G.V. Mavalankar or Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was the first Lok Sabha speaker of India post Independence. He is popularly known as "Dadasaheb Mavalankar" and was titled as "Father of Lok Sabha" by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He played a vital role in moulding the parliamentary traditions and laying the foundations of establishing the framework of a working democracy.

Early Life of G. V. Mavalankar
G. V. Mavalankar was born on 27th November 1888 at Baroda in the state of Gujarat. He moved to Ahmedabad in 1902 for higher studies, after his early education. He obtained his Bachelor"s Degree in Science from the Gujarat College, Ahmedabad, in 1908. In the year 1912, he passed his Law examination with First Class.

Career of G.V. Mavalankar
After passing the law examination he entered the legal profession in 1913. Within a short span of time G.V. Mavalankar established himself as a prominent lawyer. He was keenly interested in social work, along with his thriving legal practice.

G. V. Mavalankar was associated with several major social organizations in Gujarat. He also held the position of the Honorary Secretary of the Gujarat Education Society in 1913 and also the Secretary of the Gujarat Sabha in 1916. He joined the Swaraj Party in the 1920s but later returned to Mahatma Gandhi. Later in 1946, he was elected to preside over the Central Legislative Assembly and this was to be continual at the national level too.

G.V. Mavalankar during Indian Independence
Although Mavalankar was a recognized lawyer in the pre-independence era, he was enthusiastic about social work. From his early 20s, G. V. Mavalankar came forward to help the people, whenever there was a natural disaster, famine or other social or political crisis. He met the distinguished national leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Mahatma Gandhi while working for such generous cause. He got associated with the Non-cooperation movement spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi.

G. V. Mavalankar was a firm believer in the decentralization of power and in the effectiveness of Panchayati Raj Institutions. For nearly 2 decades, Mavalankar dedicated himself to the associations of Ahmedabad Municipality and he served as a member of the Ahmedabad Municipality from 1919 to 1937. He served as its President during 1930-33 and 1935-36. Ahmedabad made remarkable progress under the custodian of G.V. Mavalankar.

Achievements of G.V. Mavalankar
G. V. Mavalankar headed the planning of India`s Parliament for a period of over 10 years from 1946 to 1956. As speaker of the first Lok Sabha of a new born nation, not only did he introduce several new rules and procedures, he also modified the existing ones to suit the new conditions. He was always sympathetic and fair to all sections of the House. His success as the Speaker of the Bombay Legislative Assembly made him a natural choice of the Congress Party for the President-ship of the Sixth Central Legislative Assembly in January 1946.

Mavalankar remained Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly till midnight of 14th August, 1947 when under the Indian Independence Act, the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States ceased to exist and the Constituent Assembly of India assumed full powers for the governance of the country. In the wake of India`s Independence, G.V Mavalankar headed the Committee to study and report on the need to separate the Constitution-making role of the Constituent Assembly from its legislative role. Later, it was on this Committee`s recommendation that the legislative and Constitution-making roles of the Assembly were separated and it was decided to have a Speaker to preside over the Assembly when it functioned as the legislative body for the country. And, G.V Mavalankar was elected on 17th November, 1947, to preside over the Session of the Constituent Assembly.

Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar is a reputed social worker and a renowned educationist who made a mark as an excellent speaker on the Indian Parliamentary institution. He has been an inspiration for all the subsequent Lok Sabha speakers of the present generation.

Personal life of G.V. Mavalankar
G.V. Mavalankar was married to Sushila Ganesh Mavalankar, who was an Indian freedom fighter and was elected to the 1st Lok Sabha in 1956. It was in the same year in the month of February that G.V. Mavalankar took his last breath.