Jaisukhlal Hathi

Jaisukhlal Hathi
10th Governor of Punjab
In office 24 September 1977 – 26 August 1981
Chief Minister	Parkash Singh Badal Darbara Singh
Preceded by	Mahendra Mohan Choudhry
Succeeded by	Aminuddin Ahmad Khan
4th Governor of Haryana
In office 14 August 1976 – 23 September 1977
Chief Minister	Banarsi Das Gupta Devi Lal
Preceded by	Ranjit Singh Narula
Succeeded by	Harcharan Singh Brar
Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation
In office 13 March 1967 – 15 November 1969
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	Jagjivan Ram
Succeeded by	Jagjivan Ram
Minister of State, Ministry of Defence
In office 13 November 1966 – 13 March 1967
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Preceded by	A. M. Thomas
Succeeded by	Bali Ram Bhagat
Minister of Defence Supplies, Ministry of Defence
In office 24 January 1966 – 13 November 1966
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs
In office 24 January 1966 – 13 November 1966
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Succeeded by	Vidya Charan Shukla
In office 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966
Prime Minister	Gulzarilal Nanda
In office 9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966
Prime Minister	Lal Bahadur Shastri
In office 27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964
Prime Minister	Gulzarilal Nanda
In office 10 March 1964 – 27 May 1964
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Ramchandra Martand Hajarnavis
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office 3 April 1968 – 2 April 1972
Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
Constituency	Gujarat
In office 3 April 1962 – 2 April 1968
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru Gulzarilal Nanda Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi
Constituency	Gujarat
In office 3 April 1952 – 12 March 1957
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Constituency	Saurashtra State
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 5 April 1957 – 31 March 1962
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	M. S. Himmatsinghji
Constituency	Halar, Bombay State
Member of Constituent Assembly
In office 6 December 1946 – 25 January 1950
Constituency	Saurashtra State
Personal details
Born	(1909-01-19)19 January 1909 Muli, Muli State
Died	2 February 1982(1982-02-02) (aged 73)
Political party	Indian National Congress
Occupation	Politician Advocate

Jaisukhlal Hathi (19 January 1909 – 2 February 1982) was born in Muli, Saurashtra, which is in the Indian state of Gujarat. He served as a Union Minister in the Indian Government and also as governor of Punjab and Haryana. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha. He was born in 1909 and died in 1982.

Early life

His father Lalshankar Hathi was from Saurashtra. He married Padmavati on 27 May 1927, and he had four sons and one daughter. He studied at Alfred High School in Rajkot district, after which he moved to Bombay and cleared the Advocates Examination to join the Bar Council.

Administrative career

In 1943, he was appointed District and Sessions Judge in the erstwhile Rajkot State. In 1948, he became the Chief Secretary of the erstwhile Princely State of Saurashtra.

Parliamentary career

He was a member of the Constituent Assembly (1946-47) representing the State of Saurashtra. He was also elected to the Provisional Parliament in 1950. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 3 April 1952 to 12 March 1957; and in 1957, he was elected to the Second Lok Sabha representing the Indian National Congress. Hathi was elected to Rajya Sabha in April 1962 and served till 3 April 1968, following which he was reelected the same day and served till 2 April 1974.

Minister and Governor

Hathi served as Deputy Minister, Minister of State, and as Minister of Irrigation in the Union Council of Ministers holding portfolios of Irrigation and Power, Supply, Home Affairs, Defence from 1952 to 1962. He served as Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation from 1962 to 1964 and 1967–69. He was appointed Governor of Haryana on 14 August 1976 and he served till 23 September 1977, following which he was transferred to Punjab on 24 September 1977, where he served till 26 August 1981. He resigned from Governorship of Punjab on health grounds.

Other Administrative Positions and Public Life

He headed the Commission on Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in 1974, where he submitted a report that is known as the Hathi Commission report (1975). He also served as Chairman of National Lawyers Forum. He was a Director in the Press Trust of India. He worked with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan since its inception serving as Chairman of Bhavan's International Chapter and as Chairman of Central Kendra Committee. He served as a trustee of the Somnath and Dwarka Temples.

Writings

He wrote "Position of Indian States In Federation" in 1939 with an aim to define the roles that various Indian states would play in the Indian federation. "Sidelights on Indian Princess" was his second publication which was published in 1975. He also wrote a number of short stories for Bhavan's Journal from 1970 to 1974. His biography was titled "As It Happened."