Pramatha Ranjan Thakur (1902 – 28 Decembder 1990) was an Indian politician elected as a member of 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 ...

from the Hanskhali constituency in the 1962 elections as a candidate of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. The seat was reserved for candidates from the

Scheduled Castes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

Early life

Thakur was born at village of Orakandi in

Faridpur District Faridpur District ( bn, ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to its northeast. The district was named after Farīd-ud-Dīn Masʿūd, ...

of Bengal Presidency. His father name is Shashi Bhushan Thakur. He passed

Bar at Law Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and was called to the bar from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in June, 1929. Thakur was the first barrister from the Namasudra community. In 1933, he married Binapani Devi Thakur.

Career

Thakur was a prominent member of the

Namasudra Namasudra, also known as Namassej, is an ''Avarna'' community originating from eastern and central Bengal. The community was earlier known as ''Chandala'' or ''Chandal'', a term usually considered as a slur. They were traditionally engaged in fis ...

community, whose great-grandfather,

Harichand Thakur Harichand Thakur (হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুর) (30 March 1812 – 5 March 1878), worked among the untouchable people of Bengal Presidency. He formed the Matua sect of Hindus. Life Harichand Thakur was born in a Namashudra (or avarn ...

(1811/12-1878), had founded the Hindu religious sect called

Matua Mahasangha Matua Mahasangha ( bn, মতুয়া মহাসংঘ) is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in modern-day Bangladesh, with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal of India. ...

. The sect, which was further developed by Pramatha's grandfather, Guruchand Thakur, became a focal point for the Namasudra community's efforts for social upliftment and by the 1930s Pramatha had become its head. The Namasudras had been historically considered an untouchable community. He became the Minister of State for Tribal Development of West Bengal in 1963.

References

{{reflist 1902 births 1990 deaths Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Matua people Members of Lincoln's Inn