Das graduated from the Sambalpur University and, with a background in Law, worked as an advocate before joining politics.
The contribution of Bhakta Charan Das, an activist cum politician, for ensuring the basic right and entitlements and conservation of nature is a milestone and a source of inspiration for others. In 1977 he came in contact with Yuva Chhatra Sangharsh Bahini (the student wing of JP movement in 1977). Under the banner of this organization he started revolution against the rampant corruption at different levels and worked for the basic entitlements of the marginal section. Under his leadership the organisation pressed demand to provide employment to the local youths of the nearby districts in Indravati Hydro & Irrigation Project and he was successful to a greater extent.
Das carried on the movement "SAVE FOREST" in a peaceful & non-violent way. He made the people aware of the adverse effects of cutting down the forest. He made the people aware of the ecological imbalance – the consequences being warming of the climate and reduction in rainfall. Subsequently, it would ruin the agriculture & food security of thousands of people in the area. He appealed the forest dwellers i.e. the primitive tribes to protect the forest & wild animals from the clutches of illegal timber contractors & corrupt forest officials. He threatened the District Forest Administration against government's faulty policy of auctioning of the timber trees. Though government went for auction of timber & bamboo, the contractors were not allowed to enter into the forest by the forest dwellers & nearby villagers. In a few months it became a mass movement & forests could be protected to a greater extent.
Farmers' Movement - 1983Edit
In 1983 he took up the farmers’ cause. He started farmers’ agitation in the district pressing people's demands to waive all the bank loans of the marginal farmers who were affected due to drought in Kalahandi & other districts. Shri Kishan Pattnaik, a veteran socialist leader (Nehrujee called him Mini Lohia) & then Member of Parliament from Sambalpur Constituency was all along with him in the movement. He organized peaceful protests in front of the office of Collector in the district headquarter & B.D.O.s at Block headquarters in the entire district. Several farmers’ rallies were organized in the nook & corner of the district. Thousands of farmers joined the movement & in a few months it became a mass movement. The govt in the state was pressurized & some of the demands of the farmers were fulfilled.
As a politicianEdit
As an MLA he was moving extensively in the entire district. There were many inaccessible areas which were never visited by any elected representatives or officials of the district administration or local administration since independence. With all hardships he visited all of them and also involved the officials of the district administration to visit those areas. It was a long battle. He fought it day and night. He adopted various methods to draw the attention of the press, media, administration & the government at large. He and his activists conducted so many peaceful protests, bandhs, road blockades, hunger strikes etc. which were highlighted in all the leading magazines and newspapers of the country. He made every effort to highlight the precarious condition of suffering millions of his district on the floor of Odisha Legislative Assembly. Kalahandi issue dominated Odisha Assembly most of the times. For all these endeavors, ultimately Kalahandi drew the attention of the entire nation.
As a member of Parliament and Minister in Governmemt of India-Edit
Bhakta Charan Das was at a young age of 30 was given ticket by Janta Party to fight the Lok Sabha Election, 1989 from Kalahandi Lok Sabha Constituency. Again this time too people made him victorious by a huge margin. He became Deputy Minister, Sports & Youth Affairs in the Union Ministry headed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri V.P.Singh. Though the tenure was very short (only for a period of five months) his performance was excellent & visible. V.P. Singh Government fell. The new government was formed headed by Hon’ble Prime Minister Chandra Shekharjee. Mr. Bhakta Charan got a berth in the union ministry. He was sworn in as Minister of State for Railways. Though it too was a short tenure, his performance was remarkable & praise worthy. Several new lines were surveyed, approved by the Planning Commission & included in the Union Railway Budget for sanction & allocation of funds. Provisions were made for many new trains to run on new routes, railway stations were modernized with introduction of new technologies & enhanced amenities. He raises issue of the tribal, farmer and other marginal sections from time to time. Due to his effort the farmers of Odisha got the benefit of more than Rs 500 crore from National crop insurance Scheme in the year 2012–13. His effort has ensured several road, irrigation and railway projects in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts in between 2009 and 2014,
Conservation of Niyamgiri and protection of rights of the Primitive tribal groups –Edit
In 2003 Vedanta signed a MoU with government of Odisha for Alumina refinery at Lanjigarh and Bauxite mining from Niyamagiri. He played a key role to protect the NIYAMAGIRI and the right of the local inhabitants particularly Dongaria Kondhs whose life cannot run without the NIYAMAGIRI is god for them and source of food, fodder and all living materials. He supported the battle in favour of the local community instead of Vedanta in this era of Neo liberal economy where politicians are patronizing investment and mining projects. After a long struggle by different civil society groups and local community Mr. Das appraised the details to Smt. Sonia Gandhi, President, AICC & Hon’ble Chair-person, UPA from time to time. Smt. Gandhi assured her full cooperation to the tribal cause. Subsequently, Sh. Rahul Gandhi, M.P. & Hon’ble Gen Secretary, AICC visited Niyamgiri Hills in spite of all denials by SPG & local administration showing security threats. He reached the tribal in the remote villages, talked to them and had a close view of the earth's bounty & the domain of PTGs, their pristine forests & mountains. He heard the real stories of innocent tribal's torture by Vedanta. He was spellbound by the tribal innocence. He could realize the ground realities and assured the tribal that he is also a Sipahi at Delhi, one among them in their battle. There was a sudden twist & the movement was geared up. However Mr. Das & his activists carried on the movement in a peaceful & non-violent way – on the foot steps of Gandhian ideology. He managed to highlight the illegal activities of Vedanta at government of India level.
