B.G.Kher – First Chief Minister of Bombay

Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was the first chief minister of Bombay State which consisted of present-day Maharashtra and Gujarat States of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1954. A lawyer, solicitor and social worker by choice and politician by necessity, Kher was often described as “Sajjan”, good and gentle. Kher was a scholar, an accomplished orator, and a man with no pretensions.

Main Events of his life:
– During the Civil disobedience movement, he was arrested and sentenced to eight months’ rigorous imprisonment and fine in 1930.
– He became the first Prime Minister of the Bombay Province in 1937 and continued in office till October 1939.
– He was arrested and imprisoned in 1940.
– During the Quit India struggle, he was arrested again and imprisoned in August 1942.
– He was released from prison on 14 July 1944.

He became the Chief Minister of the Bombay province on 30 March 1946. He was in office till 21 April 1952.

He was instrumental in the establishment of Poona University (Now called the “Savitribai Phule Pune University”). A building in the university campus is named after him as “Kher Bhavan.”

Little Gibbs Road in Malabar Hill area of Mumbai was designated as B.G. Kher Marg in 1976.

Kher was recuperating from an asthma attack at a private nursing home in Pune before he died on 8 March 1957.

Other Chief Ministers:
Bombay State had three Chief Ministers after the independence of India:

• Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher was the first Chief Minister of Bombay (1946–1952)
• Morarji Desai (1952–1956)
• Yashwantrao Chavan (1956–1960)

Also see Governors of Bombay

Article source: Wikipedia.org