Bhulabhai Desai

smjftcP TTTCH Pmfdl BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA 'Blt^W 'ot’m <Hldddl Hi^Hl «qtoSKj spadaicJ Ss±be-sS*Sj smjfW HKd^ f>leM<*>K aitjS»« 01610© BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA an^Pif 2i»03C3 Bhulabhai Desai epa D3d M.C.Setalvad ^9110 [5 6XJ LJ IT rj£5 £ rfl'jp LjI 60 6TT 000160(0(5) (D1<5(BZIO<D)0*66)o3 ^>e& eDcr^^^Scô _ojt c cjT pfr .^tXJL fr» >A-j a p- 3TT^ra> *TRd PlHfdl BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA veldd^ =Hl^Ft4 dttddl Hid HI «j£Sks epsdicJ SsSae-aWcb 3nq;f^n?> dKd^ RlcMd-K 0©0© g>?flOI 3fig^R5 - *TR?TRJ PWdN: 7>^'-WTW3 ^ feBVT^T IT)6xii_iit rj^1ir)i_flff)6iT cnoieocxo) (nlâao<0)o<eoa3 ^>eS oOo»^<5cx> —a*—o ^.S* pfo. .îXJL fr> lA-jiA-p- 'HKd Pi*ifdl BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA s»td(^S3 T?%t '5|1^s bH'SH frlfot 5Hl^pL4 <HUddl Hi^HI tsqbZti apad^cd SstoE’zk ——1 ..■-."■- o©©© ©dfiGi anqf _ _y #■ fe^Kr^T r& 6XJ i_i rr jj$5 & #1 n 6fr cnaieora®) (rfl<3in20<D>0ce©c/8 BUILDERS OF MODERN INDIA BHULABHAIDESAI M.C. SETALVAD PUBLICATIONS DIVISION MINISTRY OF INFORMATION & BROADCASTING GOVERNMENT OF INDIA First Edition 1981 (Saka 1902) First Reprint 1990 (Saka 1912) Second Reprint 1999 (Saka 1921) Third Reprint 2010 (Saka 1931) © Publications Division ISBN : 978-81-230-1608-5 BMI-ENG-REP-044-2009-10 Price : Rs. 220.00 Published by The Additional Director General (In-charge), Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Soochna Bhawan, C.G.O. Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003 Website: publicationsdivision.nic.in Editing : Maneesh Singhal Cover Design : R. K. Tandon Sales Centres : • Soochna Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110003 • Hall No. 196, Old Secretariat, Delhi - 110054 • 701, B - Wing, 7th Floor, Kendriya Sadan, Belapur, Navi Mumbai - 400614 • 8, Esplanade East, Kolkata - 700069 • ‘A’ Wing, Rajaji Bhawan, Besant Nagar, Chennai - 600090 • Press Road, Near Govt. Press, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 001 • Block 4, 1st Floor, Gruhakalpa Complex, M.G. Road, Nampally, Hyderabad - 500001 • 1st Floor, ‘F’ Wing, Kendriya Sadan, Koramangala, Bangalore - 560034 • Bihar State Co-operative Bank Building, Ashoka Rajpath, Patna - 800004 • Hall No. 1, 2nd Floor, Kendriya Bhawan, Sector H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226024 • Ambica Complex, 1st Floor, Paldi, Ahmedabad - 380007, • House No. 7, New Colony, Cheni Kuthi, K.K.B. Road, Guwahati - 781003 Typesetting : Nautiyal Computers, G-ll, Aruna Park, Shakar Pur, Delhi, 110092 Printed at : Chaar Dishayen Printers Pvt. Ltd., G-40, Sector-3, Noida Dedicated to The Memory of Ichhaben The Wife of Bhulabhai ABOUT THE SERIES The object of this series is to record, for the present and future generations, the story of the struggles and achievements of the eminent sons and daughters of India who have been mainly instrumental in our national renaissance and the attainment of independence. Except in a few cases, such authoritative biographies have not been available. The biographies are planned as handy volumes written by knowledgeable people and giving a brief account in simple words of the life and activities of the eminent leaders and of their times. They are not intended either to be comprehensive studies or to replace the more elaborate biographies. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Public.Resource.Org https://archive.org/details/bhulabhaidesaiOOseta PREFACE Over three years ago, I was asked to write a biography of Bhulabhai Desai in the “Builders of Modern India” series. Memories of the training I had received from him in the profession, and of my long association with him, impelled me to agree. It was, I believe, a rash undertaking, I was never in active politics while Bhulabhai’s main achievements were in the political field. It was not easy for me to picture the events, blurred by rapid changes in the national scene, which had moved his utterances and actions, and to appreciate the political atmosphere in which he had functioned. The task was made more difficult by the absence of any important papers preserved by him. Two good friends Raman Desai and A.G. Mulgaonkar, both interest in Bhulabhai, however, came to my rescue. We invited all those who had come in contact with Bhulabhai to sent us accounts of what they knew or remembered about him. There was a generous response. Some of these friends helped us by permitting themselves to be interviewed and a large number sent us written notes. These have furnished valuable material which has been freely used. I am truly grateful to all who were kind enough to respond. Desai and Mulgaonkar were kind enough to make a thorough search for all matter relating to Bhulabhai which could be found in contemporary newspapers, books