Uma Shankar Dikshit (12 January 1901 – 30 May 1991) was an Indian politician, cabinet minister and Governor of West Bengal and Governor of Karnataka.Governors
Governor of Karnataka website.

Life

He was born on 12 January 1901 at village Ugu of

Unnao Unnao is a city and district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Unnao is located on the eastern bank of the Ganges River, and it is a satellite city of Kanpur. Administratively, Unnao lies within Unnao district, the district of Unnao and is ...

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 ...

state, to the Kanyakubja Brahmin parents Ram Sarup and Shiv Pyari. He later studied at the Christ Church College, Kanpur. As a student, he joined the freedom movement and became the Secretary of the District Congress Committee Kanpur during the period when Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was the President of the committee. He served the Country as the Home Minister, Health Minister and Governor of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. He also served as treasurer of All India Congress Committee, and managing director of Associated Journals at Lucknow. He founded a Girls Intermediate College at his village Ugu in the memory of his mother.
He was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India in 1989, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Career

After Independence, he remained close to Nehru and later sided with Indira Gandhi during the 1969 split in

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 ...

. He joined the Indira Gandhi cabinet in 1971, thereafter he remained Minister for Works and Housing, Govt. of India, 1971-72 later given additional charge of Health and Family Planning, Minister for Home Affairs, 1973–74 and Minister for Shipping and Transport, 1975. He also remained Treasurer,

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

(AICC), 1970–75. He remained the Governor of Karnataka, 1976–77 and Governor of West Bengal 1984–1986. He died at New Delhi on 30 May 1991 after a prolonged illness at the age of 90 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikshit, Uma Shankar 1901 births 1991 deaths People from Unnao district Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh Members of the Cabinet of India Governors of West Bengal Governors of Karnataka Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Ministers of internal affairs of India Leaders of the Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh Health ministers of India