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Sudha Roy

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Sudha Roy (1914–1987) was an Indian communist trade unionist and politician. She was a prominent leader of the Bengal Labour Party, the Bolshevik Party of India and later joined the Communist Party of India.[1] She was one of the most prominent female leaders of the Bengali left.[2]

Youth

Roy was born in 1914 into a Kayastha landlord family in Faridpur.[3] She joined labour movement in the 1930s, having been introduced to labour politics by her brother Sisir Roy during her student days.[3][4][5][6] Alongside her brother, she became a key leader of the Bengal Labour Party when it was founded in 1933.[7]

Labour organiser

She worked as mathematics teacher at Kamala Girls School in south Calcutta between 1932 and 1958.[3][8][9] At the time she was a well-known labour leader.[8] Roy, nicknamed Bahinji ('Honoured sister') by dock workers, would pass the Kidderpore dock daily in the afternoon for union tasks.[4][8][9]

Women's movement

Roy joined the women's movement in 1943, being active in the All India Women's Conference.[3][1] Roy served as vice chair of the National Federation of Indian Women between 1954 and 1982.[3][10][11]

Electoral politics

Sudha Roy was the sole candidate of the BPI in the 1951–1952 parliamentary election.[12] She stood in Barrackpore constituency and obtained 25,792 votes (16.2% of vote in the constituency).[12]

She was jailed in 1954.[3]

Roy contested the Fort constituency in the 1957 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election.[13] She finished in fourth place, with 9.75% of the votes.[13]

In UTUC

In 1958 Sudha Roy's union, the Dock Mazdoor Union, underwent a split. Sisir Roy, Sudha Roy and Buthnath De were pitted against Bishwanath Dubey.[14] Whilst Roy's group constituted the majority faction, the split significantly weakened the union.[14]

Sisir Roy died in 1960, and Sudha Roy succeeded him in the post as general secretary of the United Trade Union Congress.[15][16][17][18]

Joining CPI

At the 1965 BPI party conference Sudha Roy called for a merger between BPI and CPI.[5] The conference rejected a merger and Sudha Roy and her followers left BPI to join CPI.[5] After shifting to CPI, she joined the All India Trade Union Congress.[19]

Roy chaired the State Social Welfare Board between 1969 and 1973.[3][20] Roy founded the Mahila Sanskritik Saimmelan ('Women's Cultural Conference').[3]

Roy died in 1987.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Maṇikuntalā Sena (1 April 2001). In search of freedom: an unfinished journey. Stree. p. 57. ISBN 978-81-85604-25-1.
  2. ^ Sampa Guha (1996). Political Participation of Women in a Changing Society. Inter-India Publications. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-210-0344-5.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Sunil Kumar Sen (1985). The working women and popular movements in Bengal: from the Gandhi era to the present day. K.P. Bagchi. p. 96.
  4. ^ a b Samita Sen (6 May 1999). Women and Labour in Late Colonial India: The Bengal Jute Industry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 229–230. ISBN 978-0-521-45363-9.
  5. ^ a b c S. N. Sadasivan (1977). Party and democracy in India. Tata McGraw-Hill. pp. 90–92.
  6. ^ Amitabha Mukherjee (1 January 1996). Women in Indian Life and Society. Punthi Pustak and Institute of Historical Studies. p. 240. ISBN 978-81-85094-97-7.
  7. ^ Socialist Perspective. Vol. 17. Council for Political Studies. 1989. p. 276.
  8. ^ a b c Leela Gulati; Jasodhara Bagchi (7 April 2005). A Space of Her Own: Personal Narratives of Twelve Women. SAGE Publications. p. 232. ISBN 978-81-321-0341-7.
  9. ^ a b Labour File: A Bimonthly Journal of Labour and Economic Affairs. Vol. 5. Information and Feature Trust. 2007. p. 116.
  10. ^ Link: Indian Newsmagazine. Vol. 16. 1974. p. 34.
  11. ^ National Federation of Indian Women. Congress (1981). Tenth Congress, National Federation of Indian Women, Trivandrum, December 27–30, 1980. The Federation. p. 102.
  12. ^ a b Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1951 TO THE FIRST LOK SABHA VOLUME I (NATIONAL AND STATE ABSTRACTS & DETAILED RESULTS)
  13. ^ a b Election Commission of India. STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1957 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL
  14. ^ a b Michael v. d Bogaert (1970). Trade Unionism in Indian Ports: A Case Study at Calcutta and Bombay. Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations. p. 26.
  15. ^ Harold A. Crouch (1966). Trade Unions and Politics in India. Manaktalas. p. 233.
  16. ^ United Trades Union Congress (1964). Report. UTUC. p. 7.
  17. ^ The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. Bennett, Coleman & Company. 1967. p. 528.
  18. ^ The Call. Vol. 16. S. Bhattacharya. 1964. p. 87.
  19. ^ Paul Francis Magnelia (1967). The International Union of Students. Peninsula Lithograph Company. p. 185.
  20. ^ National Council of Women in India Bulletin. National Council of Women in India. 1971. p. 45.
  21. ^ Trade Union Record. Vol. 45. All-India Trade Union Congress. 1987. p. 116.
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