The Home Ministry of India is one of the most important ministers who is concerned with various aspects and activities related to the country. The home minister is directly responsible for managing the domestic policy and internal security of India. From Sardar Patel to Amit Shah many influential people have held the position of Home Minister of India from 1947 to 2023. As per many political analysts, the charge of home ministry is often given to the closest aid of the prime minister.
The home minister of India is assisted by two ministers of state and numerous civil services officers. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is responsible for handling many departments including the Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Department of Border Management, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), etc.
If we take a look at the list of Home Ministers of India since Independence, we will find that many of the home ministers went on to become the prime minister of India such as Indira Gandhi, Charan Singh, P.V. Narasimha Rao, etc.
List of All Home Ministers of India Since 1947
All students who are preparing for government job exams should know the names of all the Home ministers of India from 1947 to 2023. Questions on this topic are often put up in exams like RRB, Railways, SSC, etc.
| Name of the minister | Tenure | Political Party | Prime Minister |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | 15th August 1947 to 12th December 1950 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | 12th December 1950 to 26 December 1950 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| C. Rajagopalachari | 26th December 1950 to 5th November 1951 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Kailash Nath Katju | 5th November 1951 to 10th January 1955 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Govind Ballabh Pant | 10th January 1955 to 25th February 1961 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | 25th February 1961 to 1st September 1963 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Gulzarilal Nanda | 1st September 1963 to 9th November 1966 | Indian National Congress | Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi |
| Indira Gandhi | 9th November 1966 to 13th November 1966 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| Yashwantrao Chavan | 13th November 1966 to 27th June 1970 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| Indira Gandhi | 27th June 1970 to 5th February 1973 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| Uma Shankar Dikshit | 5th February 1973 to 10th October 1974 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| Kasu Brahmananda Reddy | 10th October 1974 to 24th March 1977 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| Charan Singh | 24th March 1977 to 1st July 1978 | Janata Party | Morarji Desai |
| Morarji Desai | 1st July 1978 to 24th January 1979 | Janata Party | Morarji Desai |
| Hirubhai M. Patel | 24th July 1979 to 28th July 1979 | Janata Party | Morarji Desai |
| Yashwantrao Chavan | 28th July 1979 to 14 January 1980 | Indian National Congress (U) | Charan Singh |
| Zail Singh | 14th January 1980 to 22nd June 1982 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi |
| P.V. Narasimha Rao | 19th July 1984 to 31 December 1984 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi |
| Shankarrao Chavan | 31st December 1984 to 12th March 1986 | Indian National Congress | Rajiv Gandhi |
| P.V. Narasimha Rao | 12th March 1986 to 12th May 1986 | Indian National Congress | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Buta Singh | 12th May 1986 to 2nd December 1989 | Indian National Congress | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Mufti Mohammad Sayeed | 2nd December 1989 to 10th November 1990 | Janata Dal | V.P. Singh |
| Chandra Shekhar | 10th November 1990 to 21st June 1991 | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar |
| Shankarrao Chavan | 21st June 1991 to 16th May 1996 | Indian National Congress | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| Murli Manohar Joshi | 16th May 1996 to 1st June 1996 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| H.D. Deve Gowda | 1st June 1996 to 29th June 1996 | H.D. Deve Gowda | Janata Dal |
| Indrajit Gupta | 29th June 1996 to 19th March 1998 | H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K Gujral | Communist Party of India |
| L.K. Advani | 19th March 1998 to 22nd May 2004 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Shivraj Patil | 22nd May 2004 to 30th November 2008 | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| P. Chidambaram | 30th November 2008 to 31st July 2012 | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| Sushilkumar Shinde | 31st July 2012 to 26th May 2014 | Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress |
| Rajnath Singh | 26th May 2014 to 30th May 2019 | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Amit Shah | 30th May 2019 to Present | Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – First Home Minister of India
Sardar Patel was the first Home Minister of India. He is best known for his role in the creation of the states of India and Pakistan. He was also one of the most famous freedom fighters. He was also the right-hand man of Pandit Nehru and became the first Deputy Prime Minister of India in 1947.
Patel was instrumental in the integration of the princely states into the Indian federation as the first Home Minister. From 1947 to 1949, the Independence Act brought together more than 550 independent princely states in India. He is often referred to as “India’s Bismarck.”
Additionally, he was involved in the development of All India Services. In November 1948, Nagpur University, the University of Allahabad, and Banaras Hindu University awarded him with honorary doctorates of law.
The Indian government established Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) in 2014 as a way of paying tribute to Patel. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the one who officially declared the establishment of National Unity Day.
Indira Gandhi – First Female Home Minister of India
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) was the only female Prime Minister of India. She was born on October 19th, 1917 to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, and Kamala Nehru. She became the 3rd prime minister of India and is widely regarded as the Iron Lady of India.
Gandhi’s political concentration of power made her a household name as prime minister. In support of the independence movement in East Pakistan, she went to war with Pakistan. The war ended in an Indian victory, Bangladesh was created, and India gained enough influence to become the only regional power in South Asia.
During her second term as India’s prime minister, Gandhi had to deal with the growing separatist movement among Sikhs. She ordered Operation Blue Star as a response, which involved military action in the Golden Temple and killed hundreds of Sikhs. Her bodyguards, both Sikh nationalists seeking retribution for the events at the temple, killed Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.
BBC organised an online poll in 1999 in which Indira Gandhi was named “Woman of the Millennium”.
Interim Government Before 1947
The ministry of home affairs was established in 1947 when India got independence. Before independence, an Interim government was formed on 2nd September 1946. The aim of this government was to oversee the transition of power from the British Raj to an Independent Nation.
