Sitaram Seksaria (1892–1982) was an

Indian independence activist The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

, social reformer and institution builder from

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, known for his contributions for the upliftment of Marwari community. He was a self-educated man. He was the founder of a number of institutions and organizations, including ''Shri Shikshayatan'', a higher educational institution, '' Marwari Balika Vidyalaya'', a primary school, ''Samaj Sudhar Samiti'', a social organization and

Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, a Kolkata-based literary organization was founded on 1975 by Sitaram Seksaria and Bhagirat H Kanodia with the aim of promoting Indian languages. It works for the development of Indian literature through publication of b ...

, a

non governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

. For few years he also served as a minister in

Azad Hind Fauj The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honor of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1962, for his contributions to society. His life story has been compiled in a book, ''Padma Shri Sitaram Seksaria Abhinandan Granth'', edited by Bhawarmal Singhi and published in 1974. He died in 1982.

References

Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work 1892 births Social workers from West Bengal Marwari people Gandhians Indian social reformers Indian independence activists from Bengal Founders of Indian schools and colleges 1982 deaths Social workers {{India-activist-stub