Kanak Mukherjee (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Dasgupta; 1921 – 2005) was a communist and is regarded as a pioneer of the women's movement in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. She was a Central Committee member of

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

. She was the founder of the

All India Democratic Women's Association All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) is a women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality and women's emancipation. It has an organizational presence in 23 states in India, with a current membership of more than 11 m ...

. She also contributed in the field of literature.

Early life

Kanak Mukherjee was born in December 1921 in

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

district of undivided

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Satish Chandra Dasgupta, her father was an eminent lawyer. Her mother was Molina Devi. She passed matriculation examination in 1937, came to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and took admission in the

Bethune College Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

under the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. Already since studying in class 8, she had come in contact with communist leaders in Jessore like Krishna Binod Ray, Sukumar Mitra, Shantimoy Ghosh. After coming to Calcutta she worked in All India Students Federation. She joined

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

in 1938.

Later life

She was the Convener of Bengal Women's Sub-Committee of CPI. When the part was divided in 1964, she joined CPI(M). She was a member of CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee from 1978 to 1998 and a member of CPI(M) Central Committee from 1989 to 1998. In 1943, she joined the first Party Congress of CPI at Bombay as a representative. She worked as a Party Whole-timer for some time. In 1941 Kanak Dasgupta married

Saroj Mukherjee Saroj Mukherjee (14 January 1911 – 9 February 1990) was an Indian freedom fighter and a member of the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was also the secretary of the West Bengal state committee of the Communist party. ...

who was also a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

leader. She was elected twice (in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

) to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

(upper house of Indian Parliament) from 1978 to 1990. In 1942-43 famine in Bengal, she worked as a leader of the Bangiyo Mahila Atmaraksha Samity. At the same time she became an activist of women's movement. Later she became a leader of the Ganatantrik Mahila Samity, she also helped to found this organization. From 1957 to 1967, she was the editor of "Ghare-Baire" magazine. In 1968, she was the founder-editor of "Eksathe" magazine. She graduated with B.A. degree and taught in a school for sometime. From 1967 to 1981, she was a Professor of English in Calcutta Women's College. In 1998 she was awarded the title of "Bhubanmohini Dasi" award by Calcutta University for her contribution in the field of literature. She died in Kolkata after being ill for days on 9 March 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Kanak 1921 births 1995 deaths Bethune College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Women in West Bengal politics 20th-century Indian women politicians 20th-century Indian politicians People from Jessore District Politicians from Khulna Division Indian women's rights activists Indian women activists Activists from West Bengal Bengali Hindus

Early life

Later life

See also

References