C. D. Deshmukh
Encyclopedia
Sir Chintāman Dwārakānāth Deshmukh, CIE
(14 January 1896 – 2 October 1982), better known as C. D. Deshmukh, was the first Indian to be appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
in 1943 by the British Raj
authorities. He subsequently served as the Finance Minister
in the Union Cabinet (1950–1956).
, England
, in 1917 Natural Science
s Tripos (literally, with 3 main subjects) with Botany, Chemistry and Geology; he secured the Frank Smart prize in Botany. Finally, he topped the Indian Civil Services examination in 1918, then held only in London.
, and became associated with the Reserve Bank of India since 1939 as its liaison officer to the Government. He then consecutively served as the Bank's Secretary, Deputy Governor (1941–43), and Governor (1943–50).
(IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD). He was a member of the Board of Governors of both of these institutions for the next ten years. In 1950, at the Paris
conference of these institutions, he served as the Chairman of the Joint Annual Meeting.
division of the assets and liabilities of the Reserve Bank between India
and Pakistan
.
The Indian Government nationalized the Reserve Bank on January 1, 1949. Deshmukh saw through the smooth transition of the Bank from a shareholder’s institution to a national institution.
. The Central Government with Jawaharlal Nehru
as the Prime Minister
made, however, an exception by newly forming the State of Bombay
which comprised the neighbouring Gujarati
and overwhelmingly Marathi
regions, the City of Bombay, the nation's prime economic center, being made the new state's capital.
The large Marathi-speaking majority of the region took as exception to this and wished to have it as a part of the separate Marathi-speaking state to be called Maharashtra
; the Gujarati region also being organized as a separate Gujarati speaking state to be called Gujarat.
After the Central Government announced the above scheme, Deshmukh, who was a Maharashtrian, resigned from the office of Union Finance Minister to register his protest against the idea of not letting the City of Bombay be a part of a separate Marathi-speaking State of Maharashtra.
After the Marathi-speaking community's long, four-year struggle under the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
, the Central Government finally partitioned in 1960, the bilingual State of Bombay into the Marathi speaking State of Maharashtra with the City of Bombay as its part, and the Gujarati speaking State of Gujarat . In 1995, the City of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai
.
who was a childless widow and herself a freedom fighter and a member of the Congress Party.
In 1944, the British Government bestowed a knighthood upon Deshmukh.
In 1957, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science
by the University of Calcutta
.
In 1959, Deshmukh was a co-recipient (along with Jose Aguilar
of the Philippines
) of the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for distinguished Government Service. Jesus College, Cambridge
, Deshmukh's alma mater, elected him its Honorary Fellow in 1952 in recognition of his distinguished contribution in the areas of Indian and international finance and administration.
In 1975, the Government of India honored Deshmukh with a Padma Vibhushan
award.
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(14 January 1896 – 2 October 1982), better known as C. D. Deshmukh, was the first Indian to be appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of...
in 1943 by the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
authorities. He subsequently served as the Finance Minister
Finance Minister of India
The Minister of Finance, also known as the Finance Minister of India is a cabinet position in the Government of India and heads the Ministry of Finance. He drafts the general budget of the country, and is in charge of the national economy. Currently, Pranab Mukherjee holds the charge of finance...
in the Union Cabinet (1950–1956).
Early life and education
Chintaman Deshmukh was born to Dwarakanath Ganesh Deshmukh, a respected lawyer, and Bhagirathibai, a deeply religious lady, on January 14, 1896 at Nata, near Fort Raigarh, Maharashtra. The family was affluent, and of land-holding background with a tradition of public service. Deshmukh had a brilliant academic career: in India he topped the 1912 Matriculation Examination of the University of Bombay and secured the first Jagannath Sankersett Scholarship in Sanskrit. He went on to graduate from Jesus College, CambridgeJesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1917 Natural Science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s Tripos (literally, with 3 main subjects) with Botany, Chemistry and Geology; he secured the Frank Smart prize in Botany. Finally, he topped the Indian Civil Services examination in 1918, then held only in London.
Civil service career
Deshmukh joined the Indian Civil ServicesIndian Civil Services
The Indian Civil Service , which after 1886 was officially called the Imperial Civil Service and was also known as the British India Civil Service, was the civil service of the Government of India in the period of the British Raj...
, and became associated with the Reserve Bank of India since 1939 as its liaison officer to the Government. He then consecutively served as the Bank's Secretary, Deputy Governor (1941–43), and Governor (1943–50).
Bretton Woods Conference
Deshmukh represented India at the Bretton Woods Conference on July 1–22, 1944. The conference led to the establishment of the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
(IBRD). He was a member of the Board of Governors of both of these institutions for the next ten years. In 1950, at the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
conference of these institutions, he served as the Chairman of the Joint Annual Meeting.
Post partition
When British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan in 1947, Deshmukh oversaw the post-partitionPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
division of the assets and liabilities of the Reserve Bank between India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
The Indian Government nationalized the Reserve Bank on January 1, 1949. Deshmukh saw through the smooth transition of the Bank from a shareholder’s institution to a national institution.
Union Finance Minister and resignation
Deshmukh held the office of Union Finance Minister from 1950 until 1956 when the Central Government reorganized the states in India on linguistic basisStates Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...
. The Central Government with Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
as the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
made, however, an exception by newly forming the State of Bombay
Bombay State
The Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
which comprised the neighbouring Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
and overwhelmingly Marathi
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
regions, the City of Bombay, the nation's prime economic center, being made the new state's capital.
The large Marathi-speaking majority of the region took as exception to this and wished to have it as a part of the separate Marathi-speaking state to be called Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
; the Gujarati region also being organized as a separate Gujarati speaking state to be called Gujarat.
After the Central Government announced the above scheme, Deshmukh, who was a Maharashtrian, resigned from the office of Union Finance Minister to register his protest against the idea of not letting the City of Bombay be a part of a separate Marathi-speaking State of Maharashtra.
After the Marathi-speaking community's long, four-year struggle under the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
http://ekmarathimanoos.blogspot.com/2009/01/belgaum-border-dispute-bleeding-wound.htmlSanyukta Maharashtra Samiti , roughly translated as United Maharashtra Committee, was an organisation that spearheaded the demand in the 1950s for the creation of a separate Marathi-speaking state out of the ...
, the Central Government finally partitioned in 1960, the bilingual State of Bombay into the Marathi speaking State of Maharashtra with the City of Bombay as its part, and the Gujarati speaking State of Gujarat . In 1995, the City of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
Personal life
He was first married to an Englishwoman by whom he had a daughter (this marriage ended when his English wife returned to England and the attempt at reconciliation by him in 1946 failed) and later married to Durgabai DeshmukhDurgabai Deshmukh
Durgābāi, Lady Deshmukh was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social worker and politician. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and the Planning Commission of India....
who was a childless widow and herself a freedom fighter and a member of the Congress Party.
Awards
In 1937, Deshmukh was appointed a CIE (Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire).In 1944, the British Government bestowed a knighthood upon Deshmukh.
In 1957, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
by the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
.
In 1959, Deshmukh was a co-recipient (along with Jose Aguilar
José Aguilar
For the Colombian road cyclist with the same name see José Aguilar José Aguilar Pulsar was a Cuban boxer...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) of the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
for distinguished Government Service. Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, Deshmukh's alma mater, elected him its Honorary Fellow in 1952 in recognition of his distinguished contribution in the areas of Indian and international finance and administration.
In 1975, the Government of India honored Deshmukh with a Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
award.