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19 th January, 1924

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Details of the life sketch of
Shri Mahipalsingh Shastri-Governor of Gujarat

Born on 19 th January, 1924 at village Makoor, District Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, he had his early education in Makoor and Malihabad (district Lucknow) and later at Kanya-Kubja college, Lucknow. He obtained his Post-Graduate degree in Economics and Statistics and degree in Law in 1949 from Lucknow University. A scholar of Sanskrit, he obtained his 'Shastri' degree from the same University. Throughout he had a brilliant academic career and was a favourite student of Acharya Narendra Deo and Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then Vice-President of India.

Married to Dharadevi in 1952; he had three children - one daughter and two sons.

He became a Member of the Upper House (M.L.C.) of the State Legislative in 1976 when he was in detention at the Lucknow district Jail. He was Minister for Planning in the Janata Ministry headed by Shri Banarsidas during 1979-80 and Leader of Opposition in the Upper House in 1980 for two years.

He joined as a teacher at the renowned National College, Lucknow, which was founded by great Socialist leader Acharya Narendra Deo and retired as its Principal in 1984. The subjects of special interest to him are literature, economics, culture and social studies. He was closely associated with the Uttar Pradesh dalit Varg (Depressed Classes) Sangh and the Uttar Pradesh Pichhada (Backward Classes) Sangh and worked in various capacities for the upliftment of the down-trodden

Born in a small but traditionally politically-conscious family of farmers, Sri Shastriji, right from secondary to higher education, distinguished himself with various scholarships and later, in the public life, because of the excellence of his character and intellect, attained a notable position among the leading personages of the State. In fact, the political awakening of his village Makoor was so intense that it sent at a time three representatives to the U.P. Legislature in 1977. Shastriji came in contact with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the young age of 15 years at a youth convention in village Makoor held in 1939 which the Netaji inaugurated and Sri Batukeshwar Data, a close associate of Sardar Bhagatsingh presided over.

It was the good fortune of Sri Shastriji that he could remain in very close contact with prominent national leaders like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, late Sri Chandrabhanu Gupta Chief Minister, U.P. Chaudhary Charan Singh, former Prime Minister and Sri Vishwanath Pratap Singh, the then Prime Minister and became the recipient of trust and affection of all of them. Sri Shastriji has led an idealistic and value based public life in the face of great odds and is counted as one of the very few leading personalities of U.P. who carried on their fight for a principal and value based political order both before and after attainment of our Independence. He left the Congress Party in 1967 along with Chaudhary Charan Singh to become a founder member of the Lok Dal and later, during the reign of Janata Party, continued to be one among the top leaders of the group led by Chaudhary Charan Singh.

There was hardly any leader in U.P. with whom Sri Shastriji was not closely associated at one time or the other. In 1980 he, as Opposition leader in the Upper House, impressed the then Chief Minister Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh and earned his goodwill and respect so he was accorded Cabinet rank and later, when Shri V.P. Singh and some other leaders formed Jan Morcha after dissociating themselves from Congress (I), Sri Shastriji was appointed its coordinator in the Uttar Pradesh.

Sri Shastri had since long been influenced and inspired by the life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and always strived to lead a simple and principled life and all those who know him look up to him with admiration and respect for the goodness of his head and heart.