Santosh Mohan Dev

Infobox_Indian_politician
name = Sontosh Mohan Dev


caption =
birth_date =Birth date and age|1934|4|1|mf=y
birth_place =Silchar, Assam
residence = Silchar
death_date =
death_place =
constituency = Silchar
office = MP
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party =Indian National Congress
religion =
spouse = Smt. Bithika Dev
children = 4 daughters
website =
footnotes =
date = February 25
year = 2006 |
source = http://164.100.24.209/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=109

Sontosh Mohan Dev is a veteran Indian political leader and a key member of the Indian National Congress. Mr. Dev was first elected to the Parliament in 1980, the first of his seven terms in office as the Member Of Parliament. Out of these seven, he has represented Silchar, Assam six times and he was elected from Tripura twice. Mr Dev has the rare distinction of being elected from two different states.

Career

During his political career as an elected representative, Mr. Dev has held crucial cabinet and non Cabinet posts. Mr. Dev had represented India in the Population Conference held in China in 1982 and was a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference at Isle of Man in 1984. He was the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Communications during 1986-1988 and the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs during 1988-1989. He also held the charge of Union Minister of State for Steel (Independent Charge) in 1991. Mr. Dev entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980. Subsequently, he was elected to Lok Sabha in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999 and 2004. Mr. Dev was re-elected to the 14th Lok Sabha from Silchar in Assam. Mr. Dev was Chairman, Public Accounts Committee during 1990-1991 and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee of General Purpose Committee. He was also member of Tea Board during 1981-83. Between 1999-2004 Mr. Dev held various parliamentary responsibilities including being the Chairman of Committee on Energy, Member of House Committee and Member of General Purposes Committee.

Achievements

As of 2008, he is the Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises in the Union Cabinet. His salient achievements include, the deregulation of steel in the mid 1990s as minister of steel which unshackled potential of the indigeneous steel industry making India a global steel powerhouseFact|date=July 2008. He was also instrumental in setting up a national university in Silchar, AssamFact|date=July 2008. He played a key role in the freight equalisation scheme in the early 1990s in India which removed unequal rail freight charges among the states, thereby making them more competitiveFact|date=July 2008.

He is a third generation Congressman. His father was one of the first legislators of independent India. His grandfather was also an active member of the Indian freedom struggle.

Personal

Santosh Mohan Dev is the eldest of three sons of the renowned Bengali North Eastern Freedom Fighter Satindra Mohan Dev. Satindra Mohan Dev was known as fierce opponent of British Rule and enjoyed the personal confidence of Jawaharlal Nehru.Fact|date=July 2008 He was jailed a number of times by the British for his resistance activities. In the mid Sixties in an independent India he was offered the governorship of Bihar, but he turned it down, preferring to stay in his hometown of Silchar. A member of the Dev family has occupied an elected office from South Assam for all but 10 years of the sixty years since Indian Independence.

Santosh Mohan Dev was educated at G.C college in Silchar, Assam and has an MBA from the Welsh College In Cardiff UKFact|date=July 2008. Shri Dev has four daughters and his wife Bithika Dev is currently a Member of the state legislative assembly of Assam from his home constituency of Silchar. Mr. Dev is also a certified and professionally qualified Football Referee. In his earlier years Mr. Dev was also the winner of the All Assam Lawn Tennis Championship.

Mr. Dev now shares his time between Silchar, his parliamentary constituency and His cabinet duties in New Delhi. An avid reader, Mr Dev is personally inspired by Famous Bengali writers like Bankim Chandra and Rabindranath Tagore.Fact|date=July 2008

External links

* [http://www.dayafterindia.com/july204/interview.html Santosh Mohan sees ‘India Shining’ in the down-trodden ]
* [http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno=109 Indian Parliament Members' Fact File]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/sontosh-mohan-dev Sontosh Mohan Dev: Information from Answers.com]
* [http://164.100.24.209/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=109 Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website]