First Nehru ministry

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First Nehru ministry
Flag of India.svg
1st ministry of the Dominion 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) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sardar Baldev Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, Dr. John Mathai, Shri Jagjivan Ram, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and Dr. 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 Dr. B. V. Keskar.
Date formed 15 August 1947 (1947-08-15)
Date dissolved 15 April 1952 (1952-04-15)
People and organisations
Head of government Jawaharlal Nehru
Deputy head of government Vallabhbhai Patel (until 15 December 1950)
Head of state Lord Mountbatten (Governor-General)
(15 August 1947 – 21 June 1948)
C. Rajagopalachari (Governor-General)
(21 June 1948 – 26 January 1950)
Rajendra Prasad (President)
(from 26 January 1950)
Member party Indian National Congress
Status in legislature Majority
Opposition party None
Opposition leader None
History
Election(s) 1946
Outgoing election 1951
Legislature term(s) Script error: The function "age_generic" does not exist.
Predecessor None
Successor Second Nehru ministry

After independence, 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.

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.

There were members from Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh communities. There were two members from the Dalit caste as well.[3][4][5] Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was the only female Cabinet minister. The following is a list of the ministers in the first Cabinet.[1]

Key
  • Died in office
  • RES Resigned
Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party
Prime Minister
Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
Minister of Scientific Research
  Jawaharlal Nehru 15 August 1947 Second Nehru ministry INC
Deputy Prime Minister   Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 15 August 1947 15 December 1950[†] INC
Minister of Home Affairs and States   Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 15 August 1947 15 December 1950[†] INC
  C. Rajagopalachari[6] 26 December 1950 25 October 1951[RES] INC
  Kailash Nath Katju 1951 Second Nehru ministry INC
Minister of Information and Broadcasting   Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 15 August 1947 1949 INC
  R. R. Diwakar[7] 1949 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Finance   R. K. Shanmukham Chetty 15 August 1947 1949 INC
  John Mathai 1949 1950[RES] INC
  C. D. Deshmukh 1950 Second Nehru ministry INC
Minister of Law   B. R. Ambedkar[8] 15 August 1947 1951[RES] SCF
Minister of Defence   Baldev Singh 15 August 1947 Second Nehru ministry Panthic Party
Minister of Railways and Transport   John Mathai 15 August 1947 22 September 1948 INC
  N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar 22 September 1948 Second Nehru ministry INC
Minister of Education   Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 15 August 1947 Second Nehru ministry INC
Minister of Food and Agriculture   Jairamdas Daulatram 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Industries and Supplies   Syama Prasad Mookerjee 15 August 1947 6 April 1950[RES] Hindu Mahasabha
Minister of Labour   Jagjivan Ram 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Commerce   Cooverji Hormusji Bhabha 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Communications   Rafi Ahmed Kidwai 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Health   Amrit Kaur 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Works, Mines and Power   Narhar Vishnu Gadgil 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC
Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation   K. C. Neogy 15 August 1947 April 1950[RES] INC
Minister without portfolio   N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar[9] 15 August 1947 22 September 1948 INC
  Mohanlal Saxena 15 August 1947 15 April 1952 INC

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Ramachandra Guha, "India After Gandhi", Picador India, 2007. ISBN 978-0-330-39610-3
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  6. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BDGqZmHMQlGbEuUT7jdObK/Dj-View--The-Chetty-affair.html
  7. [1] PDF (RAJYA SABHA MEMBERS, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 1952 - 2003: D)
  8. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BDGqZmHMQlGbEuUT7jdObK/Dj-View--The-Chetty-affair.html
  9. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/article-370-issue-omar-abdullah-jammu-and-kashmir-jawaharlal-nehru/1/364053.html

Further reading