Dinkar Mehta
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Dinkar Krishnalal Mehta (17 October 1907 – 30 August 1989) was an Indian politician and trade unionist. Mehta headed the communist movement in Gujarat for decades – leading the Gujarat state unit of the Communist Party of India between 1936 and 1964, and then the Communist Party of India (Marxist) between 1964 and 1989. He served as a legislator of Bombay State and Mayor of Ahmedabad. Mehta was a prominent leader of the Mahagujarat movement, which struggled for the creation of a Gujarati linguistic state.
Mehta was born on 17 October 1907.[1][2] As a young man, Mehta become involved with the Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi.[3] Mehta took part in the 1928 Bardoli Satyagraha and led the 1930 Dharasana Satyagraha.[1][2] He was jailed for his role in the civil disobedience movements.[1][3] He graduated in social sciences from Gujarat Vidyapith in 1929, and would later teach there until 1933.[1] In 1934, he took part in founding the Gujarat unit of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP).[2]
In the Communist Party
In 1935, he became a member of the Communist Party of India.[2] As of 1936, the CPI placed him in charge of leading the party in Gujarat.[4] He served as joint secretary of the Congress Socialist Party between 1936 and 1938.[2] He was suspended from the CSP membership in 1938 for disobeying its general secretary's instructions.[5] He organised trade unions and other mass organizations.[3] He spent the years of 1940–1942 underground.[2]
Mehta was arrested in 1948, but managed to escape from jail the following year.[2] He would remain underground until 1951.[2] Mehta stood as the CPI candidate in the Ahmedabad III constituency in the 1952 Bombay Legislative Assembly election, standing against Congress candidate Indumati Chimanlal.[6] Mehta finished in second place with 4,793 votes (17.76%).[6] A by-election for one of the Ahmedabad City seats in the Bombay Legislative Assembly was held on 4 June 1952. The Indian National Congress fielded the Chief Minister Morarji Desai, CPI fielded Mehta. Desai won the seat with 18,583 votes (61.08%) against 11,841 (38.92%) votes for Mehta.[7][8][9]
He was elected to the Central Committee of CPI at its 1953 Madurai Party Congress.[10]