Basanta Kumar Das (1898 – 1 December 1984) was an Indian Politician belonging to the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. He was elected to the

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 ...

, the Lower house of Indian Parliament from Contai constituency,

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 ...

in 1952 and 1962. He was earlier a member of the

Constituent Assembly of India Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...

representing

Early life

Basanta Kumar Das was born on 1 March, 1898 in Ramchak village of

Khejuri Khejuri (also spelled Khajuri) is a village and gram panchayat, in Khejuri II CD Block in Contai subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. History According to Binoy Ghosh, in an era when the Magh and Por ...

police station in

Purba Medinipur district East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in a

Mahishya Mahishya (IAST: Māhiṣya) is a Bengali Hindu traditionally agrarian caste, and formed the largest caste in undivided Bengal. Mahisyas were, and still are, an extremely diverse caste consisting of all possible classes in terms of material con ...

family to Indranarayan Das and Sudharani Debi. His family was mostly engaged in agriculture and farming. He passed his

Matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a School leaving qualification, school leaving ce ...

from the esteemed Contai High School and then proceeded to the famed Presidency College,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

by 1914 to study his undergraduate

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

degree.

Political Career

While studying for his B.Sc at the

Presidency College, Calcutta Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

he had joined the

Anushilan Samiti () was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it supported revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India. The ...

and by 1921 he had become a member of the

. For his association with the revolutionary societies and nationalist politicians he was arrested multiple times from 1916 to 1941. He also, actively participated in

Non Cooperation movement Non, non or NON can refer to: * ''Non'', a negatory word in French, Italian and Latin People *Non (given name) *Non Boonjumnong (born 1982), Thai amateur boxer * Rena Nōnen (born 1993), Japanese actress who uses the stage name "Non" since July ...

Civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

and Quit India Movement. He closely worked with leaders such as ''Deshapran''

Birendranath Sasmal Birendranath Sasmal (26 October 1881 – 24 November 1934) was a Barrister and a political leader. He was known as "The Uncrowned King of Midnapore district, Midnapore" and "Deshpran" (soul of the nation), because of his love and devotion to the ...

during the freedom struggle. After Independence, he along with

Satish Chandra Samanta Satish Chandra Samanta (15 December 1900 – 4 June 1983) was an Indian independence movement activist and a member of the Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1977. Early life and education Satish Chandra Samanta was born at Gopalpur village, Mahishadal th ...

was chosen to be a member of the

tasked with the drafting of the

Indian constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

. He also led a delegation to the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

relating to agriculture. He became a member of the Provincial Government from 1950 to 1952 and subsequently, the member of the First Lok Sabha and then the member of the West Bengal Legislative Council from 1958 to 1962.

Personal life

He was married to Tarangini Debi, a independence activist and a leading figure among the women of

Midnapore district Midnapore (Pron: mad̪aːniːpur), or sometimes Medinipur, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Midnapore. On 1 January 2002, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namely Purba Medinipur ...

during the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

Death

Basanta Kumar Das died in 1 December, 1984 when he was 86 years, leaving his widowed wife and 5 children and his grandchildren. In his village, Ramchak his one storied Mud house still stands. He had established a school, ''Khejuri Adarsha Vidyapith'' in his native place

. One of his sons, Paresh Kanti Das was an MLA from

Bangla Congress The Bangla Congress was a regional political party in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was formed through a split in the Indian National Congress in 1966 and later co-governed with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) in two Unite ...

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References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
1898 births Year of death missing India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1962–1967 Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Place of birth missing People from Purba Medinipur district {{WestBengal-politician-stub Presidency University, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata alumni