Santosh Mohan Dev
Encyclopedia
Santosh Mohan Dev (born 1 April 1934) is a veteran Indian political leader and a key member of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

. Mr. Dev was first elected to the Parliament
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...

 in 1980, the first of his seven terms in office as the Member Of Parliament. Out of these seven, he has represented Silchar
Silchar
Silchar is the headquarters of Cachar district in the state of Assam in India. It is the economic gateway to the state of Mizoram and part of Manipur. It is south east of Guwahati. The city of Silchar has tremendous commercial importance and is the second largest city in the state of Assam...

, Assam five times and he was elected from Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...

 twice. Mr Dev has the rare distinction of being elected from two different states.

Political career

During his political career as an elected representative, Dev has held crucial cabinet and non Cabinet posts. 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. Dev was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980 from Silchar constituency
Silchar (Lok Sabha constituency)
Silchar Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam state in north-eastern India.-Assembly segments:Silchar Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :* Silchar* Sonai* Dholai * Udharbond...

 in Assam. Subsequently, he was re-elected to Lok Sabha in 1984 from Silchar constituency and in 1989 and 1991 from Tripura West constituency
Tripura West (Lok Sabha Constituency)
Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency is one of two Lok Sabha constituencies in Tripura state in northeastern India. It includes the state capital Agartala.-Assembly segments:Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :...

. Dev was again elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996, 1999 and 2004 from Silchar constituency. 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 Dev held various parliamentary responsibilities including being the Chairman of Committee on Energy, Member of House Committee and Member of General Purposes Committee. Santosh Mohan Dev lost to Kabindra Purkayastha
Kabindra Purkayastha
Kabindra Purkayastha is a former union minister of state of India. He served as minister of state for communication in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 1998 to 1999. He is a senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam....

 of the BJP in the 2009 elections for the 15th Lok Sabha
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...

.

Achievements

During the period 2005 to 2009, he was the Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises in the Union Cabinet. His tenure saw the fruition of a comprehensive automotive policy that will shape the Indian auto industry in the decades to come. This period also saw the rationalisation of Public sector wages. this brought employees of government run companies closer to the levels of their private counterparts and drastically reduced the exodus of talented managers and executives. His other salient achievements include, the deregulation of steel in the mid 1990s as minister of steel which unshackled potential of the indigenous steel industry making India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 a global steel powerhouse. He was also instrumental in setting up a national university in Silchar, Assam. He played a key role in the freight equalization scheme in the early 1990s in India which removed unequal rail freight charges among the states, thereby making them more competitive.

He is a third generation Congressman. His father was one of the first legislators of independent India. His grandfather Kali Mohan Dev was also an active member of the Indian freedom struggle and a member of the first ever Silchar Municipal council in 1913.

Personal life

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. 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 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 UK. Shri Dev has four daughters and his wife Bithika Dev was a Member of the state legislative assembly of Assam from his home constituency of Silchar till May, 2011. 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. An avid reader, Mr Dev is personally inspired by Famous Bengali writers like Bankim Chandra and Rabindranath Tagore. In September 2009 His daughter Sushmita Dev was elected chairperson of the Silchar Municipality making her the fourth generation of the Dev Family to join public service. In the march 2011 Assembly elections, Sushmita Dev became the MLA from Silchar constituency defeating her nearest rival Rajdeep Roy of the BJP.

External links

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