Kansari Halder (1910-1997) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

politician, belonging to the Communist Party of India. He earned fame as a leader of and for his active participation in the

Tebhaga movement Tebhaga movement (1946–1947) was significant peasant agitation, initiated in Bengal by the All India Kisan Sabha of peasant front of the Communist Party of India. History At that time sharecroppers had contracted to give half of their har ...

Early life

The son of Narendra Krishna Halder Jashodarani Haldar, he was born at village Andaria on 26 September 1910. He was educated at Ripon College and Bangabasi College in Kolkata. While still a student he was arrested in 1930 for his participation in the

Civil Disobedience Movement The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

. He remained with the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

till 1941, when he joined the Communist Party of India.Samsad Bangali Chartibhidhan (Vol 2), Biographical Dictionary by Anjali Bose (in Bengali). . Third edition. P. 73. Sahitya Samsad.

Tebhaga movement

Kansari Halder provided leadership to the peasant movement that developed in the 1940s in Kakdwip-Sundarbans area of 24 Parganas and later became well known as the Tebhaga movement. Many people were killed in police-public face-off. Although he was convicted to death sentence in the Chandanpiri case in the Kakdwip area the police could not get him as he had gone underground. In 1957, he was elected to the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...

while he was still convicted. He was later acquitted.

Electoral performance

He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1957 from

Diamond Harbour Diamond Harbour () is a town and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is the headquarters of the Diamond Harbour subdivision. Histor ...

, was reelected to the Lok Sabha in 1967 from Mathurapur, and was elected to the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...

in 1972 from

Sonarpur Rajpur Sonarpur () is a city and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Rajpur and Sonarpur are two separat ...

Death

Kansari Halder spent the later years of his life in poverty. He died on 29 August 1997.

References

Communist Party of India politicians from West Bengal 1910 births 1997 deaths Lok Sabha members from West Bengal West Bengal MLAs 1972–1977 People from South 24 Parganas district India MPs 1967–1970 India MPs 1957–1962 {{WestBengal-politician-stub