Biography of ‘Morarji Desai’
Morarji Desai was born on February 29, 1896 in Bhadeli near Bulsar in Gujarat. He is the eldest son of a school teacher. The Desais belong to the Anavil Brahmin community, who traditionally pursue farming and are known to be outspoken, industrious and hardy.
Morarji himself has said that in childhood he was a timid boy, but he overcame his weakness by the time he left college.
After passing his matriculation examination he went to Bombay on a scholarship from the Maharaja of Bhavnagar and studied science at the Wilson College, living in a free boarding house. After graduating from Wilson College with a first class in 1917, Morarji was recruited to the Bombay Provincial Civil Services in 1918.
His first posting was as Deputy Collector, Ahmedabad. In May 1930 he resigned from this post to join the Civil Disobedience Movement of Mahatma Gandhi. He felt that working for an alien government was not in keeping with the ideal of national emancipation he cherished. During the period thereafter he was imprisoned several times in 1940- 41 and 1942-45 for participating in the struggle for the country’s freedom.
As already said Mr. Morarji Desai is a man of very strong views. He is a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. Commenting on the importance of the village in the Indian economic development, he said that his government wanted to revolutionise village life by giving the highest priority to the development of agriculture and village industries. He added that he wanted to see that the villages were strong and united and had all the conveniences that were necessary for a happy human life.
Morarji Desai was made the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission to root out inefficient and unethical practices in government and business. As an efficient administrator, Mr. Desai did a fine job as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission. He served in this capacity from 1966 to 1967 when he took over as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Finance Minister in the new cabinet headed by Smt. Indira Gandhi after the 1967 general elections. In this election, the Congress Party had suffered major setbacks both in Parliament and in some states. Morarji yielded to the continuing leadership of Smt. Indira Gandhi because he did not wish to precipitate a further damaging conflict within the party. He accepted the dual portfolio of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. He passed away on 10th April 1995 in New Delhi.
