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Lala Avtar Narain Gujral (also, Lala Avatar Narayan Gujral; died 1976) was an Indian politician from Punjab and the father of I. K. Gujral, the 12th prime minister of India (hence also the father-in-law of noted Hindi poet Sheila Gujral), and artist Satish Gujral. He represented the non-Muslim population of West Punjab in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan for a few months.

His grandson Naresh Gujral is also a politician in India.

Personal life

Gujral was born in Pari Darwaza, a hamlet about twenty five miles away from Jhelum; he lost his father Duni Chand at an age of sixteen to bubonic plague.^[1] Gujral was an alumnus of D.A.V. Lahore, and finished his higher secondary schooling from Jammu; he was a lawyer, by profession.^[1] He was married to Pushpa.^[1]

Gujral's son described him as a Hindu reformist who drew inspiration from the Arya Samaj movement and especially, Lala Lajpat Rai.^[1]

Political career

British India

Gujral served as the district-president for the Jhelum unit of the Indian National Congress.^[1] He was jailed multiple times by the British Government for engaging in subversive activities.^[1]

Pakistan

As the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India decided on partitioning India, Gujral chose to stay in Pakistan; he was ensured of a harmonious environment by Ghazanfar Ali Khan, a lawyer from Jhelum and a leading League politician.^[2] On 4 July 1947, Gujral was elected by the non-Muslim members of the (yet-undivided) Punjab Assembly to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan;^[3]^[a] he attended the inaugural session on 10 August.^[4]

Three days later, the non-Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly met in Gujral's home at Karachi, and formed the "Pakistan Congress"; he was elected as the Chief Whip.^[1] Soon, Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan, sent him to Delhi to ensure the safety of Muslims who wished to migrate to Pakistan; while in Delhi, Gujral arranged for the migration of his extended family and esp. the women.^[1] He stayed with his son in Karachi for a while, before following suit.^[1]^[b] A year later, in January 1949, the "Committee on Addition and/or Redistribution of Seats" recommended the dissolution of his seat in the Constituent Assembly.^[c]

India

Gujral settled in Jalandhar; at Nehru's behest, he was appointed as a Judge in the Punjab Industrial Tribunal.^[5] He died on 30 May 1976 of cardiac arrest.^[6]

Notes

^ He was nominated by the Congress; his fellow victors were Bhim Sen Sachar (Congress) and Ganga Saran (Ind.)
^ I. K. Gujral claims that they had no plans of leaving Pakistan until the 1948 Karachi riots motivated their decision;^[1] his elder brother Satish Gujral claims likewise and cites a tribal invasion of Jhelum district for triggering their migration.^[2] In October 1947, the local branch of the Hindu Mahasabha attacked Gujral for commending the protection afforded to the minority community in Jhelum; it was sarcatically noted that Gujral himself had "removed all [of his] relatives and capital to the Indian Union".^[2]
^ The post-migration population of Hindus in the province, as of May 1948, was deemed insufficient by the Committee to secure any representation.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Gujral, I. K. (2011). Matters of Discretion: an autobiography. Penguin Books. pp. 17–18, 23, 28–30. ISBN 978-938048080-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nair, Neeti (2011). "Memory and the Search for Meaning in Post-Partition Delhi". Changing Homelands: Hindu Politics and the Partition of India. Harvard University Press. pp. 220–224. ISBN 9780674057791.
^ "Punjab Speaker Defeated: Pakistan Assembly". Times of India. 5 July 1947. p. 8. ProQuest 347195954.
^ Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Sunday, 10th August, 1947. Vol. I (1). Lahore: Government of Pakistan. 1947. pp. 3–4.
^ Shukla, Rajeev (2022). Scars Of 1947: Real Partition Stories. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789354924101.
^ "Former ambassador to Moscow K.P.S. Menon awarded the Lenin Prize". India Today. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2022.