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Morarji Desai was born on February 29, 1896,
at village Bhadeli, near Bulsar in the Surat
district of Gujarat in a middle-class Anavil
Brahmin family. His father, Ranchhodji, was
once a school teacher at Bhavnagar. His mother,
Vijiben, hardly knew the three R’s. Morarji
was married to Gajaraben when he was only 15.
They have a son and two daughters, one of whom
died young.
Morarji had his primary education in his village
and secondary education at Bulsar. After passing
the Matriculation examination in 1912, he joined
the Wilson College, Bombay, from where he graduated
with a First Class honours. He was a Viceroy’s
Commissioned Officer in the University Training
Corps.After Graduating he entered the Bombay
Provincial Civil Services in 1918 and served
in various capacities for 12 years.
In response to the call of Mahatma Gandhi to
Government servants to give up their jobs, Morarji
resigned his post of Deputy Collector in 1930
and joined the Civil Disobedience Movement.
He has remained a loyal Congressman ever since.
During the next four years he was thrice prisoner
for participating in the freedom movement. Morarji
was elected a member of the Gujarati Pradesh
Congress Committee and was also made its Secretary,
in which capacity he continued for six years
(1937-39). After relinquishing office in 1939,
he participated in the Individual Civil Disobedience
Movement and was later detained for about three
years in connection with the 1942 movement.
In 1946, he was again elected to the Bombay
Legislative Assembly and served as Home Revenue
Minister from 1946 to 1952. After the first
General Elections in 1952, he became the Chief
Minister of Bombay and continued in that capacity
till the reorganization of States in 1956. He
was instrumental in introducing in introducing
far-reaching reforms in the land revenue administration
and also in police and jail reorganization.
He thought of the peasant and tenant both and
enacted progressive legislation for them, much
before any State of India did anything for this
direction. His administration in Bombay State
was known for its efficiency, strength and integrity.
He joined the Union Cabinet as Minister for
Commerce and Consumer and Heavy Industries on
November 1, 1956. Later, he was redesignated
as Minister for Commerce and Industry. On March
22, 1958, he took over the portfolio of Finance.
Morarji Desai led the Indian Delegation to the
annual meetings of the Boards of Governors of
the International Monetary Fund and the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development in New
Delhi in 1958 and in Washington in 1959, 1960,
and 1961. He also attended the Commonwealth
trade and Economic Conference in Montreal in
1958 and the Commonwealth Finance Minister’s
Conference in London in 1960 and 1961.
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In July 1962, he paid
a visit to Brussels, Bonn, Geneva, Paris and Rome
to mobilize foreign aid for India’s Third
Five-year Plan, and also Washington, Ottawa and
Tokyo during September-October 1962 for similar
purposes.
Defence through development, creation of a climate
of confidence and initiative, export promotion
and austerity in government administration, public
corporations and companies in the private sector
and the personal lives of the privileged segments
of the society formed the main theme of his economic
and fiscal policies.
He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1962 and 1967 General
Elections from Surat Constituency. He again became
the Union Minister for Finance in 1962 in Nehru’s
Cabinet, but for strengthening the stability of
the Congress party he volunteered to retire under
the Kamaraj Plan in August 1963. He was then assigned
the Chairmanship of the Administrative Reforms
Commission, Government of India, during 1966-67.
Desai joined Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet in March
1967, as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
He made a good-will visit to Japan in August 1967
an a long foreign tour to London, Montreal, Washington,
Rio-de-Janeiro, Port of Spain, Paris and Bonn
in September-October 1967. He resigned from the
post of Deputy Prime Minister in July 1969 following
differences with the Prime Minister. After the
split in the Congress, he became the Chairman
of the Opposition Congress Party in Parliament
in November 1969.
He was a firm believer in the Swadeshi and nationalistic
education and was closely connected with the Gujarati
Vidyapith at Ahmedabad and Lok bharat at Sanosara,
and also with several cultural, religious, academic
and social bodies.
His esteem and stature as a front-rank national
leader was a tribute to his unswerving loyalty
to the Congress, to the catholicity of his outlook
and to the devoted services to the nation for
a long period of four decades.
Years lie lightly on him. His whole career was
a record of self-confidence, courage, fearlessness
and guarded innovations based on Gandhian concepts
punctuated by introspection and amends, whenever
necessary. His concerns for human welfare was
genuine, yet his firmness and adherence to truth
and purity of means to achieve it were, at times,
misunderstood. Even those who disagreed with him
would not doubt his sincerity.
Morarji Desai was always khadi-attired and walked
straight spine. He was a theist but not a ritualist.
Vegetarian, naturopath, non-smoker and teetotaler.
Morarji was a Spartan and a person with strong
convictions. Compromising with truth and morality
was against the grain of his character.
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