Hare Krishna Konar

Hare Krishna Konar
Minister, Land Reforms Pioneer
In office
1967-1971
Constituency Kalna
Personal details
Born 5 August 1915
Died 23 July 1974
Nationality Indian
Political party CPI(M)
Spouse(s) married, two son
Residence Memari
Religion None
Hare Krishna Konar

Hare Krishna Konar (1915–1974) was a fire brand politician, belonging to the CPI(M), who played a major role in land reforms in the Indian state of West Bengal.

Early life

He joined the Non-cooperation movement at the age of 14. He was condemned to the Andaman Islands in 1933 for six years. He joined the communist movement in 1938.[1]

Elections

He won the elections to the state assembly from Kalna (Vidhan Sabha constituency) in 1957, 1962, 1967, 1969 and 1971.[2] He was Minister for Land and Land Revenue in the United Front ministries in 1967 and 1969.[1]

Land reforms

Hare Krishna Konar played a leading role in getting surplus land held by big land owners in excess of land ceiling laws and kept ‘benami’ (or false names) vested with the state. The quantum of land thus vested was around one million acres (4,000 km²) of good agricultural land. Subsequently, under the leadership of Benoy Choudhury, this land was distributed amongst 2.4 million landless and poor farmers. It has been argued that this land reform along with Operation Barga formed the base for the Left Front victory in subsequent elections.[3]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sansad Bangla Charitbhidhan, p. 622, ISBN 81-85626-65-0
  2. "Statistical Reports of Assembly Elections". General Election Results and Statistics. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  3. "The story of a pretender". The Statesman, 9 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-12.