Ashoke Kumar Sen

Ashoke Kumar Sen (1913-31 August1996 New Delhi, India) was an Indian barrister, a former Cabinet minister of India, and an Indian parliamentarian.

He also holds the record for winning a Lok Sabha seat the most times and also the record for being not only an MP for the most years, but also a cabinet minister - serving more than 7 prime ministers.

Background

Ashoke Kumar Sen was born in 1913. His father was a district magistrate. His elder brother, Sukumar Sen ICS (b. 1899), who went on to become India, Sudan and Nepal's first Chief Election Commissioner, [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/01/27/stories/2002012700550100.htm "Hindu" article (2002)] on India's first general election in 1952 has historian Ramachandra Guha's take on the first CEC] funded his education in England, at the London school of Economics. Ashoke Sen went on to study for the Bar at Gray's Inn.

Upon his return, he started teaching law at the City College, Calcutta [ [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm Memorial references by the Speaker] Eleventh Lok Sabha Debates, Session II (Budget) Monday, September 2,1996. Retrieved 13 January 2008.] He then began practicing in the Calcutta High Court. At the age of 26, he had already written a book about Commercial Law, which was endorsed by Mr. Sen's then senior Sudhir Ranjan Das, the future Chief Justice of India.

Some years later, in February 1943, Ashoke Kumar Sen married Anjana Das, his senior's only daughter. They had issue, two sons and two daughters. [Two volume autobiography/memoirs of Sudhir Ranjan Das in Bengali, with family photographs, published 1993 by his daughter Anjana Sen. S.R. Das mentions his worries that his Brahmo daughter would not be accepted by her in-laws, and his refusal to approve the marriage until Sen's parents also accepted the match, and the Brahmo rites as religiously acceptable. ]

Legal career

Within five years of practice, Sen became regarded as the top lawyer in the court and gained wide acclaim. He published many books and articles, and was the Editor of Calcutta Law Journal. [ [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm Memorial references by H.D. Deve Gowda, then Prime Minister.] Eleventh Lok Sabha Debates, Session II (Budget) Monday, September 2,1996. Retrieved 13 January 2008.]

Sen became a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court, and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association for nearly a decade before his death. [ [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm "Ibid".] ]

Parliamentary career

Because of his legal acumen, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Chief Minister of West Bengal, recommended him to the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru wanted Sen in his cabinet, and asked him to contest elections for the Lok Sabha.

In 1957, the Calcutta North West seat for the Lok Sabha was a communist stronghold. Sen has tried in 1956 to win the election, but fell short by only a few votes. However in the following year, he triumphed and won by over 100,000 votes. He retained that seat from 1957 to 1977, and again held the Calcutta North West seat from 1980 to 1989, being defeated in 1989 by Debi Prosad Pal. [ [http://www.eci.gov.in/electionanalysis/GE/PartyCompWinner/S25/partycomp21.htm Calcutta North West] ]

Sen was a Member of the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Lok Sabhas. [ [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm Memorial references by H.D. Deve Gowda, then Prime Minister.] "Op.cit."]

He was later made a Rajya Sabha member and remained in the Upper House until April 1996, a few months before his death.

Ministerial career

Ashoke Sen became the Union Law Minister under Nehru. It is this post for which he became famous worldwide. He was Union Minister of Law, but he also held other portfolios such as Communications, Steel, and Mines. [ [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm "Ibid."] ]

Over the next years, Sen was India's representative to foreign countries and the United Nations. According to Deve Gowda (1996), Sen led the Indian delegations to the United Nations Conference on Law, the United Nations Conference on Human Rights and several other conferences.

It was even thought at one point that he would become the country's prime minister after Nehru.

He was Law Minister lastly under Rajiv Gandhi and resigned in 1987 after his party's debacle in state elections in his home state West Bengal. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7DE1239F93AA15750C0A961948260 " Minister in India Quits In Election Aftermath"] "The New York Times" 29 March 1987]

Other activities

During his lifetime, Sen started the "Paschim Banga Seva Samiti" - a charitable organisation. He also served as the president of the Indian Football Association.

Memorials

His law library is one of the largest in the world.Fact|date=January 2008 There is a block in the supreme court named after him. A portrait of him also hangs there.Fact|date=January 2008

Family

Ashoke Kumar Sen was survived by his widow, Anjana (whom he married in 1943), and by two sons, both Cambridge graduates.Fact|date=January 2008 He also had two daughters; it is not known if they survived him.

Besides his brother Sukumar Sen (Chief Election Commissioner, India), Ashoke Kumar Sen had another brother Amiya Kumar Sen, an associate of Rabindranath Tagore. Amiya, author of a book about the Tagore family newspaper, was formerly a lecturer at Calcutta University and Principal of the City College, Kolkata.

References

ources

* [http://rajyasabha.nic.in/kiosk/whoswho/beta_s9.htm Profile from India's Rajya Sabha (Upper House) website]
* [http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls11/ses2/01020996.htm Profile from Parliamentary website]
Ramachandra Guha. * [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/01/27/stories/2002012700550100.htm " The biggest gamble in history"] "The Hindu" 27 January 2002, magazine section. Later reprinted as [http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-1554182_ITM "Democracy"s biggest gamble: India"s first free elections in 1952. (Reconsiderations)."] (partly available online) "World Policy Journal" 22 March 2002.