:

1912

:

:

:

Details of the life sketch of
Shri Shriman Narayan-Governor of Gujarat

Shri Shriman Narayan was born in 1912. He had a distinguished academic career both at school and at the university and took his M.A. in English literature and Economics. He decided to devote his talents to the service of the Moherland and worked for many years at Wardha and Seagram as a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. He joined the Quits Indian Movement in 1942 and was kept under detention for eighteen months.

Shri Shriman Narayan was a renowned interpreter of Gandhian economic thought whose ''Gandhian plan for Economic Development for India'' was published as early as 1944 with a forward by Mahatma Gandhi himself. Gandhiji wrote of him as ''one of those youngmen who have sacrificed a prosperous, perhaps even brilliant career for the service of the Motherland''. ''He has in him an extraordinary amalgam of a scholar-ship, sobriety and humility and is a rare gem'' Later, Shri Shriman Narayan published ''Gandhian Constitution for Free India'' which, in the words of Gandhiji, was a ''thoughtful contributions to the many attempts at presenting India with constitutions''. Soon after Gandiji's martyrdom he undertook a tour round the world to propagate Gandhian thought and the sarvodaya philosophy of life.

Shri Shriman Narayan worked as a the Founder Principal of Seksaria Collge, Wardha, for over d decade and was elected the Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Nagpur University for two years. He presided over the All India Educational Conference at its Jaipur Session in 1956. He was a member of the Parliament during 1952-57. From 1952-58, he worked as the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress and the Chief Editor fo the A.I.C.C. Economic review.

Shri Shriman Narayan had been closely connected with a number of All India Gandhian Institutions of special and contructive work. He was a member of the Board of Trustees and also holding Trustee of the Gandhi Memorial Fund (Gandhi Smarak Nidhi) and the Chairman of the Gandhi Sagrahalaya (Museums) Board.

He was also the President of the All India Nature Cure Committee of the Government of India. He was the Editor of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi's Quarterly '' Gandhi Marg'' (Hindi edition). Shri Shriman Narayan was intimately connected with the activities of the All India Sarva Seva Sangh and has been taking keen interest in Acharya Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan and Gramdan Movement. He was the convener of the National Education Conference, presided over by Gandhiji in 1937, which gave a concrete shape to the Basic system of education.

Shri Shriman Narayan was not only a well-known Gandhian economist, an educationalist and a social reformer but also a creative writer in both English as well as Hindi. His book of poems, ''The Foundation of Life'' was published as early as 1933, a foreword from Dr. Rabindranath Tagore. Dr. Tagore was attracted by the ''simple charm'' of his poems and wished him '' increasing success in his literary career.'' Poet Maithali Sharan Gupta has written forewords to his two books of Hindi Poems entitled ''Roti Ka Rag'' and ''Rajani Men Prabhat Ka Ankur''. Shri Shriman Narayan was also a powerful prose writer.

As a member of the Planning Commission, Shri Shriman Narayan wrote extensively on many aspects of Gandhiji's economic problems connected with Five-Year Plans. The late Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote forewords to his ''Trends in Indian Planning'' and ''Socialism Narayan's book on Socialism happens to be his last expression o considered views on Indian Planning of Socialism.

Some of the other important publications of Shri Shriman Narayan are: ''The Medium of Instruction'', ''On Education'', ''Two Worlds'', ''One week with Vinoba Towards a Socialist Economy'', ''Socialist Pattern of society'' , ''Indian and China'', India's Current Problems'', '' Principles of Gandhian Planning'' (Foreword by Dr. Rajendra Prasad), ''The Tragedy of a wall'', ''Segaon Ka Sant'' and ''Itani Pareshani Kyon'' (Hindi Essays).

Shri Shriman Narayan was India's Ambassador in Nepal since November, 1964. During the last three years, he had been able to forge much closer and cordial ties between India and Nepal.