Bhakt Darshan (1912–1991) served

Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India: Places *Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas *Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom *Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India * Ga ...

as Member of Parliament in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

(India) as well as being a Deputy Minister and Minister of State in the governments 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was also a writer, being founder-editor of a Hindi weekly and writing for other publications.

Member of Parliament

In 1952, Darshan was elected the Member of Parliament from

Garhwal (Lok Sabha constituency) Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency is one of the five Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Uttarakhand. This constituency came into existence in 1957, following the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. It comprises five districts namely ...

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 ...

, in the first general elections of independent India. He represented that constituency for four consecutive parliaments, between 1952–1970, before resigning in 1971. The cause of his resignation was a split in his party, 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 ...

, caused by an ideological dispute between factions headed by Indira Gandhi on the one hand and people such as

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 ...

on the other. Darshan did not want to take sides and so left to lead a private life in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

Union Minister

As a Union Minister during 1963-1971 he held various portfolios. He was Deputy Minister for Education in the cabinets of

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

and

, and was later Minister of State for Transport and Minister of State for Education in Indira Gandhi's cabinet. He was the first Chairman of the

Kendriya Vidyalaya The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of Government of India, central government schools in India. Governed by the Ministry of Education (India), Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,257 schools in India, ...

Sangathan (Central School Organization). Darshan took keen interest in the development of Garhwal, especially in the matters of education and general welfare and upliftment of the poor and was associated with several organizations connected with the development of the region. He was involved in the promotion of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, he served as Deputy Chairman Hindi Sansthan Uttar Pradesh; Vice Chancellor Kanpur University; Deputy Chairman Uttar Pradesh Khadi and Gram Udiyog Board, and was intimately connected with various social and cultural organizations. He also organised the

Kasturba Gandhi Kasturba Mohandas Gandhi (, born Kasturba Gokuldas Kapadia; 11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was an Indian political activist who was involved in the Indian independence movement during British Raj, British India. She was married to Mohandas ...

National Memorial Fund. He worked relentlessly for the welfare of ex- servicemen and serving soldiers and also established

Azad Hind Fauj The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian anti-colonial nationalist Subh ...

Relief Fund. A promoter of healthy journalism. he was founder-editor of 'Karma Bhumi' a Hindi weekly. He wrote two publications, ''Suman Smriti Granth'' and ''Garhwal Ki Divangat Vibhutiyan''. Bhakt Darshan died on 30 April 1991 at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darshan, Bhakt India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 1912 births 1991 deaths Union deputy ministers of India People from Pauri Garhwal district