Indrajit Gupta

Indrajit Gupta Biography

Indrajit Gupta was a former leader and politician associated with Communist Party of India (CPI). He was a parliamentarian who served as the Union Home Minister in the United Front governments of both H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral. He got fully associated with communist party in the late 1930s. A member of the banned party during its early days, Gupta has been sent to jail several times. He passed away on 20 February 2001 in Kolkata aged 81. He was conferred with the ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian’ Award in 1992. Gupta has served 37 long years in Lok sabha. He accepted the official code of conduct of his party when he entered politics.

Gupta belonged to a Brahmo family of Kolkata, West Bengal in the British India. He was born on 18 March 1919. Behari Lal Gupta, the Dewan of Baroda was his maternal grandfather. Indrajit was the son Satish Gupta, an accountant general. He completed his schooling in Shimla where his father was posted. He completed graduation from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and later moved abroad to King's College, Cambridge for further studies. It was during his stay in London when he came into contact with Rajani Palme Dutt and got influenced with leftist ideologies.

When he returned to Kolkata in 1938, he joined peasant movement. As he worked for the banned Communist party then, he got arrested and jailed. He went underground for about 3 years soon after Indian independence. He got elected to Lok sabha for the first time in the general elections held in 1960. Since then he has continuously served as a member of Lok Sabha except for a short period of 1977 to 1980. He has also served position of pro tem Speaker several times in the parliament.

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Updated: January 04, 2016