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B.G. Kher

B.G. Kher was the first Chief Minister of Bombay State, a large multilingual state that spanned Marathi, Gujarati, and Kannada-speaking districts. He was widely known by the nickname “Sajjan” — good and gentle.

B.G. Kher on a 1989 Indian commemorative postage stamp. No photograph of him is filed on Wikimedia Commons. GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons.

📑 Contents

1Must Know
2Good to Know
3Test Yourself
4Great to Know

Must Know Need to Know

Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher was born on 24 August 1888, at Ratnagiri, in the Bombay Presidency.
He studied at Wilson College, Mumbai, earning his B.A. with distinction in 1908.
He trained as a lawyer, and co-founded the law firm Manilal Kher & Co. in 1918.
He joined the Bombay branch of the Swaraj Party as Secretary, in 1922.
During the Civil Disobedience Movement, he was arrested and imprisoned twice: for eight months in 1930, and for two years in 1932.
He was arrested again during the Quit India Movement, in August 1942, and released in July 1944.
He became Premier of Bombay Province on 19 July 1937, serving until 2 November 1939.
He became Premier again on 30 March 1946. When India became independent on 15 August 1947, the Bombay Presidency became Bombay State, and his title changed to Chief Minister — making him its first Chief Minister.
He held the post of Chief Minister until April 1952, then served as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, from 1952 to 1954.

Good to Know Good to Know

As Chief Minister, Kher was instrumental in establishing Poona University, now known as Savitribai Phule Pune University, in 1949.
He allocated land in Bandra East, Mumbai, to the Hindu-Khatik community, in 1950–51. The area is still known as Kherwadi, in his memory.
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, in 1954.
He was widely known by the nickname “Sajjan,” meaning good and gentle, for his reputation of honesty and modesty.

Test Yourself

Great to Know Great to Know

Bombay State at the time of his Chief Ministership included Marathi, Gujarati, and Kannada-speaking districts. The state’s boundaries were reorganised again later, in 1956, after his term ended.
A road on Malabar Hill, Mumbai, was renamed “B.G. Kher Marg,” in his honour, in 1976.
He died on 8 March 1957, in Pune, while recuperating from an asthma attack.

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