Khagendra Nath Dasgupta was an independence activist, minister in the West Bengal government, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Vidhan Sabha and Member of the Lok Sabha.

Early life

Khagendra Nath Dasgupta was born on 6 July 1898 at Jalpaiguri to Ishan Chandra Dasgupta. He graduated from

Rajshahi College Rajshahi College ( bn, রাজশাহী কলেজ ''Rajshahi Kôlej'') is the third oldest institution of higher education in Bangladesh. Established in 1873 in Rajshahi city, it is the third oldest college in Bangladesh after Dhaka Col ...

. He joined a revolutionary party early in life and was a member of it from 1913 to 1920. After the special session of the Congress in Kolkata, he joined the

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

in 1920. He organised the Congress Party in Jalpiaguri and was sent to jail several times.Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan Biographical Dictionary) by Anjali Bose, 4th edition 1998, page 122, , Sishu Sahitya Samsad Pvt. Ltd., 32A Acharya Prafulla Chandra road He was elected Commissioner of Japaiguri Municipality in 1924 and thrice thereafter. In the 1937 Bengal elections, Khagendra Nath Dasgupta won as a Congress candidate from the Jalpaiguri-cum-Siliguri constituency.

Post-Independence

He was elected to the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha from

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...

in 1951, 1957, 1962 and 1967. He was Minister, Public Works and Buildings, in 1952, Public Works and Building and Housing in 1957, Public Works in 1962,WBPCC Congress Ministry, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee and for a short duration in 1968. He was leader of the opposition during United Front regime in 1967. He won the election to the 6th Lok Sabha as a

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

candidate (recorded as independent in election records) in 1977. He retired from active politics in 1980. He died on 15 June 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Khagendra Nath Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 West Bengal MLAs 1947–1951 West Bengal MLAs 1951–1957 West Bengal MLAs 1957–1962 West Bengal MLAs 1962–1967 West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969 Indian National Congress politicians Dasgupta, Khagendra Nath Lok Sabha members from West Bengal People from Jalpaiguri district 1985 deaths Leaders of the Opposition in West Bengal Janata Party politicians Independent politicians in India India MPs 1977–1979