Satish Chandra Samanta (15 December 1900 – 4 June 1983) was an

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

activist and a member of 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 1952 to 1977.

Early life and education

Satish Chandra Samanta was born at Gopalpur village, Mahishadal thana of

Purba Medinipur district East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...

in a

Mahishya Mahishya (IAST: Māhiṣya) is a Bengali Hindu traditionally agrarian caste, and formed the largest caste in undivided Bengal. Mahisyas were, and still are, an extremely diverse caste consisting of all possible classes in terms of material con ...

family. At the age of 15 he was influenced by his guru, Swami Prajnanananda Saraswati and adopted the life of

Brahmacharya ''Brahmacharya'' (; Sanskrit: Devanagari: ब्रह्मचर्य) is the concept within Indian religions that literally means "conduct consistent with Brahman" or "on the path of Brahman". Brahmacharya, a discipline of controlling ...

and took up a life of serving the people. He displayed academic prowess since an early age, his schooling was in Mahishadal raj high school, where he passed in the first division at the

Matriculation examination A matriculation examination or matriculation exam is a university entrance examination, which is typically held towards the end of secondary school. After passing the examination, a student receives a School leaving qualification, school leaving ce ...

. He passed IA from

Bangabasi College Bangabasi College is a Kolkata-based liberal arts, commerce and sciences college. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the University of Calcutta. It was founded by Girish Chandra Bose, an educationist, social reformer and agric ...

and subsequently entered the

Bengal Engineering college Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (abbr. IIEST Shibpur) is a public technological university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1856, it is one of Institute of National Importance funded ...

to pursue

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Nationalist movement and politics

Samanta quit

Bengal Engineering College Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (abbr. IIEST Shibpur) is a public technological university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1856, it is one of Institute of National Importance funded ...

(now

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (abbr. IIEST Shibpur) is a public technological university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1856, it is one of Institute of National Importance funded ...

Shibpur Shibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the ...

) in his second year of study in order to fight for freedom of India from the clutches of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. He started serving through, the activities organised by the local branch of the

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 ...

. Later, he became the president of Tamluk Congress Committee and remained an active congress member for decades. He was known for his leadership qualities and other constructive work. His leadership qualities could be observed during the formation of a parallel government named Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar (Tamralipta National Government) in

Tamluk Tamluk (), is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and the headquarter ...

during the Quit India Movement. This body was formed on 17 December 1942 and Samanta was the "Sarbadhinayak" (Chief Executive) of this government until his arrest in June 1943. It lasted till September 1944. It undertook cyclone relief work, gave grants to schools and organized an armed ''Vidyut Vahini''.Chandra, Bipan and others (1998). ''India's Struggle for Independence'', New Delhi:Penguin, , p.466 In addition to his political work, he helped the people by participating in activities related to improving civic health. He organised and led activities like cleaning roads and choked-up ponds to prevent

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, nursing

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

patients, organising free medical camps, training volunteers and spreading education and literacy in backward areas. After Independence, Satish Chandra Samanta remained as a Member of Parliament for more than three decades. He was elected to the

1st Lok Sabha The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 17 April 1952 after India's first general election. The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957. The First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. To ...

from Tamluk constituency in 1952 and re-elected to the

from the same constituency in 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1971.

Early life and education

Nationalist movement and politics

References

Further reading