https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=K._C._BakhleK. C. Bakhle - Revision history2026-11-02T01:25:30ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=K._C._Bakhle&diff=506843&oldid=prevOmerRobson4867: started a stub!2026-04-25T17:15:34Z<p>started a stub!</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian civil servant}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Kamalaker Chintaman Bakhle<br />
| image = K_C_Bakhle.jpg<br />
| image_size = <br />
| caption = <br />
| birth_name = <br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|11|17|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Karachi]], [[Sind Division]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br>(now in [[Sindh]], [[Pakistan]])<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1975|7|30|1898|11|17}}<br />
| death_place = [[Pune|Poona]], [[Maharashtra]], India<br />
| native_name_lang = <br />
| other_names = <br />
| known_for = First Indian Commissioner for the Indian Railways, First Managing Director of Air India.<br />
}}<br />
'''Kamalaker Chintaman Bakhle''' (17 November 1898–30 July 1975) was a technocrat and prominent figure in India's transportation sector during the mid-20th century.<ref name="Obituary">{{cite journal |date=August 1975 |title=Kamalaker Chintaman Bakhle |url=https://books.google.com/books?newbks=0&id=IANRAAAAYAAJ&dq=K.+C.+Bakhle+1898&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=1898|journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Engineers (India) |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=46–47}}</ref> <br />
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==Career==<br />
Bakhle was educated at [[Dulwich College]] and the [[University of London]].<ref name="Obituary"/><br />
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He was the first Indian Commissioner for [[Indian Railways]] (a position equivalent to the modern-day [[Chairperson of the Railway Board]]). He assumed the role in September 1947 and played a significant role in the [[Indian Railways organisational structure|reorganization of India's railway zones]] post-independence.<ref name="PoI">{{Cite web|author=|url=https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/760384/1/ppd_22-02-1951.pdf|title=Parliamentary debates|publisher=Parliament of India}}</ref> When the then Railways Minister, [[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]], proposed restructuring the railways into five zones, Bakhle and his colleagues advocated for a nine-zone system. Despite their recommendations, Ayyangar's five-zone plan was implemented, leading Bakhle to tender his resignation in 1951.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |last= Acharya|first= R.C.|date=1 April 2015|title=Men who set the wheels turning|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/men-who-set-the-wheels-turning/cid/1439288|newspaper=Telegraph|access-date= 12 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="IIMA">{{Cite web|author=|url=https://www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2007-02-03graghuram.pdf|title='Turnaround' of Indian Railways: A Critical Appraisal of Strategies and Processes|publisher=IIM Ahmedabad}}</ref><br />
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Following his departure from the railways, Bakhle transitioned to the aviation industry. [[J. R. D. Tata]] appointed him as the first Managing Director of the newly established [[Air India]]. In this capacity, Bakhle contributed to the airline's foundational development and expansion during its formative years.<ref name="Telegraph"/> In 1953, he was also appointed Managing Director of Tata Hydro-Electric Agencies Ltd (Now known as [[Tata Power Company Limited]]).<ref name="WB">{{Cite web|author=|url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/662881468269150248/pdf/multi0page.pdf|title=Technical Report On The Trombay Thermal Power Project|publisher=World bank}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Chairpersons of the Railway Board]]<br />
[[Category:Indian Railways officers]]<br />
[[Category:Tata Group people]]<br />
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]<br />
[[Category:1898 births]]<br />
[[Category:1975 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:People educated at Dulwich College]]</div>OmerRobson4867