Ashoke Kumar Sen (10 October 1913 – 21 September 1996) was an Indian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, a former Cabinet minister of India, and an Indian parliamentarian. He also holds the record for winning a

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

seat the most times and also the record for being not only an MP for the most years, but also a cabinet minister – serving more than 7 prime ministers. For decades, he was the inevitable Union Law Minister.

Background

Ashoke Kumar Sen was born in 1913 during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

in a well-known Baidya Brahmin family. His father was a district magistrate. Both Ashoke Kumar Sen and Sukumar Sen were students of Sambalpur high School,

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

wherein Late Mr. Suryamani Jena of village Kusupur was the Principal. His elder brother, Sukumar Sen ICS (b. 1899), who went on to become India,

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

's first Chief Election Commissioner, funded his education in England, at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Ashoke Sen went on to study for the Bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. Upon his return, he started teaching law at the

City College, Kolkata City College is a composite state government–aided public college, affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It offers undergraduate-level courses in various arts, commerce and science subjects. History Anandamohan Bose, founder of the C ...

a constituent college of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

Memorial references by the Speaker
Eleventh Lok Sabha Debates, Session II (Budget) Monday, 2 September 1996. Retrieved 13 January 2008. He then began practising in the Calcutta High Court. At the age of 26, he had already written a book about

Commercial Law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

, which was endorsed by Mr. Sen's then senior Sudhi Ranjan Das, the future

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

. Some years later, in February 1943, Ashoke Kumar Sen married Anjana Das, his senior's only daughter. They had two sons and two daughters.

Legal career

Within five years of practice, Sen became regarded as one of the top lawyers in the Calcutta High Court and gained wide acclaim. He published many books and articles, and was the Editor of Calcutta Law Journal. Sen was a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court, and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association several times.

Parliamentary career

Because of his legal acumen,

Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian physician and politician who served as Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1950 until his death in 1962. He played a key role in the founding of several institutions and cities like ...

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, recommended him to the Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. Nehru wanted Sen in his cabinet, and asked him to contest elections for the Lok Sabha. In 1957, the Calcutta North West seat for the Lok Sabha was a communist stronghold. Sen had tried in 1956 to win the election, but fell short by only a few votes. However, in the following year, he triumphed and won by over 100,000 votes. He retained that seat from 1957 to 1977, and again held the Calcutta North West seat from 1980 to 1989, being defeated in 1989 by Debi Prosad Pal. Sen was a Member of the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Lok Sabhas. He was later made a Rajya Sabha member and remained in the Upper House until April 1996, a few months before his death.

Ministerial career

Ashoke Sen became the Union Law Minister under

Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...

. It is this post for which he became famous worldwide. He was Union Minister of Law, but he also held other portfolios such as Communications. He was Minister of Steel and Mines in

Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar (17 April 1927 – 8 July 2007), also known as Jananayak, was an Indian politician and the prime minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata ...

government from November 1990 to June 1991. Over the next years, Sen was India's representative to foreign countries and the United Nations. According to Deve Gowda (1996), Sen led the Indian delegations to the United Nations Conference on Law, the United Nations Conference on Human Rights and several other conferences. He was Law Minister lastly under

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

and resigned in 1989 after his party's debacle in state elections in his home state West Bengal." Minister in India Quits In Election Aftermath"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 29 March 1987

Other activities

During his lifetime, Sen started the ''Paschim Banga Seva Samiti'' – a charitable organisation. He also served as the president of the

Indian Football Association The Indian Football Association, abbreviated as IFA, is the organisation that administers football in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the oldest football association in India and was founded in 1893. Among the founders was former Engli ...

. During his lifetime, Mr Sen also amassed a large law library with many rare collections. This library is considered to be among the largest private law libraries in the world.

Memorials

There is a block in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

named after him. A portrait of him also hangs there. A town, Ashoknagar Kalyangarh in West Bengal is named after him. Several documentary films have also been produced on Sen.

Family

Ashoke Kumar Sen was survived by his widow, Anjana (whom he married in 1943), and by his four children, and seven grandchildren. Besides his brother Sukumar Sen, Ashoke Kumar Sen had another brother Amiya Kumar Sen, an associate of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. Amiya, author of a book about the Tagore family newspaper, was formerly a lecturer at Calcutta University and Principal of the City College, Kolkata. Mr Sen is also uncle to Nobel Laureate Economist

Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...

References

Sources

Profile from India's Rajya Sabha (Upper House) website
* ''The Hindu'' 27 January 2002, magazine section. Later reprinted a
"Democracy''s biggest gamble: India''s first free elections in 1952. (Reconsiderations)."
(partly available online) ''World Policy Journal'' 22 March 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Ashoke Kumar Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Bengali people Brahmos Das family (Telirbagh) Indian barristers Members of the Cabinet of India Rajya Sabha members from West Bengal 1913 births 1996 deaths Law ministers of India Lok Sabha members from West Bengal India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 Academic staff of City College, Kolkata 20th-century Indian lawyers Politicians from Kolkata Steel ministers of India Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Janata Dal politicians