Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy (Set of 2 Books)

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Builders of Modern India: Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray- A Jewel of India

The author, late Dr Nitish Sengupta was a former Member of Parliament and Chairman, Board of Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises. He had also served as Secretary to the Government of India and Director, International Management Institute, New Delhi and had been a prolific writer on various subjects.

Dr. B.C. Roy has been one of the foremost national leaders of the 20th Century. A legendary physician of the country, a distinguished political leader, philanthropist, educationist and social worker, he became a top leader of the Congress during the middle period of our freedom movement and, after independence, became the Chief Minister of West Bengal in which capacity he transformed post-partition West Bengal from a problem state into one of the foremost states in the country. He also established himself as one of the foremost national leaders. I considered it a privilege when the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Publications Division) requested me to write a biography of Dr. B.C. Roy in the "Builders of Modern india" series. I accepted the offer with gratitude and humility not only because of the great man that Dr. B.C. Roy was, but also because I had the opportunity to work under his shadow when I served as an Under Secretary in the Home Department of West Bengal Government during the years 1960-62. During these years I came to develop great respect and regard for him. I undertook this task in November 2000 and have been able to complete this work by March 2001 despite many preoccupations, political, domestic and others. I had an opportunity to go through the vast mass of Dr. B.C. Roy Papers kept in the archives of the Nehru Memorial Museum. I also found the two books on Dr. Roy by Shri Saroj Chakrabarty, almost of day-to-day account of Dr. Roy's days as Chief Minister, of great use. Indeed he had done for Dr. Roy what Boswell did for Dr. Johnson K.P. Thomas's Biography of Dr. Roy's life before he became Chief Minister, West Bengal, and his early years as Chief Minister. This study has been for me a labour of love. I shall consider my labour amply rewarded if this biography invokes interest among our countrymen in the many splendoured personality that Dr. B.C. Roy, was, his wide range of interests and the large number of institutions that he created in so many spheres, his great vision and his political and administrative acumen, his humane nature and concern for common people and, above all, the way he tried to solve very crucial problems in the nation's life, specially during the 15 years that he served as Chief Minister of West Bengal and as one of the foremost national leaders.

**Contents and Sample Pages**

The life and achievements of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray, the architect of modern West Bengal, are not much known to the younger generation. Even some events are not known to most of us. Dr. Asoke Kumar Bagchi. A noted Neurologist, who had personal acquaintance with Dr. Ray, has written this monograph on Dr. Ray based on information gathered through different sources. He has also arranged to provide a few photographs, some of them are rare.

This monograph would help in introducing Dr. Ray as a man, an eminent physician, an architect of modern West Bengal and a visionary to the younger generation.

Dr. Asoke Kumar Bagchi was born in 1925. He matriculated from Gopal Chandra Institution of Pabna; passed MBBS from Calcutta University (Carmichael Medical College) in 1948; passed examination in Master of Neurosurgery from the Post-Graduate Academy of Vienna Medical College in 1954; received Ph.D. in Therapeutic Philosophy from Arizona, USA, D. Litt. (Burdwan), D. Litt. (Alma Ata, Kazakhstan); received Honours in five subjects; received 46 Medals and two scholarships. He was the President of the Neurological Society of India in 1970. He has to his credit more than 250 papers and 50 books in both professional and non-professional fields. Dr. Bagchi had personal acquaintance with Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray.

The life and achievements of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray, the architect of modern West Bengal, are not much known to the younger generation. Dr. Asoke Kumar Bagchi, a noted Neurologist, who had personal acquaintance with Dr. Ray, has written an exhaustive article on Dr. Ray based on information gathered through different sources and this article was further embellished with some rare photographs of Dr. Ray. The present monograph, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray: A Jewel of India, is based on the revised version of that article. We hope this monograph would help in introducing Dr. Ray, as a man, an eminent physician, an architect of modern West Bengal, and a visionary to the younger generation.

My family was associated with Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray for three generations, beginning with my grandfather, Dr. Kalidas Bagchi, LMS & IMS who graduated from Medical College Hospital ten years ahead of Dr. Ray. In his early days he acted as a demonstrator of Surgery when he made a few demonstrations for Dr. Ray and his colleagues. Later grandpa left the Medical College for other fields of work. He was said to be a simple man and used to be deceived by his own relatives of Pabna, our ancestral town. During his last appointment as an IMS Captain during the First World War he lived as an Army Doctor in Mesopotamia, Kut-el-Amara and several other places of Persia. Unluckily during his service while he was returning from Bandar Abbas he died suddenly at Saugar Cantonment Hospital. My grandmother, Sarojini Devi was given a Royal pension of one hundred and thirteen rupees per month till 1962! The sum saved our family from penury.

My father was studying FA in Pabna Edward College with Logic, Civics and History. With the kind assistance of grandfather's friend Col. Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikary, who got him admitted into the newly established Carmichael Medical College in 1916. Of course he had to qualify himself in Physics and Chemistry along with medical studies through private coaching,

**Contents and Sample Pages**