Sri Prakasa

Sri Prakasa
Governor of Bombay (Maharashtra from 1960)
In office 10 December 1956 – 16 April 1962
Chief Minister	Yashwantrao Chavan
Preceded by	Harekrushna Mahatab
Succeeded by	P. Subbarayan
Governor of Madras
In office 12 March 1952 – 10 December 1956
Chief Minister	P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja C. Rajagopalachari K. Kamaraj
Preceded by	Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji
Succeeded by	A. J. John
Governor of Assam
In office 16 February 1949 – 27 May 1950
Chief Minister	Gopinath Bordoloi
Preceded by	Ronald Francis Lodge (Acting)
Succeeded by	Jairamdas Daulatram
1st Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan
In office 1947–1949
Prime Minister	Jawaharlal Nehru
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Sita Ram
Personal details
Born	3 August 1890 Varanasi, United Provinces, British India
Died	23 June 1971(1971-06-23) (aged 80)
Alma mater	Central Hindu Boys School University of Cambridge
Awards	Padma Vibhushan

Sri Prakasa (3 August 1890 – 23 June 1971) was an Indian politician, freedom-fighter and administrator. He served as India's first High Commissioner to Pakistan from 1947 to 1949, Governor of Assam from 1949 to 1950, Governor of Madras from 1952 to 1956 and Governor of Bombay from 1956 to 1962.

Sri Prakasa was born in Varanasi in 1890. In his early days, he participated in the Indian independence movement and was jailed. After India's independence, he served as an administrator and cabinet minister. Sri Prakasa died in 1971 at the age of 80.

Sri Prakasa was born on 3 August 1890 in Varanasi to Bhagwan Das.^[1] He had his schooling at Central Hindu Boys' School C.H.B.S. (B.H.U.) Varanasi and graduated from Cambridge.^[1][2]

Prakasa was arrested during the Quit India Movement and was in jail from 1942 to 1944.^[3]

In August 1947, Sri Prakasa was appointed India's first High Commissioner to Pakistan and served in the post till 1949. During this time, Pakistan was gripped by communal riots and Sri Prakasa had to deal with the influx of refugees to India and the granting of Indian citizenship to migrants. Sri Prakasa had also to represent India's diplomatic interests during Pakistan's invasion of Kashmir.

Sri Prakasa served as the governor of Assam from 16 February 1949 to 27 May 1949. When Prakasa took over as governor, there were serious disturbances in the eastern parts of the province which were inhabited by the Mizo Hill tribes. ^{[citation needed]} The Governor pacified the agitators by promising to grant sufficient autonomy. As a result, a Lushai Hills Advisory Council was set up. ^{[citation needed]} During his short tenure, he secured the accession of Manipur.^[4][5]

Sri Prakasa was elected to Lok Sabha from Prayagraj in 1952 but was quite soon appointed the Governor of Madras. He served as the governor of Madras from 1952 to 1956. While governor, he took the highly criticized decision to invite C. Rajagopalachari to form a Congress government in the state despite the fact that the Indian National Congress did not have a majority and Rajagopalachari was not an elected member of the assembly as he had not participated in the elections.^[6][7][8] Rajagopalachari requested Prakasa to nominate him to the assembly thereby foregoing the usual process of election by the members of the assembly. However, Rajagopalachari resigned in two years because of strong opposition to his leadership among party ranks. P.C. Alexander, a former Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governor, viewed the behaviour of the governor and the chief minister of Madras in 1952 as one of the most serious breaches of the democratic process.^[9]

Sri Prakasa served as the governor of Bombay.^{[citation needed]}