Kunji Lal Dubey

Kunji Lal Dubey (18 March 1896 – 2 June 1970) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, educationist and politician from Madhya Pradesh. He was the first vice chancellor of Rani Durgavati University and the chancellor of Nagpur University. He served as the first speaker of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1956, as the Finance Minister of the State in 1967 and was the president of the Inter University Board of India, Burma and Ceylon. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 1964, for his contributions to the society. India Post issued a commemorative stamp on Dubey in 1996.

Biography

Dubey was born on 18 March 1896 at Amgaon, a village in the Narsinghpur district in Berar Province. After primary education at the village school in Kareli, he did his middle school studies at Narasinghpur and high school education at Akola.

Aligning himself with the activities of the Indian National Congress, he became a member of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 1937 and two years later, when the Tripuri Session of the AICC was convened in 1939, he was the secretary of the reception committee. He continued to hold the post of the speaker for two more terms, from 1957 to 1962 and from 1962 to 1967.

In 1946, the year of his election to the state assembly, he was appointed as the chancellor of Nagpur University, a post he held for three consecutive terms. has been named after Dubey and the local school in his native village, Amgaon, bears the name, Kunjilal Dubey Vidyalaya, after him. Pandit Kunjilal Dubey Memorial Lecture Series, is an annual oration, instituted by Rani Durgavati University, in memory of its founder vice chancellor. The University has also named its auditorium after him as Pandit Kunjilal Dubey Auditorium.