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 w ...

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

. 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 at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...

. His nephew Satyabrata Mookherjee was a former Indian Union Minister of State. He had 3 sons (Kalidas, Shyamadas and Shivdas) and 1 daughter (Aloka).

Early life

Banerji was born in

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 ...

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 in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He hailed from a Jamindar family of Paglachandi village,

Plassey Palashi or Plassey, , ) is a town on the east bank of Bhagirathi River, located approximately 50 kilometres north of the city of Krishnanagar in Kaliganj CD Block in the Nadia District of West Bengal, India. It is particularly well kn ...

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 influe ...

. 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 Lo ...

, of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and worked with

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

. 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 (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, later he joined

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, 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 Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

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, 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 ...

for active politics in 1952. Banerji was elected to the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...

. 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 Sys ...

and

1984 Indian general election General elections were held in India on 24, 27 and 28 December 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 insurgency. The electio ...

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 Politicians from Nadia district West Bengal MLAs 1951–1957 West Bengal MLAs 1957–1962 West Bengal MLAs 1962–1967 Indian barristers