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Home ≫ The Constitution Framers ≫ Basanta Kumar Das

Constituent Assembly Members

Basanta Kumar Das

1898 - 1984

Key Information

Party: Indian National Congress

Constituency: West Bengal

Religion: Hindu

Caste: Non SC/ST

Gender: Male

Mother Tongue: Bangla

Education: Graduate

Committee Memberships

None

Biography

Early Life

Basanta Kumar Das was born in 1898 in the village of Ramchan village in West Bengal. He completed his education from Presidency College, Calcutta (now Kolkata). He was a member of one of the revolutionary parties of Bengal as a student. He joined Congress in 1921.

Role in India’s Independence Movement

Das actively participated in the freedom struggle. He was arrested six times; from 1916 to 1942. He was imprisoned for his participation in various movements including the Non-Co-operation, Civil Disobedience and the Quit India movement.

Contribution to Constitution Making

Das was elected to the Constituent Assembly from West Bengal through the Congress Party. He made interventions about the entitlement of the Constituent Assembly to give directions and examine the work of the Section and Advisory Committee.

Later Contributions

He was the leader of the Agricultural Delegation to the U.S.S.R. in 1956, and a member of the Indian Central Jute Committee, and Chairman of the Rehabilitation Finance Administration Advisory Board. He was also a member of the Provisional Parliament from 1950 to 52; the First Lok Sabha from 1952 to 1957 and member of the legislative council West Bengal from 1958 to 1962. He also worked as the Secretary of the Midnapur District Congress Committee and the Assistant Secretary of Bengal P.C.C. He was also the President and Secretary of several educational institutions.

Key Speeches

His main intervention at the debate was about the requirement for a ruling to decide the extent to which the Constituent Assembly could direct or to examine the work of the Sections and of the Advisory Committees.