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.
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]
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]
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]
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]