Chief Minister of Maharashtra (1963–1975) · Banjara leader and reformer
Vasantrao Phulsing Naik
1913–1979
Longest-serving Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Born in a Banjara family in Gahuli near Pusad (Yavatmal). Remembered for agricultural modernisation, rural governance, and opening pathways for denotified and nomadic communities through education and policy.
Vasantrao Phulsing Naik (1 July 1913 – 18 August 1979) was born in Gahuli near Pusad in present-day Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, in a Banjara farming family. He studied law and began public life through local institutions in and around Pusad before entering the legislature.
He served in successive state assemblies (Madhya Pradesh, bilingual Bombay State, then Maharashtra) and held portfolios including revenue, cooperation and agriculture before becoming Chief Minister of Maharashtra in December 1963. He remained in office until 1975 — the longest continuous tenure for a Maharashtra chief minister.
Public memory credits him with driving agricultural modernisation often described as Maharashtra’s Green Revolution, strengthening panchayat and rural institutions, and industrial and employment-oriented policies including employment-guarantee approaches. Precise programme credits should be verified by editors with primary state records.
Within Banjara public history he is also remembered for community reform through education, ashram schools for nomadic and tribal children, and advocacy connected with recognition and opportunity for denotified communities. He was later elected to the Lok Sabha from Washim (1977).