Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai (9 August 1915 – 12 September 1993) was an Indian politician who served as the 3rd

Chief Minister of Gujarat The chief minister of Gujarat is the head of government, chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose Cabinet (government), council of ministers are Cabinet collective respons ...

from 1965 to 1971 and a leader of

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 ...

and later

Indian National Congress (O) The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a political party in India formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi. On 12 November 1969, the Prime Minist ...

Political career

Desai was born in

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

In a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

family. As a student, he took leading part in debates, sports and other activities at School and College. In 1941-42, he was arrested during the ‘ Quit India’ freedom Movement for offering individual

Satyagrah Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

and went to jail for one year. He was Education Minister in the reorganised

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

. Hitendra Desai was the Minister of Law in the ministry headed by Dr.

Jivraj Narayan Mehta Jivraj Narayan Mehta (29 August 1887 – 7 November 1978) was an Indian politician and the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He also served as the first "Dewan" (Prime Minister) of the erstwhile Baroda state, and Indian high commissioner to the ...

. He was also Minister for Home and Deputy leader of the House. Later, he was the Chief Minister of the state from 20 September 1965 to 12 May 1971. He decided to side with the syndicate after the expulsion of

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 ...

from the Congress. The 1969 Gujarat riots occurred during his administration.

Notes

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
1915 births 1993 deaths Chief ministers of Gujarat People from Surat Gujarat MLAs 1967–1971 Chief ministers from Indian National Congress (Organisation) Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians India MPs 1977–1979 Lok Sabha members from Gujarat Commerce and industry ministers of India Janata Party (Secular) politicians Janata Party politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat {{Gujarat-INC-politician-stub