U. N. Dhebar

U. N. Dhebar
Chief Minister of Saurashtra
In office 1948–1954
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Rasiklal Umedchand Parikh
President of the Indian National Congress
In office 1955–1959
Preceded by	Jawaharlal Nehru
Succeeded by	Indira Gandhi
Member of Parliament
In office 1962–1967
Preceded by	Khandubhai Kasanji Desai
Succeeded by	Minoo Masani
Constituency	Rajkot
Personal details
Born	Uchharangrai Navalshankar Dhebar (1905-09-21)21 September 1905 Gangajala, Nawanagar State, British India
Died	11 March 1977(1977-03-11) (aged 71)
Political party	Indian National Congress
Occupation	Lawyer, politician

Uchharangrai Navalshankar Dhebar (21 September 1905 – 11 March 1977) was an Indian Independence activist who served as the Chief Minister of Saurashtra State from 1948 to 1954 and the President of the Indian National Congress from 1955 to 1959.^[1]

Between 1938 and 1942, Dhebar led the Rajkot Satyagraha and actively participated in the Individual Satyagraha and Confederation Movement. For his role in the Indian independence movement, he was imprisoned thrice by the British colonial government, for two short spells during 1938-1939 and 1941 and later for three years from 1942 to 1945.^[2] In 1959, Dhebar was the head of the Planning Sub-Committee of the All India Congress Committee and from 1960 to 1961,^[3] he was the Chairman of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission of the Government of India.^[4] In 1962, he was elected to the third Lok Sabha from Rajkot.^[5][4] In 1962, Dhebar was elected as the Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission of the Government of India. In 1973, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second-highest civilian honor.^[6]