Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi (''Prio Rônjon Dashmunshi''; 13 November 1945 – 20 November 2017) was an

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 ...

politician, former

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers is the Cabinet (government), principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India' ...

and a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the 14th

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He represented the Raiganj constituency 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 ...

. He died on 20 November 2017, aged 72, after nine years in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

following a massive

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Career

Dasmunshi entered politics as a member of the '' Chhatra Parishad'', the student's wing of the state Congress unit while studying in the

Calcutta University 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 ...

as a protégé of veteran Congress leader

Atulya Ghosh Atulya Ghosh (28 August 1904 – 18 April 1986) was a Bengali Indian politician.Bose, Anjali (editor), 1996/2004, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol II, , pp8-9, He has been described as "a wise, scholarly and hon ...

when the state was hit with the first-wave of Naxalite-Maoist insurgency, which saw large number of students from well-reputed colleges & universities of Calcutta abandon their studies to take up arms against the state in lines of the

people's war People's war or protracted people's war is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population ...

strategy of Naxalite ideologue

Charu Majumdar Charu Majumdar (15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972) was an Indian communist leader, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born into a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he became a Commun ...

. He, alongside

Subrata Mukherjee Subrata Mukherjee (14 June 1946 – 4 November 2021) was an Indian politician who was cabinet minister of the government of West Bengal and sitting member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. H ...

& Somen Mitra was the prominent militant face of the ''Chhatra Parishad'' who clashed heads-on with the student cadres of both

CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...

& CPI(ML) alike in the politically turbulent atmosphere of the state caused by a fractured mandate in the state elections & the Naxalite insurgents. Known for his organisational capability, fiery speeches & strong anti-Communist stance, Dasmunshi was violently assaulted by CPI(M) cadres in 1967 after a street rally in the suburbs of North Calcutta, which left him with a fractured arm, thereby cementing his image as a firebrand anti-Communist leader. Dasmunsi was made state president of

Indian Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. Whil ...

in from 1970 to 1971. He was elected from the South Calcutta constituency in the

1971 Indian general election General elections were held in India between 1 and 10 March 1971 to elect members of the 5th Lok Sabha, fifth Lok Sabha. They were the fifth general elections since independence in 1947. The 27 Indian states and union territories were represent ...

at the age of 26, defeating veteran Communist leader & freedom fighter

Ganesh Ghosh Ganesh Ghosh (22 June 1900 – 16 October 1994)Sangshad Bangali Charitabhidhan, Editor: Anjali Basu, 2nd part, 4th Edition, Sahitya Sangshad, 2019, Kolkata was an Indian independence activist, revolutionary and politician. Biography Ganesh Gh ...

. He lost the seat to

Janata Party The Janata Party (JP, ) is an unrecognised political party in India. Navneet Chaturvedi is the current president of the party since November 2021, replacing Jaiprakash Bandhu. The JP was established as an amalgam of Indian political partie ...

candidate Dilip Chakravarty in the next general election. After having a fallout with

Sanjay Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi (14 December 1946 – 23 June 1980) was an Indian politician. He was a member of the Lok Sabha and was the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. During his lifetime, he was widely expected to succeed his mother as head ...

, Dasmunshi joined the Congress(Urs) of D. Devraj Urs in 1978. Following him coming 4th in the South Calcutta constituency during the

1980 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 3 and 6 January 1980 to elect the members of the 7th Lok Sabha, seventh Lok Sabha. The Janata Party alliance came into power in the 1977 Indian general election, 1977 general elections amidst public anger ...

& the dismal performance of the party in 1982 state election, he returned back to the

Congress(I) 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 ...

in 1984 after Indira Gandhi's murder. He was appointed as the Union Minister of State for

Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

in 1985 by prime minister

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

after being elected from the Howrah constituency promising re-industrialisation of the area. But his failure to keep his electoral promise saw him lose the seat in the 1989 general election. He also led a fiery campaign against the CPI(M)-led Left Front government of the state in 1987 state election as the state PCC chief, but failed to dislodge the Communists. He again lost from Howrah in 1991, but was re-elected back from there in 1996. From 1999, he was the MP from Raiganj constituency In 2004, in the

First Manmohan Singh ministry The First Manmohan Singh ministry was the first Union Council of Ministers of India under the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April 10 May 2004, to elect ...

, he was appointed as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He controversially banned television networks he deemed "obscene", including a three-month ban on the Sony-owned television network

AXN AXN is a pay television channel brand by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with some ne ...

and

Fashion TV FashionTV is an international fashion and lifestyle broadcasting channel. Founded in France in 1997, by its Polish-born president Michel Adam Lisowski, FashionTV is one of the most widely distributed satellite channels in the world with 31 sa ...