and other writings and to complete for me notes based on these documents and the memoranda furnished by those who had come in contact with Bhulabhai. Shri L.C. Bhagwat of the A.I.R., Bombay was kind enough to assist them in this search. It was a laborious task which occupied them for over a year. But for their indefatigable and continuous assistance this biography could not have been written. I was also fortunate in obtaining valuable accounts from friends, who saw Bhulabhai function in two different fields. The chapter “In the Legislative Assembly” is largely based on what was given to me by Shri Y.N. Sukthankar who had, in his earlier days as a nominated member of the Assembly, watched Bhulabhai’s great performance in the Legislature. Shri G.N. Joshi, who was closely associated with Bhulabhai in Bardoli and in many other important matters as a junior, has inspired what I have set down on Bardoli and some cases of Bhulabhai and about his personality. As was to be expected, the family has been most helpful and co-operative. Shrimati Madhuri Desai has done her utmost to unearth old letters and papers; also a diary, kept by Bhulabhai when at Yeravada, which graphically sets down his views on men and events in those stirring and critical days. She was kind enough to supply to me typed copies of these documents and also sent the originals to me for being checked with the copies. Occasionally parts of the letters or diary were illegible or obscure. The gaps have been supplied and the meaning made clear with the minimum of addition or alteration. For the political setting in which Bhulabhai worked I have mainly relied on Shri R.C. Majumdar’s valuable History of the Freedom Movement in India, as is apparent from the quotations which I have profusely made from it. Apart from parts reproduced by me, a good deal of my chronology of political events is based upon that book. I tender my grateful acknowledgements to the author for the use I have made of this work. My acknowledgements are also due to a number of other distinguished writers from whose works I have taken the liberty to reproduce passages. Lastly, I must express my very grateful thanks for the trouble that my junior Shri J.M. Mukhi has taken in carefully looking through the whole manuscript and making useful suggestions. My endeavour has been to draw a true and faithful portrait of Bhulabhai as a national leader and an eminent lawyer. It is for the readers, particularly those who knew him and saw him at work, to judge how far I have succeeded. 11, Safdarjung Road, M.C. SETALVAD NEW DELHI ■ ' CONTENTS PAGE Preface vii Early Life 1 Legal Career 9 Early Excursions into Politics 46 Bardoli: Bhulabhai presents Peasants’ Case 60 In the Congress: Imprisonment 76 Swaraj Party: Elections 117 In the Legislative Assembly 130 Office Acceptance: How it Ended 166 Second War: Quit India Movement 188 Deadlock: Desai-Liaquat Pact 242 INA: Red Fort Trial 293 The End 340 His Personality . 344 Desai-Liaquat Pact: Photostat of an Explanatory Note by Bhulabhai Desai with Gandhiji’s Alterations 361 Desai-Liaquat Pact: Photostat of the Original Copy Signed by Bhulabhai Desai and Liaquat Ali Khan 367 Index 369 - •. - • . N Early Life IN a speech made in 1934, Bhulabhai described himself as “a man of the street.” “I was born a poor agriculturist and had to walk five miles to school at the age of seven with a view to learn the rudiments of Gujarati characters.” The family belonged to the Anavil Brahmin community which had played a dominant part in the social and administrative life of the Surat District of Gujarat since the days of the Peshwas. The Anavil, through centuries, became an agriculturist - an independent, hard-hitting, blunt, straightforward and dependable member of the community. A section of this community became farmers of land revenue under the Peshwas and was called Desais. It appears that almost all the middlemen through whom the revenue was collected - the Desais-belonged to the class of Anavil Brahmins. Later, a system of collecting land revenue direct from the cultivators was introduced, and cash allowances payable hereditarily were made to the Desais to compensate them for the loss of office. Thus it was that the family used to get an annual remuneration from the Government of Rs.20, being its share of this compensation. Bhulabhai’s father, Jivanji, started life as a man of small means. He and his brother, Khandubhai, with his four daughters, were often in financial difficulties. Jivanji was a pleader; Khandubhai, a scribe and stamp-vendor. Jivanji was appointed Government Pleader, Mukhtiyar, with the right to private practice, and he began to prosper. He bought a plot of 2 Bhulabhai Desai land in Chinvai near Bulsar.

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