Chennai, India chakravif@gmail.com +919962716812

B. G. Kher

(1888 – 1957) – (Maharashtra)

Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (Aged 69) born on 24 August 1888, was an Indian politician who served as the first Chief Minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State, which consisted of present-day Maharashtra and Gujarat states of India. In 1954, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. Kher was a lawyer, solicitor, and social worker by choice, and a politician by necessity. He was often described as “Sajjan,” which means good and gentle.

Kher was a scholar, an accomplished orator, and a man with no pretensions. He obtained the degree of B.A. in 1908 from the Wilson College with high distinction and received the Bhau Daji Lad prize for standing first in Sanskrit. In 1918, he started a law firm called Manilal Kher & Co with Mr. Manilal Nanavati.

B.G. Kher’s political career began in 1922 when he was appointed as the Secretary of the Bombay branch of the Swaraj Party. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, he was arrested and sentenced to eight months of rigorous imprisonment and fine in 1930. He was again arrested in 1932 and sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fine.

He became the first Premier of the Bombay Province in 1937 and continued in office until October 1939. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1940. During the Quit India struggle, he was arrested again and imprisoned in August 1942. He was released from prison on 14 July 1944. He again became the Premier of the Bombay Province on 30 March 1946.

Kher was instrumental in the establishment of Poona University (now called the Savitribai Phule Pune University). A building in the university campus is named after him as “Kher Bhavan.” Little Gibbs Road in the Malabar Hill area of Mumbai was designated as B.G. Kher Marg in 1976. He passed away on 8 March 1957.