First Nehru ministry

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First Jawaharlal Nehru ministry
Flag of India.svg
1st ministry of the Dominion of India
and later the Republic of India
The first Cabinet of independent India.jpg
The cabinet of India on 31 January 1950, along with the newly appointed President Rajendra Prasad. (L to R sitting) B. R. Ambedkar, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sardar Baldev Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhbhai Patel, John Mathai, Jagjivan Ram, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and S. P. Mukherjee. (L to R standing) Khurshed Lal, R. R. Diwakar, Mohanlal Saksena, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, N.V. Gadgil, K. C. Neogy, Jairamdas Daulatram, K. Santhanam, Satya Narayan Sinha and B. V. Keskar
Date formed15 August 1947 (1947-08-15)
Date dissolved15 April 1952 (1952-04-15)
People and organisations
Monarch George VI (1947–50)
President Rajendra Prasad (1950–52)
Governor-General
Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Deputy Prime minister Vallabhbhai Patel (until 15 December 1950)
Member party Indian National Congress
Status in legislature Majority
Opposition partyNone
Opposition leaderNone
History
Election 1945 Indian general election
Outgoing election 1951 Indian general election
Legislature terms4 years and 8 months
Predecessor Interim
Successor Second Nehru ministry

After power transformation, on 15 August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru assumed office as the first Prime Minister of India and chose fifteen ministers to form the First Nehru ministry.

Contents

Background

The Constituent Assembly was set up while India was still under British rule, following negotiations between Indian leaders and members of the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India from the United Kingdom. The provincial assembly elections had been conducted early in 1946. The Constituent Assembly members were elected to it indirectly by the members of these newly elected provincial assemblies, and initially included representatives for those provinces which came to form part of Pakistan, some of which are now within Bangladesh. The Constituent Assembly had 299 representatives, including nine women.

The Interim Government of India was formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly. The Indian National Congress held a large majority in the Assembly, with 69 percent of all of the seats, while the Muslim League held almost all of the seats reserved in the Assembly for Muslims. There were also some members from smaller parties, such as the Scheduled Caste Federation, the Communist Party of India, and the Unionist Party. In June 1947, the delegations from the provinces of Sindh, East Bengal, Baluchistan, West Punjab, and the North West Frontier Province withdrew, to form the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, meeting in Karachi. On 15 August 1947, the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan became independent nations, and the members of the Constituent Assembly who had not withdrawn to Karachi became India's Parliament. Only 28 members of the Muslim League finally joined the Indian Assembly. Later, 93 members were nominated from the princely states. The Congress thus secured a majority of 82%


Jawaharlal Nehru took charge as the first Prime Minister of India on 15 August 1947, and chose 15 other members for his cabinet. Vallabhbhai Patel served as the first Deputy Prime Minister until his death on 15 December 1950. Lord Mountbatten, and later C. Rajagopalachari, served as Governor-General until 26 January 1950, when Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India. [1] [2]

Cabinet members

Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India on 15 August 1947. Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of free India on Aug 15, 1947.jpg
Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India on 15 August 1947.

There were members from Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Parsi communities represented in India's first ministry. There were two members from the Dalit community represented as well. [3] [4] Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was the only female Cabinet minister. The following is a list of the ministers in the first Cabinet. [1]

Key
PortfolioMinisterTook officeLeft officeParty
Prime Minister
Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
Minister of Scientific Research 		15 August 1947 Second Nehru ministry   INC
Deputy Prime Minister 15 August 194715 December 1950 [†]   INC
Minister of Home Affairs and States 15 August 194715 December 1950 [†]   INC
26 December 195025 October 1951 [RES]   INC
1951Second Nehru ministry  INC
Minister of Information and Broadcasting 15 August 19471949  INC
194915 April 1952  INC
Minister of Finance 15 August 19471948  Justice Party
6 May 19501950 [RES]   Independent
1950Second Nehru ministry  INC
Minister of Law and Justice 15 August 19476 October 1951 [RES]   SCF
Minister of Defence 15 August 1947Second Nehru ministry  Panthic Party
Minister of Railways and Minister of Transport 15 August 194722 September 1948  INC
22 September 1948Second Nehru ministry  INC
Minister of Education 15 August 1947Second Nehru ministry  INC
Minister of Food and Agriculture 15 August 194714 Jan 1948  INC
19 Jan 194813 May 1950 [RES]   INC
Minister of Industries and Supplies 15 August 19476 April 1950 [RES]   Hindu Mahasabha
13 May 195026 December 1950 [RES]   INC
Minister of Labour 15 August 194715 April 1952  INC
Minister of Commerce 15 August 194715 April 1952  Independent
Minister of Communications 15 August 194715 April 1952  INC
Minister of Health 15 August 194715 April 1952  INC
Minister of Works, Minister ofMines and Power 15 August 194715 April 1952  INC
Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation 15 August 1947April 1950 [RES]   INC
Minister without portfolio 15 August 194722 September 1948  INC
15 August 194715 April 1952  INC

Deputy Ministers

S.noNamePeriod
1. Deputy Minister of Works, Mines and Power Surendranath Buragohain 14 August 195026 December 1950134 days
Deputy Minister of Works, Production and Supply 26 December 195013 May 19521 year 139 days
2. Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting R. R. Diwakar 7 October 194826 January 19501 year 111 days
3. Deputy Minister of Finance Mahavir Tyagi 16 February 195113 May 1952
4. Minister of State for Railways K. Santhanam 1 October 194810 March 19523 years, 241 days
Minister of Road Transport and Highways 1 October 194817 April 19523 years 199 days
5. Deputy Minister of Railways B. V. Keskar 10 March 195213 May 195264 days
Deputy Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations 7 December 194826 January 19501 year, 50 days
Deputy Minister of External Affairs 31 January 195013 May 19522 years, 103 days
6. Deputy Minister of Defence Kumar Shree Himmatsinhji Jadeja 14 August 195029 February 19521 year, 199 days
7. Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture Mosalikanti Thirumala Rao 21 August 195013 May 19521 year, 266 days
8. Deputy Minister of Communications Khurshed Lal 1 October 194829 January 19512 years, 120 days
9. Deputy Minister of Communications Raj Bahadur 29 January 195113 May 19521 year, 105 days
10. Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry Dattatraya Parashuram Karmarkar August13 May
11. Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Satya Narayan Sinha 1 October 194826 February 1949148 days
12. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Rustom Khurshedji Sidhwa 11 October 195113 May 1952215 days

References

  1. 1 2 Krishna, Ananth V. (2011). India Since Independence: Making Sense Of Indian Politics. India: Pearson Education India. pp. 34–36. ISBN   9788131734650 . Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Ramachandra Guha, "India After Gandhi", Picador India, 2007. ISBN   978-0-330-39610-3
  3. ↑ "The New Cabinet". Hindustan Times. 15 August 1947. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  4. ↑ "New Cabinet of India". The Times of India. 15 August 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  5. 1 2 Sidin Vadukut (8 November 2014). "Déjà View | The Chetty Affair | Mint". Livemint.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  6. ↑ "Rajya Sabha Members, Biographical Sketches, 1952 – 2003: D" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "10 facts about Article 370 that you need to know – Elections News". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

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