...
(popularly known as
CKP) family.
He began his activism journey at the age of 14 as an Indian revolutionary. In his political career which spanned over 60 years, he was elected multiple times to the
Municipal Corporation
Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...
and later he became the Mayor of Pune city during 1974–75.
He was the first president of All India Mayor Association. He was elected as the Member of the
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (ISO: ''Mahārāṣṭra Vidhāna Sabhā'') is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. It consists of 288 members directly elected from single-seat constituenci ...
and later became the Home Minister of Maharashtra State in 1978.
He is well known for many reformative decisions during his Home Ministry, especially changing the police uniforms from half pants to full pants and refusing huge bribes from smugglers with his honest and uncompromising attitude. Bhai was at the forefront of the
Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, () commonly known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Central India from 1956 to 1960.
The Samiti demanded t ...
movement with his mentor
Shreedhar Mahadev Joshi and other influential leaders of the time.
Bhai was a vocal opponent of emergency even during his Mayorship, when he organised a rally of 20,000 people at
Shaniwar Wada
Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India. Built in 1732, it was the seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818. The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, but the surviving ...
and got arrested. As a revolutionary and a lifelong activist who fought for the rights of
Dalit
Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...
s, farmers and backward classes, Bhai was jailed 28 times.
Career
He served as Home minister of state of Maharashtra, Mayor of Pune City, President of Socialist Party, President of Rashtra Seva Dal, National Secretary of Janata Party, National Chief of Samajwadi Jana Parishad, President of Bharat Yatra Trust, Delhi, President of S.M Joshi Medical Trust Pune, Pune Municipal Retirement Service home from 1995.
Death
Bhai Vaidya died from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
on 2 April 2018 at the age of 89. For last 10 years of his life he fought for free health and education. He is known as an honest politician and a fierce socialist leader/activist who never compromised on his morals and values during his career.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, ''“We have lost a person who believed in and lived for the democratic values all his life. He fought for the poor relentlessly. His contribution to the freedom movement and the Goa freedom movement is of immense importance. Vaidya’s dossiers on value and morale based politics are emblems. This is a big loss for the state.”''
Prakash Javadekar, Union human resource development minister, recounted his recent meeting with Vaidya on Padwa. ''“He had come to meet me, to request that President should be invited for the inauguration of Ramabai Ambedkar’s statue. He was happy to know that the President was positive about the event,”'' he said, adding that Vaidya would always remember number by heart and would recount them in minutes when others struggled with directories.
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References