ગુજરાતી
English
The entire government was toppled for Rs 30
The anti-corruption movement was successful but corruption kept increasing
The movement gave birth to new leaders and new parties, today the public is troubled by corruption and inflation
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, January 4, 2025
Powerful leaders of the country and Gujarat gambled to gain the leader’s position in the House. Chimanbhai Patel challenged Indira Gandhi to hold elections. The MLAs of ‘Panchvati’ made Chimanbhai win. In a short time, Indira dramatically ousted him, a period that can be called the ‘Navnirman-movement’. In which many new politicians were born. Governments became unstable. Eventually BJP governments were formed. For 30 years since 1995, there have been BJP and BJP-blooded governments. Even today no one is able to understand for whom the Navnirman-movement happened.
After the freedom movement and the Maha Gujarat movement, the biggest movement was the Navnirman movement in Gujarat.
The Navnirman movement started in the entire state on 5 January 1974. The movement started with students who demanded reduction in the price of food in the hostel and reduction in high fees. Which later became a movement against Chimanbhai Patel’s government, against inflation and corruption.
Indira Gandhi played the role of a villain in creating and fuelling this movement.
Indira Gandhi did the politics of grains in Gujarat and reduced the supply of food grains to the poor from one lakh five thousand tons to seventy thousand tons per month, as a result the cost of living necessities increased a lot.
In 1971-72, 5 lakh 18 thousand metric tons of rice, 9 lakh metric tons of wheat, 4 lakh 83 thousand metric tons of jowar, 15 lakh 45 thousand tons of millet, 4 thousand tons of gram, 15 lakh 41 thousand tons of peanuts were being harvested in Gujarat. There were 22 lakh 81 thousand bales of cotton.
At that time Gujarat needed 60 thousand tons of wheat and 20 thousand tons of rice every month. Then why did the movement happen in the name of grains, economists cannot answer this.
This grain was sufficient for the people of Gujarat to eat. Then why did Indira’s grain terrorism continue, this question remains even today in 2025. 80 crore people in the country and 4 crore people in Gujarat are still given grains from cheap grain shops. After the movement, the poor have increased instead of decreasing. So was the movement only to overthrow Chimanbhai’s government?
Umashankar Joshi was calm. Mavlankar was furious. Indira Gandhi called it a ‘struggle of the rich’.
It was also said that a disgruntled group of Congress was active in carrying out this ruckus.
A survey conducted by Samajvidya Bhavan of Gujarat University showed that 52 percent of the students could buy one time meal. 17 percent of the students had a monthly debt of Rs 35. In 2 years, the hostel food bill increased by 44 percent. This simply means that there was food but the prices were rising.
The hostel food bill of L D Engineering and Morbi College was increased from Rs 70 to Rs 100.
Chimanbhai Patel started becoming a thorn in the eyes of the Delhi government. Because Indira Gandhi did not want Chiman Patel to become the Chief Minister. But Chimanbhai Patel became the Chief Minister with a majority of MLAs. He challenged Indira Gandhi. As a result, the Indira government cut off the food supply of Gujarat. Indira Gandhi knew that the shortage of food would sink her own Congress government. This movement was later supported by the Jan Sangh and other parties.
Inflation went beyond the reach of the common man. Government ration shops became empty. In a short time, the price of oil increased from Rs 3.10 to Rs 6.70. People’s resentment grew. As soon as Indira Gandhi seemed to be successful in one of her moves, public anger erupted against Chimanbhai Patel’s government. Anarchy spread everywhere. Movements of opposition Jan Sangh and other parties failed.
Then the seeds of Navnirman Movement were sown by students and youth. Navnirman Movement provided an opportunity to the helpless people of Gujarat, troubled by the dishonest, corrupt, ineffective government of Gujarat, troubled by artificial unbearable inflation, to raise their voice against the government.
People made Navnirman Movement their movement.
On 5 January 1974, Gujarat University Syndicate member Manishi Jani and Senate members Shailesh Shah, Jeetu Shah, Rajkumar Gupta, Mukesh Patel, Pankaj Patel, Ashok Dhabuwala, Sagar Raika and other students went to Gandhinagar to meet the Supply Minister and demand cheap grains due to food bill in the college hostel.
The Gujarat University Youth Festival was presided over by Dr. Bihari Kanaiya Lal. The police raided his Mohini Farm and registered a case of entertainment. This was opposed by the students. State Education Minister Ayesha Begum Sheikh called these students home for reconciliation.
State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Narendra Singh Jhala was present. He threatened the students in indirect language. The government had plans to attack the students. But the journalists saved him. A youth festival which was to be held was cancelled.
The students went to the leader’s house in Vijaynagar, Ahmedabad. Discussions took place at night. On 9 January 1974, in the Senate Hall of Gujarat University, they decided to go on a strike against the hostel food bill and rising tuition fees. It was decided to hold a meeting for that.
Purushottam Mavalankar, who was the MP from Ahmedabad, was invited to take the position of president in the students’ meeting. On 7 January 1974, the government once again called the students.
Ahmedabad’s Old Ser
A meeting was held between the state’s Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel, Vice Chancellor IG Pant and Congress’ GI Patel on the first floor of Kit House. The students’ demand is that the names of the students living in the hostel should be removed from their home ration cards and food grains should be provided to them in the hostel itself, so that the cost of food is reduced.
