Renu Chakravartty (1917-1994) was a leader of

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

, noted parliamentarian and educationist.

Early life

Born in a well-off Brahmo family to Sadhan Chandra and Brahmakumari Roy, at Kolkata on 21 October 1917, she was educated at Loreto House and

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

in Kolkata and

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

. After her graduation with honours at Kolkata, she acquired a

tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

in English Literature at Cambridge.Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical Dictionary) by Anjali Bose, Vol II, 3rd edition 2004, page 309, , (in Bengali) Sishu Sahitya Samsad Pvt. Ltd., 32A Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata-700009 A niece of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, she was inspired to take interest in political affairs by him. In 1938, she came in contact with

Rajani Palme Dutt Rajani may refer to: * Rajani (name), people named Rajani * Rajani (actress) (born 1965), Indian film actress * Rajanikanth (born 1950), Indian actor * ''Rajani'' (TV series), a 1980s Indian TV series * ''Rajani'' (film), a 2009 Indian Kannada rom ...

, the notable British communist, and joined the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. On return to India, the same year, she secured membership of the illegal

and plunged into active left politics.

Marriage and politics

She married eminent journalist, Nikhil Chakravartty, in 1942. In the early forties she taught English Literature in the University of Calcutta. Along with Rani Mitra Dasgupta and Manikuntala Sen she played an important role in the formation of Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti. It later played a part in the

Tebhaga movement The Tebhaga movement (1946–1947) was significant peasant agitation, initiated in Bengal by the All India Kisan Sabha of peasant front of the Communist Party of India. History At that time, landlords required tenant farmers and sharecroppe ...

. For the support of destitute women she was involved, along with her mother, in the Nari Seva Sangha. In 1948, when the Communist Party of India was declared illegal, she went into hiding. She was elected to the

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 ...

from

Basirhat Basirhat is a city and a municipal urban region of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Basirhat subdivision. Established on April 1, 1869, Basirhat is one of the oldest municipal board ...

in 1952 and 1957, and from

Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...

in 1962. After CPI split in 1964, she decided to remain with the older organisation, and in two successive elections in 1967 and 1971 she was defeated from the same constituency by Md. Ismail of

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 ...

. Gopalkrishna Gandhi has summed up very succinctly, the era in which Renu Chakravartty served in the Indian Parliament: "The early Lok Sabhas and Rajya Sabhas more than rose to the standards of "daily assessment" set by Dr. Ambedkar, especially in MPs' stellar debating contributions. The lyrically thoughtful Nehru was matched by the rasping Kripalani. The Houses were well-served by the laser-eyed Feroze Gandhi, the fiery Bhupesh Gupta, the impassioned Hiren Mukherjee, the sedate Lakshmi Menon, the thermal Violet Alva, the acerbic Rammanohar Lohia, the excoriating Barrister Nath Pai, the striking Renu Chakravartty, the diligent Minoo Masani, the startling C.N. Annadurai, and, of course, the poetic Atal Bihari Vajpayee." In around four decades of political life she was active in the workers' movement, organised many strikes and was sent to jail on numerous occasions. She was a vibrant contributor to the women's movement. She was on the executive committees of many organisations, including the

Women's International Democratic Federation The Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international women's rights organization. Established in 1945, it was most active during the Cold War when, according to historian Francisca de Haan, it was "the largest and probably ...

's to which she was elected in 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakravartty, Renu Women in West Bengal politics Communist Party of India politicians from West Bengal 1917 births 1994 deaths Lok Sabha members from West Bengal 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian social scientists 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Women scientists from West Bengal Politicians from Kolkata India MPs 1952–1957 India MPs 1957–1962 India MPs 1962–1967 People from Basirhat Women educators from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators Female politicians of the Communist Party of India Women's International Democratic Federation people Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Women members of the Lok Sabha