Siddhartha Shankar Ray

Siddhartha Shankar Ray (Bengali: সিদ্ধার্থশঙ্কর রায়) (20 October 1920 – 6 November 2010) was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He was a prominent barrister, Punjab Governor and Education minister of India.^[1][2][3] He was also the ambassador of India to the United States of America^[4][5] and served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1972 to 1977.^[6]

Biography

Ray's father, Sudhir Kumar Ray, was a well known barrister of Calcutta High Court and a member of the Indian National Congress and his mother Aparna Devi, was the elder daughter of the nationalist leader 'Deshbandhu' Chittaranjan Das and Basanti Devi. Ray was married to Smt. Maya Ray, who grew up in England. She was once referred to as "a noted barrister and former elected official" by the late Thomas J. Manton, a member of the United States House of Representatives. Ray's sister is Justice Manjula Bose, one of the first two women judges of the Calcutta High Court.

Ray studied at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta, Mitra Institution, Bhowanipore Branch, Calcutta, Presidency College, Calcutta and University Law College,London. In college and university, he was active in both sports and politics. In 1941, he was elected as student Under-Secretary in the Calcutta University Institute Elections and was put in charge from time to time of various departments including Student's Aid Fund, Debates, Sports and Socials. He was also the Debate Secretary and later the General Secretary of the Calcutta University Law College Union. As a sportsman he captained the Presidency College cricket team. He was the captain of the team that won the Inter Collegiate cricket Championship in 1944. He had scored three double centuries and 1000 runs for three consecutive seasons. He was also a keen footballer in Calcutta playing for the Kalighat Club. He was a University Blue in this sport and represented the Calcutta University in Inter-Varsity matches. In 1939, he was the Captain of the victorious Presidency College Football Team which won both the Elliot and Hardinge Birthday Shields.

Later, Ray was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Inner Temple, London. While in London he played cricket for the Indian Gymkhana Club.

Ray died on 6 November 2010 at the age of 90.^[7] He is survived by his wife Maya.

Career

Upon his return from England, Ray joined the Calcutta Bar in 1947. In 1954 he became one of the three junior Central Government counsel in Calcutta. In 1957 he was elected to the Bhowanipore Assembly seat which he won by a large majority, becoming the youngest member of the West Bengal Cabinet under the leadership of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. He was appointed as Law and Tribal Welfare Minister in West Bengal. In 1962, he was re-elected to the state's Legislative Assembly as an Independent Candidate. In 1966, he became the Union Cabinet Minister of Education & Youth Services for the Government of India. He was also the Union Cabinet Minister of West Bengal Affairs of the Government of India.

After the Congress won the General Election of 1972, he became the Chief Minister of West Bengal from March 19, 1972 to June 21, 1977. He took office shortly after the Bangladesh Liberation War, and his administration was faced with the massive problem of resettling over a million refugees in various parts of the state. The civic services of Calcutta in particular found rehabilitation of the Bangladeshi refugees to be an uphill task, and failed in this aspect.

Later, he had the distinction of serving as the Governor of Punjab from April 2, 1986 to December 8, 1989. When the Congress came back to power once again in Delhi in 1991, Ray was sent as India's Ambassador to the United States. He remained in the USA from 1992 to 1996. His tenure in Washington was widely considered to be very successful.

References

External links

• S.S. Ray - an administrator par excellence, Indo-Asian News Service, 7 November 2010
• S.S. Ray accorded a state funeral, Indo-Asian News Service, 7 November 2010
• Ray, Bengal's last aristocrat politician, departs, The Times of India, 7 November 2010
• A leader of many hues, The Times of India, 7 November 2010
• Sukharanjan Sengupta, Misunderstood for role in Naxal period, The Times of India, 6 November 2010
• Legal eagle with excellent court etiquette, The Times of India, 7 November 2010
• Ray: The Left’s whipping boy till the end, The Statesman, 6 November 2010
• Punjab's friendly troubleshooter, The Tribune, 7 November 2010