Balwantrai Mehta

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Balwantrai Gopalji Mehta (19 February 1899 or 1900 – (1965-09-19)19 September 1965) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the second chief minister of Gujarat from 1963 until his death in 1965 during the Second India–Pakistan war. He is the only sitting chief minister of an Indian state to have been killed during a war. Mehta was born and raised in Bhavnagar and studied at Gujarat College, Ahmedabad where he developed anti-colonial views and refused to take his bachelor's degree (BA) upon graduation from a "foreign government". Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he joined the Indian National Congress in 1920 and took part in the non-cooperation movement. Mehta founded the Bhavnagar Praja Mandal to mobilize locals within Bhavnagar State against the British Indian authorities. He was imprisoned for two years for his activities during the 1930 civil disobedience movement. After the independence of India, he was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament...

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