Narhar Vishnu Gadgil (Kaka Saheb Gadgil: 1896–1966) was an Indian politician, economist, writer and Indian freedom fighter and a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly. He served as the Energy Minister in the first Nehru cabinet of independent India.

Introduction

Kakasaheb Gadgil was born on 10 January 1896 in Malagarh town of Mandsaur. Gadgil graduated from Fergusson College in Pune in 1918, and obtained a degree in law two years later.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel influenced Gadgil during the Indian independence movement. He joined the Indian National Congress soon after obtaining his law degree and started his active participation in the national independence movement. He faced imprisonment eight times from the ruling British government for participating.

Political journey

The Indian government issued a postage stamp in honor of Narhar Vishnu Gadgil in 1985.

In India's pre-independence days, Gadgil served as the President of the Poona District Congress Committee (1921–25). He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly (Imperial Legislative Council) in 1934. He later served as Whip (1935–45) of the Congress Legislature Party in the Bombay State Legislative Assembly.

Gadgil was nominated to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1946 from Bombay State. After independence, he served as the country's first Energy Minister in the Nehru cabinet from 15 August 1947 to 12 December 1950.

In his first year in the Union Cabinet, he initiated a project to build a military-caliber road from Pathankot to Srinagar via Jammu in Kashmir as a part of India's engagement in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. As a cabinet minister, he initiated important development projects related to the Bhakra, Koyna and Hirakud dams.

Gadgil was elected to the Lok Sabha in the 1952 parliamentary elections as a Congress candidate from the Pune parliamentary seat. After the election, he was elected a member of the Congress Working Committee during the period 1952–55.

Gadgil served as the Governor of Punjab (15 September 1958 to 1 October 1962) and then later (1964 to 1966) as the Vice-Chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Poona University.

He passed away on 12 January 1966 as the Vice-Chancellor of Poona University.

His political legacy was taken over by his son Jariya Vitthalrao Gadgil. He was elected Member of Parliament from the Pune Lok Sabha constituency as a Congress candidate in the 1980, 1984, 1989 parliamentary elections, and his grandson Anant Gadgil is currently the spokesperson of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee.

Writing

Published literature

    * Ungad Moti (Fine Articles)
    * Modern State and Independence (1962)
    * The collected works of Kakasaheb Gadgil
    * Six years in law
    * Kahi Mohra Kahi Moti (Profiles of contemporary political leaders)
    * Government From Inside (English) (1st edition 1988, translated into three languages)
    * Gyanbache Arthashastra (Marathi translation of Chanakya's Arthashastra, 1943)
   * Chocolatchi Vaadi (1967)
   *  Pathik (autobiography in two parts, 1964–65)
    * Majha Yelkot (Lalit Lekh, 1961)
   *  My Contemporaries (Portraits of contemporary political leaders, 1959)
   *  Mutha Te Main (Tya Kalchaya Germaniche Darshan, 1965)
    * Political Thought (1945)
    * Shadows of Lal Killyscha (Lalit Lekh, 1964)
    * Rhetoric (1958)
    * Vaḍī dhārāsabhāmāṃ cha varsha (?)
    * War and Indian economic policy (coauthored by D.R. Sohney, 1944)
    * Jurisprudence (1958)
    * Shikhancha History (1963)
    * Good scripture
    * Sattritale Kaka (1965)
    * Synology (1947)
    * Samagra Kaka (many, at least 18 volumes).
    * Anniversary
    * Smriti-Shesh (1958)
    * Hindi Andazpatrake (1942)

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