B.G. Kher

People in Bombay had a nickname for him. They called him “Sajjan”, which means good and gentle. Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher earned it through honesty and modesty.

He was a lawyer by choice and a politician by need. He led Bombay twice before independence, and then became its first Chief Minister.

1How did a Ratnagiri boy become a lawyer?

Kher was born on 24 August 1888 at Ratnagiri. He spent some boyhood years at Kundgol, in Jamkhandi State. Later he moved to Pune to study at the New English School. Accounts say the reformer Gopal Krishna Gokhale pushed this move.

He joined Wilson College in Mumbai. He took his B.A. with high distinction in 1908. He also stood first in Sanskrit and won a prize for it.

He trained as a lawyer. With Manilal Nanavati he started a firm, Manilal Kher and Company. It began work on 7 June 1918. His career in law was already strong when politics called.

• Born 24 August 1888 at Ratnagiri.
• Studied in Pune; moved there at the push of Gokhale, per accounts.
• B.A. from Wilson College, 1908.
• Law firm Manilal Kher and Company, 1918.

2How did he enter politics and prison?

Kher’s public career began in 1922. He became Secretary of the Bombay branch of the Swaraj Party. That party was founded by leaders such as Chittaranjan Das.

During civil disobedience he was jailed twice. In 1930 he got eight months of rigorous imprisonment. In 1932 he got two years. He was arrested again in 1940.

In August 1942 the Quit India movement began. Police arrested him again. He was freed on 14 July 1944.

• Joined politics in 1922: Secretary, Swaraj Party, Bombay.
• Jailed in 1930 (eight months) and 1932 (two years).
• Arrested in Quit India, August 1942; freed 1944.
• Read about Chittaranjan Das.

3What did he do as Premier and CM?

The Government of India Act of 1935 brought elected provincial governments. Kher became the second Prime Minister of Bombay Province in 1937. He followed Dhanjishah Cooper. He stayed until November 1939.

He took office again on 30 March 1946. After independence he is called the first Chief Minister of Bombay State. Sources differ on the exact date the title changed from Premier. The legacy view says it happened when the Constitution took effect on 26 January 1950. Either way, he stayed in office until April 1952.

His government helped set up Poona University in 1949. Today it is the Savitribai Phule Pune University. A building on its campus, Kher Bhavan, carries his name.

In 1950 and 1951 he gave plots in Bandra East to the Hindu-Khatik community. That area is still called Kherwadi. He also supported schools, a hospital, water and electricity for its people.

• Prime Minister of Bombay Province from 1937; again from 30 March 1946.
• First Chief Minister of Bombay State; in office until April 1952.
• Helped found Poona University, 1949.
• Land to Hindu-Khatik families; Kherwadi.
• Read about the Government of India Act 1935.

4What did the language commission say?

In 1955 President Rajendra Prasad appointed Kher to head the Official Language Commission. Its job was to study how Hindi could replace English in official work. The commission gave its report in July 1956.

The report did not call for an overnight switch. It urged a gradual, phased shift from English to Hindi. This matters for exams. Many students mix it up with the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation, which came nine years later.

• Appointed chairman in 1955; report in 1956.
• Advice: a gradual shift from English to Hindi.
• The 1965 agitation came later.
• Read about the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation.

5How is he remembered?

Kher won the Padma Vibhushan in 1954. Accounts say he also served as India’s High Commissioner in London for two years after leaving office. He sat in the Constituent Assembly, too.

In 1976 Little Gibbs Road on Malabar Hill was renamed B.G. Kher Marg. He died on 8 March 1957 in Pune while recovering from an asthma attack. Even the British noted his honesty. Declassified MI5 files praised his sincerity.

• Padma Vibhushan, 1954.
• Road renamed B.G. Kher Marg in 1976.
• Died 8 March 1957, Pune.
• Known for honesty and modesty.

6What are the exam traps?

Each state’s first Chief Minister is a favourite mix-up. Keep Kher separate from the others.

• Kher: Bombay. Reddiyar: Madras. Bhargava: Punjab.
• He held two titles: Prime Minister of the Province, then Chief Minister.
• His language commission is 1955, not 1965.
• Read about Gopi Chand Bhargava and O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar.