Sankar Das Banerji (January 1903 – 23 March 1994) 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 ...

Indian politician and barrister. He was the Speaker of West Bengal State Assembly and former Finance Minister of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

. Banerji was a prominent criminal lawyer of his time in 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 ...

. His nephew

Satyabrata Mookherjee Satyabrata Mookherjee ( bn, সত্যব্রত মুখার্জী; 8 May 1932 – 3 March 2023) was an Indian Union minister of state and the president of BJP's West Bengal state unit from 2008 before being replaced by Rahul Sinha i ...

was a former Indian Union Minister of State.

Early life

Banerji was born in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 1903 in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He hails from a Jamindar family of Paglachandi village,

Plassey Palashi or Plassey ( bn, পলাশী, Palāśī, translit-std=ISO, , ) is a village on the east bank of Hooghly River, Bhagirathi River, located approximately 50 kilometres north of the city of Krishnanagar, Nadia, Krishnanagar in Kal ...

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

. His father passed from

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

, of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and worked with

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named after ...

. Banerji studied in

Hindu School, Kolkata Hindu School is a state government-administered school in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest modern educational institution in Asia (then known as ''Hindu College''). The institution played a key role during Bengal R ...

and acquired law degree from the

Calcutta University 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 ...

, later he joined Lincoln's Inn, called to the Bar in 1927. After returning to India he started practice in the Calcutta High Court. He served as the Standing Counsel of

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

in Calcutta High Court from 1950 to 1957. He was appointed Advocate General in 1967.

Political career

He joined

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 ...

for active politics in 1952. Banerji was elected to 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 ...

. In 1968, Banerji formed the Indian National Democratic Front. He became the Speaker of West Bengal State Assembly since 1957 to 1959 and Finance and Transport Minister during the period of 1962–63. He also contested

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

and

1984 Indian general election General elections were held in India in 1984 soon after the assassination of previous Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, though the vote in Assam and Punjab was delayed until 1985 due to ongoing fighting. The elections were a landslide victory fo ...

from Krishnanagar Lok Sabha but lost.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerji, Sankar Das 1903 births 1994 deaths State cabinet ministers of West Bengal Speakers of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly University of Calcutta alumni Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Nadia district West Bengal MLAs 1951–1957 West Bengal MLAs 1957–1962 West Bengal MLAs 1962–1967 Indian barristers