Gulzarilal Nanda was a freedom fighter, veteran Gandhian and interim Prime Minister. He was born on July 4, 1898 at Badhoki in Pakistan. He did his double Master of Arts from the Allahabad University. Later, he taught Economics at a college in Mumbai before joining the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1921 .
Nanda came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai, who instructed him to join the national movement and to organise the labour force in Ahmedabad. In 1921, Nanda built up the Mazdoor Mahajan Sangh. After Independence, he went on to become the head of the first Planning Commission and authored the First Five Year Plan. He contested in the first general in 1952 and became the Union Minister of planning. After the death of Pt. Nehru, Nanda became an interim Prime Minister. He was once again made the acting Prime Minster after Lal Bahadur Shashtri’s death. Nanda was Minister of Railways in 1972. He died of respiratory complications following a prolonged illness.