Bhagwat Jha Azad
Indian independence activist and politician
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Bhagwat Jha Azad (28 November 1922 – 4 October 2010) was an Indian independence activist and politician who was Chief Minister of Bihar from 14 February 1988 to 10 March 1989.[1][2] He was at various times a member of parliament and a member of the Bihar state legislature.
Bhagwat Jha Azad | |
|---|---|
| |
| 18th Chief Minister of Bihar | |
| In office 14 February 1988 – 10 March 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Bindeshwari Dubey |
| Succeeded by | Satyendra Narayan Sinha |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 18 January 1980 – 27 November 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Ramjee Singh |
| Succeeded by | Chunchun Prasad Yadav |
| Constituency | Bhagalpur |
| In office 2 April 1962 – 18 January 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Banarsi Prasad Jhunjhunwala |
| Succeeded by | Ramjee Singh |
| Constituency | Bhagalpur |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 November 1922 Godda, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India |
| Died | 4 October 2011 (aged 88) Bhagalpur, Bihar, India |
| Children | Kirti Azad (son) |
Political career
Azad was a 20-year-old college student when he took part in a demonstration as part of the Quit India Movement in 1942. He was hit by a bullet in his leg. Later, Azad was also arrested several times by the British.[3]
Independence came in 1947, exactly five years after the Quit India Movement, and Azad was advantageously poised to make a career in politics. He was part of an influential cohort of politicians from Bihar who gained prominence on the national stage during the post-independence stage, known as the "Young Turks." He was a contemporary of Bindeshwari Dubey, Abdul Gafoor, Chandrashekhar Singh, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Kedar Pandey (all future chief ministers of Bihar); and of Sitaram Kesri, future national president of Indian National Congress.[citation needed]
Azad represented Bhagalpur constituency in the Lok Sabha for five terms.[4] He was elected to the third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth Lok Sabha. He served as a Union minister of state from 1967 to 1983 in the ministries of agriculture, education, labour and employment, supply and rehabilitation, civil aviation and food and civil supplies. He was a veteran Congressman, and Chief Minister of Bihar between 14 February 1988 and 10 March 1989.[4]
Cricketer Kirti Azad and former Indian Policy Service officer Yashovardhan Azad are his sons.
Bhagwat Jha Azad died in 2011 aged 89. He had been ailing for several years.[citation needed]