Hira Lal Shastri (English: Hira Lal Shastri; born- 24 November, 1899, Jaipur, Rajasthan; died- 28 December, 1974) was one of the freedom fighters of India. He was counted among the famous politicians of the country. Hira Lal Shastri had the honor of becoming the first Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from March 30, 1949 to January 5, 1951. His wish was to go to a village and devote his life to the service of the downtrodden. Heera Lal Shastri had established ‘Bansthali Vidyapeeth’. Today this university has taken the form of a major national institution of women’s education.
Hira Lal Shastri was born on 24 November 1899 in a farmer family of Jobner in Jaipur district of Rajasthan. His primary education was in Jobner only. In 1920 he obtained the degree of Sahitya-Shastri. B.A. from ‘Maharaj College’, Jaipur in 1921. Did. Hira Lal Shastri got the first position in this examination.
Since childhood, Heera Lal ji had a great desire to go to a village and spend his entire life in the service of the downtrodden and the downtrodden. Although he joined the Jaipur Raj State Service in 1921 and rose rapidly to become Secretary in the Home and Foreign Departments, he resigned from this post in 1927. During his administrative service, he worked with great hard work, efficiency and fearlessness.
In 1929, with the aim of fulfilling his childhood resolve, Hira Lal Shastri chose a remote and backward village called ‘Vansthali’, located 45 miles from Jaipur, and established ‘Jeevan Kutir’ there. He trained a team of dedicated social workers there and attempted to implement a program for the reconstruction of villages. These workers later became the pioneers of political awareness in many princely states of Rajputana. In 1937, he was given the responsibility of reorganizing ‘Jaipur Rajya Praja Mandal’. He was elected General Secretary of this division twice and President twice. Thus he himself had to enter the political arena.
In 1939, he led the Praja Mandal’s Satyagraha to achieve civil liberties and was imprisoned for six months. In 1947, he was made the General Secretary of ‘All India Native State Praja Parishad’. In the same year he was also elected to the Constituent Assembly.
When the representative government was formed in the princely state of Jaipur in 1948, Hira Lal Shastri took over as its Chief Minister and when the state of Rajasthan was formed on March 30, 1949, he became its first Chief Minister. The responsibility of the extremely difficult task of uniting various princely states and giving it the form of today’s effective administration fell upon him. He completed this complex task in a short time. He resigned on January 5, 1951 and later became a member of the second Lok Sabha.
Heera Lal Shastri had established ‘Bansthali Vidyapeeth’. Today this university has taken the form of a major national institution of women’s education. Hira Lal Shastri ji died on December 28, 1974. Pandit Hira Lal Shastri was a very visionary and popular leader. He was frank and fearless in expressing his views, an Indian at heart and a selfless social worker. Most of the credit for laying the foundation of powerful, well-organized and progressive Rajasthan goes to him. The Posts and Telegraphs Department has issued a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Pandit Hira Lal Shastri.
