Desai, Morarji Ranchhodji

Desai, Morarji Ranchhodji (b. 29 Feb. 1896, d. 10 Apr. 1995). Prime Minister of India 1977–9 Born in Bhadeli (Gujarat) he was a civil servant in Bombay (1918–30) before becoming a disciple of Gandhi, spending a total of ten years in British prisons for civil disobedience. He made his reputation as Finance Minister of Bombay Province 1946–52, before becoming its Chief Minister 1952–6. He joined the Indian government in 1956 as Minister of Commerce and Industry, and was then Minister of Finance 1958–63, overseeing a series of five-year plans which led to a doubling of industrial output in ten years. After Nehru's death (1964) he was a contender for the succession, but his austere style failed to win him support in the Congress Party against Indira Gandhi. He came to oppose her bitterly, in return for which he was imprisoned during the Emergency, 1975–7. In 1977 he was the obvious candidate to lead the Janata opposition to Mrs Gandhi, and he won the election of that year. His government restored parliamentary democracy. As Prime Minister he failed to deal with the economic and factional problems confronting him. An austere and principled man (and a great believer in the strength to be derived from drinking his own urine), he suffered from a crucial inability to compromise, often threatening to fast himself to death if he did not get his way.