The second demand is that the government should control the increasing fees of the students and also make arrangements to pay the monthly fees. But no solution was found.
A movement had started in the engineering colleges of Morbi and Ahmedabad.
The students started looting grain trucks.
The country’s popular leader Jayaprakash Narayan said, ‘Hey, this is a bigger revolution than 1942: Gujarat has taken the lead in the youth’s fight against corruption. If this fight moves forward in the right way, the country will be able to lead.’
Gandhiji was the person who gave the slogan of ‘Quit India’ to the British. Gujarat itself came forward to announce ‘Quit the throne’ for the elected representatives.
What was the result of the bloody struggle? This is the question today. Today it is more appropriate. Because 6 BJP governments have done more corruption than Chiman Patel’s government. So the question is what was achieved by the movement?
The dispute started from Panchvati Farm. In July 1973, rebel MLAs gathered at Chiman Patel’s Panchvati Farm in Ahmedabad. Chimanbhai formed the government with his majority. From then on, the seeds of overthrowing Chimanbhai’s government were sown.
Ratubhai went to Supedi (Dhoraji) to inaugurate a sugar factory in Dhoraji. People wanted that Ratubhai should not come. On 14 January 1973, 20 rounds of firing were done on 10,000 protesters, killing two.
Therefore, the Navnirman movement intensified in this area.
Frustration and anger together. In all the political movements till date, the lower middle class, poor, upper middle class, students and professors have mostly not participated. A combination of labor and brain.
The intensity of the movement can be understood by seeing that the slogans were raised against Chimanbhai.
The slogans were against Chimanbhai Patel.
“Amar Shahid Raho”
“Chand Sitare Rahenge Jab Tak Shaheed Tera Jalwa Rahega Tab Tak”
‘We want bread, not bullets’
‘If you give bullets, blood will flow, if you give bread, blood will increase…’
The slogan of Chiman Chor was given by Jansangh.
Bullets were used indiscriminately. Madhu Limaye said that this did not happen even in the French Revolution!
110 died, 3 thousand people were injured, 8 thousand people were arrested.
Resignations were taken from 95 out of 167 MLAs.
The day Chimanbhai Patel resigned, he admitted for the first time in a press conference that 100 innocent people also died in this movement.
The number of firings that happened during Chimanbhai’s government was the same during President’s rule. The leaders of the movement were against corruption. Today there is more corruption in the BJP rule, then why is there no movement?
Date
On December 20, 1973, students of Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Engineering College, Ahmedabad went on strike due to a 20 percent increase in hostel food.
On January 3, students of L. D. Engineering College were charged Rs 30 more in food bills than the previous month. Then there was vandalism and furniture was set on fire. 326 students were detained and 40 students were suspended. The college was closed indefinitely.
On January 3, 1974, there was a strike in Gujarat University.
There were protests on January 4 and 7.
On January 7, an indefinite strike began in educational institutions.
On the morning of January 9, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad gave a program to surround the ministers.
On January 10, ’14 August Shramjeevi Samiti’ had announced a Gujarat bandh.
On January 10, the strike turned violent in Ahmedabad and Vadodara.
On 11 January, various student organizations formed ‘Navnirman Yuvak Samiti’ under the guidance of then MP Purushottam Mavalankar. Manishi Janine was made the president of the committee. When Umakant Mankad and Shailesh Shah became general secretaries. Two reasons were responsible for MP Purushottam Mavalankar becoming an advisor. One is that the students campaigned for him and the second is that his son Anand Mavalankar was also studying in the university.
On 25 January, a statewide strike was held. In which clashes took place between the police and the people in 33 cities. Communication ban was imposed in 44 cities.
On 28 January 1974, Lashkar reached Ahmedabad.
On 16 February, 15 MLAs resigned.
On 09 February, Indira Gandhi asked Chimanbhai to resign. He resigned.
On 09 February, the assembly was adjourned.
On 12 March, Morarji Desai of Congress went on a hunger strike.
On 16 March, the assembly was dissolved and the movement ended.
6 April 1975 Morarji Desai went on hunger strike demanding elections.
Elections were held on 10 June 1975. Congress lost on 12 June. 75 MLAs were elected. Chimanbhai contested the elections by forming Kimlop Party.
On 10 June 1975, Indira Gandhi had rigged her own elections. After announcing the decision, she declared emergency in the country.
Janta Morcha’s Babubhai Jashbhai Patel’s government was formed, which fell within 9 months.
President’s rule in March 1976. After Chimanbhai’s Kimlop and independents switched sides, Madhav Singh Solanki became the Chief Minister.
Congress won in 1980 and Madhav Singh Solanki became the Chief Minister.
Congress government remained in power till 1990. Then Congress did not come, Chimanbhai became the Chief Minister again with the help of BJP.
From 1995 to 2025, BJP and BJP’s bloody governments are coming.
Governments from Navnirman Movement
So the government became strong but the politicians were becoming corrupt. Inflation was increasing.
Even today in 2025, the same question is being raised that what benefit did the people get from Andol. (Google translation from Gujarati, see Gujarati on controversy)
