Dr Gopi Chand Bhargava: First CM of joint Punjab
Dr Gopi Chand Bhargava (March 8, 1889- Dec 26, 1966)
On August 15, 1947, Dr Gopi Chand Bhargava became the first Chief Minister of joint Punjab. A senior Congress leader and prominent Hindu face of the party, Bhargava remained CM until April 13, 1949, before taking over the reins of the state again, from October 18, 1949, to June 20, 1951. He got lucky yet again, assuming charge as CM of Punjab for the third time, but this time, as caretaker head for a short period — June 21, 1964, to July 6, 1964.
Born on March 8, 1889, in Sirsa, Bhargava pursued his MBBS degree from King Edward’s College in 1912 and practised medicine in Lahore. Old-timers recall that he would visit Kharar, near Chandigarh, often to meet one of his trusted lieutenants, Prithvi Singh Azad, who had served as education minister in his Cabinet. Bhargava had even assigned the officiating charge of CM to him during one of his overseas visits.
Born to Munshi Badri Prasad, a government servant, Bhargava passed his matriculation examination from DAV High School, Hisar, in 1905. On the completion of his schooling, he went to Lahore for higher education.
Dr Nihal Chand Sikri, a prominent Congress leader in Lahore, brought Bhargava into the party fold. “When Lala Lajpat Rai reached Lahore, Bhargava became his staunch follower,” they recount, saying that Bhargava quit his practice to support the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Facing trial under the Seditious Meeting Act, he was sentenced to four-month imprisonment and fined Rs 300 on January 7, 1922. He was known for taking the lead in organising the anti-Simon agitation and suffered injuries while shielding Lala Lajpat Rai.
Having actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement, Bhargava was arrested twice — in 1930 and 1933. In October 1940, he raised anti-war slogans and was arrested during Satyagraha launched by Mahatma Gandhi.
He remained behind bars in the Lahore Central Jail before being arrested again and sentenced to two-and-a-half year imprisonment during the Quit India Movement.
A tall leader of the Indian National Congress, he began his political career as a member of the Lahore Municipal Committee in 1920. He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Council in 1927 and resigned after the death of Jatin Das, a revolutionary. In 1937, he was elected again to the Punjab Legislative Assembly and became the Leader of Opposition, when the Unionist Government was formed under the leadership of Sir Sikander Hayat Khan. As Leader of Opposition, he fought from the front against the anti-public steps of the Khan government. Responding to Gandhi’s call, he resigned from the membership of the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1940.
Bhargava breathed his last on December 26, 1966, at the age of 77.
