Yashwantrao Chavan Birth Anniversary: Lesser-known facts about the First Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Yashwantrao Chavan was born in a poor Maratha family on 12 March 1913, in a village that was then part of Maharashtra’s Satara district and is now in the Sangli district. He was actively involved in India’s freedom struggle. He participated in the Non-Cooperation and the Quit India Movement.

Chavan was a lawyer by qualification. He got involved with Congress at an early age. He went on to become the Chief Minister of Bombay before the formation of Maharashtra. He took over as the state leader of the Congress, and went on to become the First Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra back in 1960.

Chavan was considered to be a close aide of India’s First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The leader played a major role in the struggle for Maharashtra’s formation.

The influential leader went on to serve as a Union minister for defence, home, external affairs as well as finance. He also served as the deputy prime minister of India. While serving as the Minister of Finance, he presented the infamous ‘black budget’.

The term ‘black budget’ is used when funds are allocated for secret or classified projects. However, the 1973-74 budget got the name because of the high budget deficit of Rs 550 crore.

Apart from being a politician, Chavan was a renowned writer as well. He founded the Marathi Sahitya Mandal and was closely associated with a number of poets and writers.

Chavan breathed his last on 25 November 1984, due to a heart attack. The leader was active in Indian politics for about five decades and his contribution in this particular field will be remembered for ages.