This interim government was led by Jawaharlal Nehru. In this rare government, the Indian National Congress shared power with its arch-rival Muslim League. Given below is the list of ministers of this interim government.
Ministers from the Indian National Congress
- Jawaharlal Nehru – Vice President of the Executive Council, External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations
- Vallabhbhai Patel – Home Affairs, Information, and Broadcasting
- Rajendra Prasad – Agriculture and Food
- Baldev Singh – Defence Minister
- C. Rajagopalachari – Education Minister
- Asaf Ali – Railways and Communications Minister
- Jagjivan Ram – Labour
- C.H. Bhabha – Work, Mines, and Power
Ministers from All-India Muslim League
- Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar – Commerce Minister
- Liaquat Ali Khan – Finance Minister
- Ghazanfar Ali Khan – Health Minister
- Jogendra Nath Mandal – Law Minister
- Abdur Rab Nishtar – Posts and Air Minister
Ministers of State of Home Affairs
A minister of state is a junior minister who assists the cabinet Home minister. Here is the list of Ministers of States of Home Affairs in India.
- Subodh Kant Sahay (Janata Dal) – 23 April 1990 to 21 June 1991
- Sriprakash Jaiswal (Indian National Congress) – 23rd May 2004 to 27th May 2009
- Mullappally Ramachandran (Indian National Congress) – 28th May 2009 to 26th May 2014
- R.P.N Singh (Indian National Congress) – 28th October 2012 to 26th May 2014
- Kiren Rijiju (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 26th May 2014 to 30th May 2019
- Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 9th November 2014 to 5th July 2016
- Hansraj Gangaram Ahir (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 5th July 2016 to 30th May 2019
- G.Kishan Reddy (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 30th May 2019 to 7th July 2021
- Nityanand Rai (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 30th May 2019 to Present
- Ajay Kumar Mishra/ Nisith Pramanik (Bharatiya Janata Party) – 7th July 2021 to Present
Home Ministers of India List in Hindi – 1947 to 2023
- सरदार वल्लभ भाई पटेल- 15 अगस्त 1947 से 12 दिसंबर 1950
- जवाहरलाल नेहरू – 12 दिसंबर 1950 से 26 दिसंबर 1950 तक
- सी. राजगोपालाचारी – 26 दिसंबर 1950 से 5 नवंबर 1951 तक
- कैलाश नाथ काटजू – 5 नवंबर 1951 से 10 जनवरी 1955 तक
- गोविंद बल्लभ पंत – 10 जनवरी 1955 से 25 फरवरी 1961 तक
- लाल बहादुर शास्त्री – 25 फरवरी 1961 से 1 सितंबर 1963 तक
- गुलजारीलाल नंदा – 1 सितंबर 1963 से 9 नवंबर 1966 तक
- इंदिरा गांधी – 9 नवंबर 1966 से 13 नवंबर 1966 तक
- यशवंतराव चव्हाण – 13 नवंबर 1966 से 27 जून 1970
- इंदिरा गांधी- 27 जून 1970 से 5 फरवरी 1973 तक
- उमा शंकर दीक्षित – 5 फरवरी 1973 से 10 अक्टूबर 1974 तक
- कासु ब्रह्मानंद रेड्डी – 10 अक्टूबर 1974 से 24 मार्च 1977 तक
- चरण सिंह – 24 मार्च 1977 से 1 जुलाई 1978 तक
- मोरारजी देसाई – 1 जुलाई 1978 से 24 जनवरी 1979 तक
- हीरुभाई एम. पटेल- 24 जुलाई 1979 से 28 जुलाई 1979
- यशवंतराव चव्हाण – 28 जुलाई 1979 से 14 जनवरी 1980 तक
- जैल सिंह – 14 जनवरी 1980 से 22 जून 1982 तक
- पी.वी. नरसिम्हा राव – 19 जुलाई 1984 से 31 दिसंबर 1984 तक
- शंकरराव चव्हाण – 31 दिसंबर 1984 से 12 मार्च 1986 तक
- पी.वी. नरसिम्हा राव – 12 मार्च 1986 से 12 मई 1986 तक
- बूटा सिंह – 12 मई 1986 से 2 दिसंबर 1989 तक
- मुफ्ती मोहम्मद सईद – 2 दिसंबर 1989 से 10 नवंबर 1990 तक
- चंद्रशेखर – 10 नवंबर 1990 से 21 जून 1991 तक
- शंकरराव चव्हाण – 21 जून 1991 से 16 मई 1996
- मुरली मनोहर जोशी – 16 मई 1996 से 1 जून 1996 तक
- एच.डी. देवेगौड़ा – 1 जून 1996 से 29 जून 1996 तक
- इंद्रजीत गुप्ता – 29 जून 1996 से 19 मार्च 1998 तक
- एल.के. आडवाणी – 19 मार्च 1998 से 22 मई 2004 तक
- शिवराज पाटिल – 22 मई 2004 से 30 नवंबर 2008 तक
- पी चिदंबरम – 30 नवंबर 2008 से 31 जुलाई 2012 तक
- सुशीलकुमार शिंदे – 31 जुलाई 2012 से 26 मई 2014
- राजनाथ सिंह – 26 मई 2014 से 30 मई 2019
- अमित शाह – 30 मई 2019 से अब तक
Frequently Asked Questions
Question – 1: Who appoints the home minister of India?
Answer: President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India.
Question – 2: Who is the current Home Secretary of India?
Answer: Ajay Kumar Bhalla
Question – 3: NDRF reports to which ministry of India?
Answer: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
Question – 4: Who is the first home minister of India?
Answer: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Source – Wikipedia, Google and Ministry of Home Affairs Website (www.mha.gov.in)
We tried our best to provide you with accurate information in this post. Please let us know through the comment section if you think any details aren’t correct.
