Tushar Kanjilal
Indian politician (1935–2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tushar Kanjilal (1 March 1935 – 29 January 2020)[1] was an Indian social worker, political activist, environmentalist, writer and headmaster of Rangabelia High School.[citation needed] He was the founder of a non governmental organization, which merged with the Tagore Society for Rural Development, a social organization working for the upliftment of the rural people in Sunderbans region, in the Indian state of West Bengal.[2]
Tushar Kanjilal | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 March 1935 Noakhali, British India |
| Died | 29 January 2020 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Social worker |
| Spouse | Bina Kanjilal |
| Children | Three children |
| Parent | Dwigendralal Kanjilal |
| Awards | Padma Shri |
Early life
Born to Dwigendralal Kanjilal[3] in Noakhali, in the present day Bangladesh, Kanjilal's family migrated to West Bengal before the Indian independence.[4] He was attracted to Marxist ideologies from a young age and had a frequently disrupted education due to his activism. After his marriage to Bina, he settled in Rangabelia, a small hamlet in the Sunderbans region, where he stayed with his family of three children, Tanima, Tania and Tanmoy, and worked as the headmaster of the local high school.[4] There, he started his social service, founding an organization, which was later merged with the Tagore Society for Rural Development. He was also involved in environmental activism[5] and wrote a book, Who Killed the Sunderbans?, which deals with the issue of the destruction of the mangrove forests of Sunderbans.[6]
The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986.[7] He received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008.[1] Kanjilal was in the process of founding an institute, Interpretation Complex, which is aimed at dealing with the problems of the Sunderbans region.[4] He resided in Kolkata, West Bengal.[4]