. In 2007, Dasmunsi was also responsible requiring broadcaster Nimbus Communications to share broadcast rights for the

Indian cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Men in Blue, represents India in international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is a full member nation of the International Cricket Council with T ...

with the state television network,

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

— this despite Nimbus paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the rights to the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

. Dasmunsi served as the president of the

All India Football Federation All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football, futsal and beach soccer in India. It is a member of FIFA, and is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation and South Asian Football Federation. It is affiliated wit ...

for almost twenty years, from 1988 to 2008. He was succeeded by

Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the List of political parties in India#State parties, state parties in India and is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra with a recognised state party statu ...

politician

Praful Patel Praful Manoharbhai Patel (born 17 February 1957) is an Indian politician, industrialist and sports administrator. He is associated with the Nationalist Congress Party. He was the president of India's association football governing body the ...

. Dasmushi was re-elected as the state PCC chief in 2008 & remained so until 2010, when he was replaced with

Manas Bhunia Manas Ranjan Bhunia is an Indian politician and was the Minister for Irrigation and Waterways and the Minister for Small & Micro Industries and Textile in the Government of West Bengal. He is also an MLA, elected from the Sabang constituency ...

Electoral record

* In 1971, Dasmunsi won in the general elections from the Constituency (Lok Sabha) South Calcutta. * In 1984, he won in the general elections from the

Howrah (Lok Sabha constituency) Howrah Lok Sabha constituency () is one of the 543 Lok Sabha, parliamentary constituencies in India. The constituency centeres on Howrah in West Bengal. All the seven assembly segments of No. 25 Howrah Lok Sabha constituency are in Howrah dist ...

. * In 1989, he lost in the general elections from Howrah. * In 1991, he lost in the general elections from Howrah. * In 1996, he won in the general elections from Howrah. * In 1999, he won in the general elections from

Raiganj (Lok Sabha constituency) Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 543 Lok Sabha, parliamentary constituencies in India. The constituency centres on Raiganj in West Bengal. All the seven assembly segments of No. 5 Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency are in North Dinajpu ...

* In 2004, he won in the general elections from

All India Football Federation

Dasmunsi succeeded Khalifa Ziauddin as the president of the

(AIFF) in December 1988. Under his leadership, the AIFF launched the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

in 1996. The National Football League would be replaced by the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

for the 2007-08 season. The

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

won the

2008 AFC Challenge Cup The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was organised by AFC and was hosted by India. The tournament was played from 30 July – 13 August 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan. India was also the winner of the fair play award an ...

in Delhi to qualify for the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the secon ...

in Doha. He was a member of the FIFA Technical Study Group Member in

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

held in Sweden and a Match Commissioner in

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

held in the United States. He was also the first Indian official to be appointed as a special Duty officer, at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. He was also the Chef`de Mission of the India Olympics Contingent at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, and Match Commissioner for two World Cup Matches at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

in Germany.

Personal life and death

Dasmunsi was married in 1994 to Mrs.

Deepa Dasmunsi Deepa Dasmunsi (née Ghosh; born 15 July 1960) is an Indian politician. She served as the member of parliament for Raiganj in the 15th Lok Sabha. She was the Minister of State for Urban Development from October 2012 until May 2014. She was the ...

, a social worker from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. They have a young son, Priyadeep Dasmunshi. Dasmunsi suffered from numerous problems like

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

during his prime. While attending

Durga Puja Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...

celebrations at his ancestral residence at Kaliaganj, he suffered a massive

and

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

on 12 October 2008, leaving him in minimum conscious state. He was admitted to the

All India Institute of Medical Sciences The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. These institutes ha ...

(AIIMS) in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and was later shifted to

Apollo Hospital Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. It is the largest for-profit private hospital network in India, with a network of 71 owned and managed hospitals. Along with the eponymo ...

in New Delhi. He remained on life support, and was diagnosed with a complete failure of the left ventricular system. In November 2009, Dasmunsi was temporarily moved to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, where he underwent

stem cell therapy Stem-cell therapy uses stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition. , the only FDA-approved therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This usually takes the form of a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cel ...

in an attempt to reverse some of the loss of brain functions caused by the stroke. Since Dasmunsi's hospitalization, his wife Deepa, to some extent had taken over his political mantle; she was elected from

in 2009. On 10 October 2011, the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi advised his family to take him home and care for him there. After lingering for nine years in coma, Dasmunsi finally died on 20 November 2017, a week after his 72nd birthday. His dead body was taken to Kaliaganj and was cremated at the local crematorium.

References

External links

Dasmunsi called Nimbus Communications 'unpatriotic' for refusing to share a live feed of Indian cricket matches with state broadcast Doordarshan.

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dasmunsi, Priya Ranjan 1945 births 2017 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal West Bengal politicians India MPs 2004–2009 Members of the Cabinet of India Indian Youth Congress Presidents University of Calcutta alumni Ministers for information and broadcasting of India India MPs 1999–2004 India MPs 1996–1997 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1971–1977 Lok Sabha members from West Bengal People from Uttar Dinajpur district Indian Congress (Socialist) politicians People from Howrah district People from Kolkata district Indian National Congress (U) politicians Indian sports executives and administrators Indian football executives Presidents of the All India Football Federation Presidents of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee