Mira Datta Gupta: Difference between revisions

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| birth_place  = [[Dhaka]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]  

  Present day, [[Bangladesh]]

| alma mater = [[Bethune College]]

| occupation     = Educationist and politician

'''Mira Datta Gupta''' ({{lang-bn|মীরা দত্ত গুপ্ত}}) (5 October 1907 - 18 January 1983) was a well-known [[freedom fighter]], [[social worker]], [[educationist]], politician and activist on women's issues in [[Calcutta]], India. She was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Bengal and then West Bengal for twenty years from 1937 to 1957, firstly representing Women's constituency from 1937 to 1952, and then Bhowanipore from 1952 to 1957. She was the first MLA from Bhowanipore.

 

 

 

Shanti Dasgupta, MLA, who was an education minister in the Government of West Bengal (1972–77) was her nephew. [[Barun De]], the historian, was a nephew-in-law.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Ardhendu Sen, IAS, a former Chief Secretary of West Bengal, is a grandnephew of hers.

 

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Her parents were greatly inspired by patriotic feelings and she too absorbed these ideas as she was growing up. Since her father was a senior government official, the police did not suspect her of being a revolutionary worker for a long time. She secretly kept documents and even arms and ammunition for revolutionary party workers at her family home in Hazra Road. During the Calcutta Riots of 1946 she gave shelter to both Muslim and Hindu riot victims. In this endeavour she had the active backing of her family members, including her parents. In the initial years of her political career, she was a member of the [[Indian National Congress]], but later disillusioned by the INC, she joined the Forward Bloc.

 

==Academic and social work==

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Mira's reputation grew with her increasing involvement in the revolutionary movement. She was associated with Indian revolutionary groups, such as [[Anushilan]], [[Jugantar]] and [[Bengal Volunteers]]. As a member of [[Bengal Volunteers]] she was the editor of the women's section of its magazine – ''Benu''. While, initially she was put in charge of the organisation's South Calcutta Women's group, she later moved into a low profile role, choosing to work for India's independence secretly. In those days she used to donate her entire salary towards India's freedom movement to her party Bengal Volunteers. Around this time she also provided a channel for information between the revolutionaries who had to remain under cover and other members of the party. She participated in one of the important meetings of Bengal Volunteers held at [[Baranagar]] near Kolkata to discuss the group's activities in Midnapore and other parts of the state. From 1933, the police grew suspicious of her activities and she was placed under constant surveillance. In 1938, many party members such as Bhavani Bhattacharya and Ujjala Mazumdar were arrested in connection with the shooting of Governor John Anderson in [[Darjeeling]] district. Mira was cross-examined by the police for many hours in connection with this case. At this stage her father sent her away from Calcutta for two years to ensure her personal safety. She was very actively involved in fund raising activities during the Quit India Movement of 1942. In 1946, she was jailed for her nationalist activities. After her released from prison she became one of the first members of Netaji [[Subhas Chandra Bose]]'s [[Forward Bloc]].{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

She had a devoted following in the [[Ballygunge]] [[Constituency]], all along the southeastern environs of the city, and was known for her social commitment. During the devastating [[Bengal Famine of 1943]], she, along with co-Congress workers played a leading role in organising [[relief]] for famine victims.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Later, after independence, her many activities included relief activities for those affected by famines, floods, and also the rehabilitation of the homeless and economically weaker women.

In her post-retirement years, she served as an honorary justice of peace in the juvenile court in Kolkata and was a member of the [[Board of Film Censors]] in West Bengal. In 1958 she joined the Indian goodwill mission to China and later visited [[Berlin]], Copenhagen and Moscow to attend developmental, educational and women's conferences. She was also a member of the Calcutta University Senate and the [[West Bengal Board of Secondary Education]]. She also contributed to the setting up of [[Patha Bhavan, Kolkata]], a school named after the university school in [[Santiniketan]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

She died of [[pneumonia]] on 18 January 1983, at the age of 76.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

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