Pratap Chandra Chunder (1 September 1919 – 1 January 2008) was a union minister of India, educationist and author. He served in the
Morarji Desai Ministry
The premiership of Morarji Desai extended from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979. In the 1977 Indian general election Morarji Desai led the Janata Party to victory against the Congress party. Upon taking office, Morarji Desai became the first Indian ...
from 1977 to 1980 as a cabinet minister with education and social welfare portfolios.
Family and education
Chunder was the son of
Nirmal Chandra Chunder, a prominent member of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
(INC) in the pre-independence era and a member of the Big Five of the Bengal Congress. He completed his BA (Hons.) in history at
Presidency College, Calcutta, ranking first class first, and his LLB at the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...
. He was awarded a D Phil in Arts from the same university.
Career
From an early age Chunder joined the INC and became a member of the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...
from 1962-69. He was the Finance and Judicial Minister of West Bengal in 1968. From 1977 to 1979 he was the Education and Social Welfare Minister of India.
Chunder was an attorney-at-law at the
Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court ...
and an advocate of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India (IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. He was member of Senate and the faculty of law of the Calcutta University between 1961 and 1968.
Chunder was the Founder-Chairman of West Bengal Heritage Commission and the President of the Board of Governors of
IISWBM, India's first MBA school. From 2000 to 2005 he was a member of the executive council of the
Rabindra Bharati University
Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...
. Chunder was the President of the Presidency College Alumni Association from 1989-90 to 1993-94 and again during 1998-99.
Pratap Chandra Chunder died of cardiovascular disease on 1 January 2008, aged 88.
Publications
Chunder authored many historical novels and dramas. They are:
*''Bubhuksha''
*''Smrtira Alinde''
*''Job Charnocker Bibi''
*''Glimpses of Indian Culture: Ancient and Modern''
*''Kautilya on Love and Morals''
References
External links
Bagchee.comBookfinder.comEducation.nic.in
*https://archivepmo.nic.in/drmanmohansingh/press-details.php?nodeid=697
Headlinesindia.com
1919 births
2008 deaths
Presidency University, Kolkata alumni
Education Ministers of India
20th-century Indian lawyers
University of Calcutta alumni
India MPs 1977–1979
Lok Sabha members from West Bengal
Indian National Congress (Organisation) politicians
Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal
Novelists from West Bengal
20th-century Indian novelists
Indian historical novelists
Politicians from Kolkata
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