Atulya Ghosh

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Atulya Ghosh
Born 28 August 1904
Jejur, Hooghly
Died 18 April 1986
Kolkata
Occupation Political leader
Spouse Bivabati Devi

Atulya Ghosh (Bengali: অতুল্য ঘোষ) (1904 – 1986) was a Bengali politician and an able political organiser who had become a legend in Indian political circles. [1] He has been described as “a wise, scholarly and honest leader who was a superb political organizer.” [2]

Contents

[edit] Formative years

He was born on 28th August 1904. The family hailed from Jejur village in Hooghly district. In the early 1920s, he quit studies to become a Congress khadi (hand spun cloth became a symbol of self reliance) worker. In the 1930s, he was active in selling khadi in the East Bengal districts of Dhaka, Comilla and Chittagong, with the centre being Malekandra, the village home of Dr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. [3]

He was a member first of the Calcutta and then Hooghly district Congress committees. In 1930, he was caught in the murder case of a policeman in Midnapore but was released because of lack of evidence. He had to go underground for some time as he used to organise movements against the government. During the Quit India movement of 1942 he suffered spine injuries and lost one eye, as a result of police action. He became editor of the weekly Janasevak in 1945. It was converted to a daily in 1949. [1]

For some time he worked in the Hooghly bank, founded by the Congress leader Dhirendra Nath Mukherji. In 1947, he organized a Congress Seva Dal camp at Howrah station to assist elderly AICC members. When the Radcliffe Commission, empowered to draw the boundary line across Bengal, started functioning, he along with Dhirendra Nath Mukherji, Jadabendra Nath Panja, Dr Nalinaksha Sanyal, Sukumar Datta and others founded the New Bengal Association. The Association told Radcliffe that “the districts of Murshidabad and Nadia must be allotted to the Indian side of Bengal for the protection of the Calcutta Port, the lifeline of Eastern India.” [3]

[edit] At the helm

In 1948, he became general secretary of the West Bengal state Congress committee, assuming charge as its president two years later. He joined the Congress Working Committee in 1950. [1] In 1952 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bardhaman, [4] and in 1957 [5] and 1962 [6] from Asansol. In 1967, he lost the Bankura parliamentary seat. [7]

He lent his support for the selection of Lal Bahadur Shastri as prime minister after Nehru’s death and then of Indira Gandhi. When the Congress old guard fell off with Indira Gandhi, he was with them as part of what was called the ‘syndicate’ and then formed Congress (Organisation).[1]

[edit] Retirement days

In 1971, he retired from politics and led a quiet life spending much of his time looking after the Bidhan Sishu Udyan in north Kolkata. Although much maligned by the Communists in his active days, it was CPI(M) leader Benoy Choudhuri, who often met him in his retirement days. [3]

[edit] Works

Patrabali, Kastakalpito, Sampradayik Samasya, Nairajyabadir dristite Gandhibad. [1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bose, Anjali (editor), 1996/2004, Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) Vol II, (Bengali), pp8-9, ISBN 81-86806-99-7
  2. ^ Karlekar, Hiranmay. Election sans commotion. Columnists. The Pioneer 22 February 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  3. ^ a b c Sengupta, Sukharanjan. "A much maligned man", Tribute to Atulya Ghosh, the forgotten freedom fighter, The Statesman 15 August 2004. Retrieved on 2007-02-21. 
  4. ^ Members of First Lok Sabha. State-wise list. Parliament of India. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  5. ^ Members of Second Lok Sabha. State-wise list. Parliament of India. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  6. ^ Members of Third Lok Sabha. State-wise list. Parliament of India. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  7. ^ Bhattacharya, Shubhabrata. Editorial page. Amoeba called the Janata Dal. The Tribune 26 July 1999. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
Persondata
NAME Ghosh, Atulya
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Political leader
DATE OF BIRTH 8 August 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Jejur
DATE OF DEATH 18 August 1986
PLACE OF DEATH Kolkata