Dasarathi Tah (1911–1980) was a politician and journalist in the Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

Early life

Dasarathi Tah did not have the benefit of any formal education and was a completely self-educated person. Politically inclined from his younger days, he joined the

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

in 1930 and actively participated in many political movements such as the

Salt Satyagraha The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of non violent civil disobedience in colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

, personal

satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

, flood prevention in the Damodar, and the canal movement. During the Quit India Movement he was involved in the occupation of Jamalpur police station. He was sent to jail several times for his political activities.Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (in Bengali), vol 2, p. 128,

Elections

He won elections to the West Bengal state assembly from Raina constituency in 1951, 1957 and 1967. While he contested on a

Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party The Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (''Farmer Worker People's Party''), or Praja Party for short, was a political party of India. Established in 1951, it merged with the Socialist Party to form the Praja Socialist Party in the following year. The A ...

ticket in 1951, he fought the other elections on a

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded in 1952 when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the ...

ticket.

Journalist

Dasarathi Tah was a pioneering journalist. He edited and published the weekly ''Damodar'' before independence and then started the daily ''Damodar'' after independence. Both were the earliest in their category in

Bardhaman district Bardhaman (, ), or sometimes Burdwan and Barddhaman, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Bardhaman. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namely Purba Bardhaman and Pas ...

References

Bengali politicians People from Purba Bardhaman district 1980 deaths 1911 births Praja Socialist Party politicians {{WestBengal-politician-stub