Pushpalata Das (1915–2003) was an
Indian independence activist
The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...
, social worker,
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
and legislator from the north-east Indian state of
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
She was a member of
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 ...
from 1951 to 1961, a member of the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
and a member of the
working committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
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 E ...
.
She served as the chairperson of the Assam chapters of the
Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust and
Khadi and Village Industries Commission
The Khadii and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body formed in April 1957 by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, 'Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956'. It is an apex organisation under the ...
.
The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, in 1999, for her contributions to society.
Early life
![Kanaklata Udyan, Tezpur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Kanaklata_Udyan%2C_Tezpur.jpg)
Born on 27 March 1915
to Rameswar Saikia and Swarnalata in
North Lakhimpur
North Lakhimpur ( ) is a city and a municipal board in Lakhimpur district in the Indian state of Assam, about northeast of Guwahati. It is the district headquarters of Lakhimpur district.
North Lakhimpur is also the name of the subdivision of ...
in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, Das did her schooling at Panbazar Girls High School.
She started her political activities from school days and was the secretary of an organization by name, '' Mukti Sangha''. In 1931, she and her comrades organized a protest against the hanging of the revolutionary,
Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary*
* who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer
*
* in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...
by the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
and was expelled from school.
She continued her studies as a private student and passed the matriculation examination in 1934, after which she joined
Benaras Hindu University to complete her intermediate course. Later, she graduated from
Andhra University
Andhra University ( IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926.
History
King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest d ...
and secured post-graduate degree from the same university in 1938. Subsequently, she enrolled herself for studies in law at Earle Law College, Guwahati where continued her student politics; she was the secretary of the college union in 1940. It was during this time,
Gandhiji
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
called for ''Individual
Satyagraha'', as a part of
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 ...
and as a precursor to the
Quit India Movement which would be launched two years later,
and Das participated in the movement. She was incarcerated which effectively cut short her law studies.
Political life
Due to her association with the National Planning Committee as a member of its Women Sub Committee, Das moved to Mumbai that year and stayed there for two years. Her activities gave her opportunities to work alongside
Mridula Sarabhai
Mridula Sarabhai (6 May 1911 – 26 October 1974) was an Indian independence activist and politician. She was a member of the Sarabhai industrialist family of Ahmedabad.
Early life
Mridula was born in Ahmedabad, India to an affluent business ...
and
Vijaya Laxmi Pandit as well as
Omeo Kumar Das
Omeo Kumar Das (21 May 1895 – 23 January 1975), popularly addressed as Lok Nayak, was an Indian social worker, Gandhian, educationist, writer and a former minister at the Government of Assam. He held various ministerial portfolios such as Educ ...
, then sitting member of the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
,
whom she married in 1942. She returned to Assam after her marriage and formed two organizations, ''Shanti Bahini'' and ''Mrityu Bahini''.
In September 1942, Das and her comrades of ''Mrityu Bahini'' led a protest to the local police station holding the
National Flag of India
The national flag of India, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the ', a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form ...
and it was at this procession, the police opened fire which led to the death of her colleague,
Kanaklata Barua
Kanaklata Barua (Assamese : কনকলতা বৰুৱা ; 22 December 1924 – 20 September 1942), also called Birbala and Shaheed (martyr), was an Indian independence activist and AISF leader who was shot dead by the Indian Imperial Po ...
.
By that time, she had already become a member of the
All India Congress Committee
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...
and the convener of the women's wing of the Assam Congress Committee and reportedly worked to get Assam out of the grouping with
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
.
After the Indian independence in 1947, Das couple focused their activities in
Dhekiajuli
Dhekiajuli is a town and a municipal board in Sonitpur district in the state of Assam, India.
Geography
Dhekiajuli is located at . It has an average elevation of 100 metres (328 ft). There are several tea estates in its vicinity. Som ...
in Assam which Omeo Kumar Das represented in Assam Legistalive Assembly for successive terms from 1951 to 1967.
Pushpalata Das herself was nominated 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 ...
in 1951 and held the position 1961.
It was during this period she led the 1957 election campaign of
Chandraprava Saikiani from Bajali constituency.
Later, she was elected to the
Congress Working Committee
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members electe ...
in 1958 and the next year, she visited a number of East European countries as a member of the parliamentary delegation. In 1967, she contested from
Dhekiajuli
Dhekiajuli is a town and a municipal board in Sonitpur district in the state of Assam, India.
Geography
Dhekiajuli is located at . It has an average elevation of 100 metres (328 ft). There are several tea estates in its vicinity. Som ...
when her husband vacated the constituency, winning the election representing
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 E ...
and repeated the success in 1971.
After the death of her husband on 23 January 1975,
Das withdrew from parliamentary politics, concentrating for more social service.
She served as the chairperson of the Assam chapter of the All India Khadi Board and chaired the state boards of Bhudan and Gramdan initiatives.
She was also associated with the Central Social Welfare Board and served as a member of the women's section of the Congress Planning Committee and the East India wing of the
Censor Board of India
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
. She edited the Assamese magazine, ''Jayanti'' and headed the Assam branch of the
Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust for a certain period of time.
She also published one book, ''Rajarama Sukla rashtriyaatma varcasva evam krtitva, san 1898-1962'', released in 1976.
Award and honours
The Government of India honored her with ''Tamrapatra Freedom Fighter Award'' but she declined it saying she participated in the Indian freedom struggle without expecting returns.
In 1999, the government awarded her the third highest civilian honor of the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
.
Towards the later days of her life, she suffered from age-related illnesses
and had to be moved to a Woodlands Nursing Home in Kolkata, where she died on 9 November 2003, at the age of 88, survived by her daughter, Nandini and her husband, Sasanka Dutta.
See also
*
Mridula Sarabhai
Mridula Sarabhai (6 May 1911 – 26 October 1974) was an Indian independence activist and politician. She was a member of the Sarabhai industrialist family of Ahmedabad.
Early life
Mridula was born in Ahmedabad, India to an affluent business ...
References
External links
*
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Pushpalata
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work
1915 births
2003 deaths
Journalists from Assam
Indian independence activists from Assam
Social workers
Assamese-language writers
Assamese people
People from Lakhimpur district
Banaras Hindu University alumni
Andhra University alumni
Gandhians
Quit India Movement
Members of the Assam Legislative Assembly
Indian National Congress politicians from Assam
Women members of the Assam Legislative Assembly
20th-century Indian women politicians
20th-century Indian politicians
Women Indian independence activists
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian journalists
Indian women editors
Indian editors
Women writers from Assam
Social workers from Assam
Women members of the Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha members from Assam