Sukhsagar Datta, ''alias'' Sukha Sagar Datta (1890 – 3 November 1967), was a medical doctor and political activist, who was born in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

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 ...

. In 1908, his brother, Ullasakar Datta, was arrested by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

for revolutionary activities and sentenced to a long prison sentence. Fearing arrest himself, Sukhsagar fled to

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 ...

, where he enrolled at the London Tutorial College and came into contact with members of the

Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...

. Around 1910-11 he met and fell in love with Ruby Young of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, whom he then married. Following a failed attempt to become an actor, they moved to

St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

in Bristol, where they had two sons: Albion and David. In 1913 or 1914 Datta joined the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, where he passed exams that allowed him to join the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Medical School in 1915. He qualified as a doctor on 22 October 1920. He joined

Bristol General Hospital Bristol General Hospital (sometimes referred to as BGH or Bristol General) was a healthcare facility in Guinea Street, Harbourside, Bristol, in the south west of England. It opened in 1832 and closed in 2012. The BGH was managed by the Universi ...

as a House Physician at a time when Indian doctors were very unusual in Britain. He went on to work for a variety of medical institutions in Bristol and also offered his services on a voluntary basis to the St John's Ambulance Brigade, who went on to award him for his lifelong services to the Brigade in 1959. Datta remained committed to the cause of Indian Independence throughout his life, joining the Labour Party in 1926 in part because they were more sympathetic to this goal. He was also heavily involved with local politics, becoming Chairman of the Bristol Labour Party (1946) and President of the Bristol Trades Council (1946-7). During the 1930s Datta joined the London-based

India League The India League was an England-based organisation established by Krishna Menon in 1928. It campaigned for the full independence and self-governance of British India. It has been described as "the principal organisation promoting Indian nationa ...

, which became an official 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 ...

that was campaigning for Indian Independence. In 1944 Datta was instrumental to the Labour Party passing a resolution to support Indian Independence. This became a reality in 1947, following Labour's victory in the 1945 general election. Datta retired in 1956 and went on a six-month tour of India with his wife, Ruby. He died in Bristol on 3 November 1967, following a heart attack.Barot, Rohit (2006). 'Datta, Sukha Sagar (Sukhsagar]) (1890–1967), medical practitioner and political activist', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' His wife and two sons survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Datta, Sukhsagar Indian medical doctors St John Ambulance Indian independence activists Indian reformers Labour Party (UK) people Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom British Indian history 1890 births 1967 deaths