Dhirajlal Desai

Dhirajlal Desai
1st Ambassador of India to Switzerland
In office 17 December 1948 – 21 March 1951
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by	Asaf Ali
1st Ambassadors to the Holy See
In office 1949–1951
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by	Nedyan Raghaven
President of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee
In office 1941
Personal details
Born	Dhirajlal Bhulabhai Desai 22 June 1908 Bombay, British India
Died	21 March 1951(1951-03-21) (aged 42)
Spouse	Madhuriben Desai
Occupation	Diplomat, Activist, Barrister

Dhirajlal B. Desai (22 June 1908 – 21 March 1951), popularly known as Dhirubhai, was an Indian diplomat and independence activist. He served as India's first ambassador and plenipotentiary minister to Switzerland. He also served as the President of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee (BPCC) in 1941.[1][2] He was born in Bombay, British India and was the son of lawyer and leader, Bhulabhai Desai.[3][4]

Life and work

He attended Elphinstone College, Bharda New High School and Government Law College in Bombay. Desai was Barrister at the Supreme Court of India and Chairman of the Indian National Congress in the Bombay Presidency. He was a director of Ameer Trading Corporation, the Indian branch of American Cyanamid's Calco Chemical Company.

Desai served as India's first Ambassador to Switzerland from 17 December 1948 to 21 March 1951.[5] He was elected as the President of the Bombay Provincial Congress Committee (BPCC) in 1941.[6] He was known for his speeches and oratory skills, particularly during the Quit India movement. He was a strong advocate for freedom and self-reliance and often spoke out against the British Empire's attitude towards the Congress party and its denial of the right to free speech.[1]

Desai delivered speeches at various venues in Bombay, including Dana Bunder and Ghodapdev, and often spoke to working-class audiences, encouraging them to spin charkha for at least half an hour a day as a means of earning a small income and becoming self-reliant.[1]

From 17 December 1948, he was accredited as an envoy in Bern and also to the Holy See and to the Allied Commission for Austria in Vienna.[7]

Dhirajlal Desai died of heart attack on 21 March 1951 in Bern[7] at the age of 42.[1]

References

1. "Dhirajlal Desai: Unsung Heroes of India's freedom struggle". Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
2. Source Material for a History of the Freedom Movement in India: 1942-1946. the Government Central Press. 1977. p. 89.
3. "Bhulabhai Desai Memorial Institute". Prinseps Fine Art. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
4. David H. Stam: International Dictionary of Library Histories, Band 1. Taylor & Francis, 2001, ISBN 978-1-57958-244-9, S. 729 [1], p. 729, at Google Books
5. Official List, Indian Ambassadors. "Indian Ambassadors Official List". indembassybern.gov.in. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
6. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya (1945). Sixty Years of Congress. Congress Publications Board.
7. Obituary Dhirajlal Bhulabhai Desai On March 21, 1951, His Excellency Mr. Dhirajlal Bhulabhai Desai, Minister of the Republic of India to Switzerland, died in Bern of a heart attack, one of the outstanding political and diplomatic personalities of his country. Born in 1908, he studied law in Bombay and London and practiced as a lawyer at the Supreme Court of Bombay, while actively dealing with economic problems. Champion of national independence, — his father was an intimate of Gandhi, — he was active in the All-India Congress and was even imprisoned because of his opposition to the established regime: After the victory of his ideas, Desai became the first chief missionary accredited by the Indian Republic in Switzerland, and later still in Austria and the Vatican 63-65, 1950, S. 46, "Archivierte Kopie". Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2023., Dhirajlal Desai in the Dodis database of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland

Political offices
Preceded by Position established	Indian Ambassador to Switzerland 1948–1951	Succeeded by Asaf Ali