Kamini Kumar Dutta (; 1878–1959) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

politician and former

Law Minister of Pakistan The Law Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Law and Justice. They serve in the cabinet of the Prime Minister. List of ministers *Jogendra Nath Mandal (1947–1951) *Pirzada Abdus Sattar Abdur Rahman (1951–1953) * A.K. Brohi (1953� ...

Early life

Dutta was born on 25 June 1878 in Sreekail, Tippera District,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

, British India (present-day Muradnagar Upazila,

Comilla District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, () is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It lies about southeast of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria District, Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj District, Narayanganj dis ...

, Bangladesh). He studied at Chittagong Government High School. In 1898, he graduated from Ripon College, Calcutta and received a B.law degree from 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 ...

Career

In 1901, Dutta joined the Comilla District bar. He joined Calcutta High Court in 1918 as an advocate. He was involved with the Indian National Congress. He was involved with the

Non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

and the

Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public i ...

. He was arrested a number of times by the imperial police for his activism. In 1937, he was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council. In May 1938, he conveyed the All-India Peasants' Conference and served as the President of the Reception Committee in Comila. In 1938, he convened the All-Bengal and Assam Lawyers' Association meeting in Comila. He presided over the All-Bengal and Assam Lawyers' Association conference next year in Khulna. He served in the Comilla District Board. Following the

Noakhali riots The Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, rapes and abductions of Hindus, combined with looting and arson of Hindu properties, perpetrated by Muslim mobs in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of the eas ...

, Dutta served as the president of Tippera District Relief, Rescue and Rehabilitation Committee, that was created to aid the victims of the riot. In 1954, he was elected to the

East Pakistan Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

. In 1956, he served in the Basic Principles Committee which framed the first constitution of Pakistan. From August 1955 to September 1956, he served as the Law Minister of Pakistan under Prime Minister

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Chaudhri Muhammad Ali (15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982) was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan from 1955 until his resignation in 1956. His government transitioned Pakistan from a British ...

. He converted his home into a hostel for women, Mrnalini Chhatri-Nibas, named after his wife Mrinalini Datta.

Death

Dutta died on 4 January 1959. There is a Kamini Kumar Dutta Memorial Law Lecture at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

References

1878 births 1959 deaths Law ministers of Pakistan People from Comilla District Politicians from Chittagong Division Bengali Hindus Pakistani Hindus Politicians from East Pakistan University of Calcutta alumni East Pakistan MLAs 1954–1958 Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Lawyers from British India Bangladesh National Congress politicians {{Bangladesh-politician-stub