Kamal Guha (1928–2007) was an Indian politician. He was an

All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a Left-wing nationalism, left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a Political faction, faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and was strongest ...

leader and member of the Left Front cabinet in the Indian state of

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 ...

for over two decades.

Early life

Kamal Guha was born at

Dinhata Dinhata is a city and a municipality in Cooch Behar district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Dinhata subdivision. Apart from the city area, Dinhata consists of 3 blocks. Geography Location Dinhata is located ...

on 20 January 1928. He graduated from Dinhata High School, and passed Intermediate Arts from Victoria College (now Acharya Brojendra Nath Seal College) in Cooch Behar, which was then affiliated with 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 ...

. Guha was inspired by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

at a very young age. He decided to join the Forward Bloc when he was still a student. Guha is one of the childhood friend of

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh, the president of Bangladesh from 1982 to 1990. He seized power as a result of a 1982 ...

, former president of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Political career

Guha was first elected to the Dinhata seat of the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...

in the

1962 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal in 1962. Parties Ahead of the polls, the Communist Party of India, the All India Forward Bloc, the Marxist Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Communist Party of India, th ...

. He was re-elected to this seat in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, but lost in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. He was re-elected in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, holding the seat through the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, and

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

elections. In 1977, 1982, 1987, and 2001 he was a cabinet member. His various portfolios included agriculture, agriculture marketing and public health engineering. He chose not to run for re-election in the 2006 election. Guha was a driving force behind the expansion of the Forward Bloc party in West Bengal. In the late 1980s, he took up the cause of people living the

India–Bangladesh enclaves The India–Bangladesh enclaves, also known as the Chiṭmahals ( ''chiṭmôhôl'') and sometimes called Pasha enclaves, were the enclaves along the Bangladesh–India border, in Bangladesh and the States and territories of India, Indian states ...

. In 1992, he was expelled by his party because of disagreements over handing over the Tin Bigha corridor to

. He formed a splinter party,

Forward Bloc (Socialist) Forward Bloc (Socialist), a break-away group from the All India Forward Bloc. The party was primarily based in northern West Bengal. FB(S) was formed in 1992 as a result of a split lead by Kamal Guha against the transfer of the Tin Bigha Corridor ...

, and won the 1996 election against the official Left Front candidate. He returned to the Forward Bloc for the 2001 election. Guha was seen as an anti-

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

(CPI(M)) voice within the Left Front. He was firmly against the state government's market-driven farm policy. In 2002, he stated publicly that he felt that "indiscriminate recruitment of CPI(M) cadres by government departments and frequent increase in their salary has made the West Bengal government bankrupt." Guha died on 6 August 2007. In a memorial, Forward Bloc leader Debabrata Biswas said that Guha was a "leader of the people and always fought for the rights of the toiling masses."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal Guha, Kamal West Bengal MLAs 1962–1967 West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969 West Bengal MLAs 1977–1982 West Bengal MLAs 1982–1987 West Bengal MLAs 1987–1991 West Bengal MLAs 1991–1996 West Bengal MLAs 1996–2001 West Bengal MLAs 2001–2006