Implementation of forest rights act-2006Edit
He supported Jamguda village of Kalahandi district to ensure the right to sell bamboo from the natural forest (first village in Odisha and second in India) within the framework of FRA-2006. He has tried to put pressure on govt. of Odisha through press meets for proper implementation of the act. His effort paved the way for 100 crore bamboo business to forest dwellers in Odisha. Due to his effort two central ministers Jayaram Ramesh and V Kishore Chandra Deo along with the revenue minister of govt. of Odisha Surya Narayan Patra visited Jamguda village and ensured sale of Bamboo by Jamguda GramSabha on 4 March -2013.
^. Government of India. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
October 21, 2023
bhakta, charan, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, ta. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Bhakta Charan Das news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Bhakta Charan Das born 26 November 1958 is an Indian politician He was a member of the Indian Parliament and represented the Kalahandi constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha 1 Bhakta Charan DasMP 9th 11th and 15th Lok Sabha In office 2009 2014Preceded byBikram Keshari DeoSucceeded byArka Keshari DeoConstituencyKalahandiSpokesperson and General Secretary All India Congress CommitteeMinister of State Ministry of Railways India In office 1990 1991Deputy Minister Ministry of Youth Affairs amp Sports India In office 1989 1990Personal detailsBorn 1958 11 26 26 November 1958 age 64 Kalahandi Odisha IndiaPolitical partyIndian National CongressOther politicalaffiliationsSamajwadi Janata Party Rashtriya 1989 1996 SpouseSmt Sunanda DasChildren2 SonsAlma materSambalpur UniversityProfessionSocial Worker Advocate JournalistWebsitewww bhaktadas inSource 1 Das graduated from the Sambalpur University and with a background in Law worked as an advocate before joining politics The contribution of Bhakta Charan Das an activist cum politician for ensuring the basic right and entitlements and conservation of nature is a milestone and a source of inspiration for others In 1977 he came in contact with Yuva Chhatra Sangharsh Bahini the student wing of JP movement in 1977 Under the banner of this organization he started revolution against the rampant corruption at different levels and worked for the basic entitlements of the marginal section Under his leadership the organisation pressed demand to provide employment to the local youths of the nearby districts in Indravati Hydro amp Irrigation Project and he was successful to a greater extent Contents 1 Save Forest Movement 1982 83 2 Farmers Movement 1983 3 As a politician 4 As a member of Parliament and Minister in Governmemt of India 5 Conservation of Niyamgiri and protection of rights of the Primitive tribal groups 6 Implementation of forest rights act 2006 7 See also 8 ReferencesSave Forest Movement 1982 83 EditDas carried on the movement SAVE FOREST in a peaceful amp non violent way He made the people aware of the adverse effects of cutting down the forest He made the people aware of the ecological imbalance the consequences being warming of the climate and reduction in rainfall Subsequently it would ruin the agriculture amp food security of thousands of people in the area He appealed the forest dwellers i e the primitive tribes to protect the forest amp wild animals from the clutches of illegal timber contractors amp corrupt forest officials He threatened the District Forest Administration against government s faulty policy of auctioning of the timber trees Though government went for auction of timber amp bamboo the contractors were not allowed to enter into the forest by the forest dwellers amp nearby villagers In a few months it became a mass movement amp forests could be protected to a greater extent Farmers Movement 1983 EditIn 1983 he took up the farmers cause He started farmers agitation in the district pressing people s demands to waive all the bank loans of the marginal farmers who were affected due to drought in Kalahandi amp other districts Shri Kishan Pattnaik a veteran socialist leader Nehrujee called him Mini Lohia amp then Member of Parliament from Sambalpur Constituency was all along with him in the movement He organized peaceful protests in front of the office of Collector in the district headquarter amp B D O s at Block headquarters in the entire district Several farmers rallies were organized in the nook amp corner of the district Thousands of farmers joined the movement amp in a few months it became a mass movement The govt in the state was pressurized amp some of the demands of the farmers were fulfilled As a politician EditAs an MLA he was moving extensively in the entire district There were many inaccessible areas which were never visited by any elected representatives or officials of the district administration or local administration since independence With all hardships he visited all of them and also involved the officials of the district administration to visit those areas It was a long battle He fought it day and night He adopted various methods to draw the attention of the press media administration amp the government at large He and his activists conducted so many peaceful protests bandhs road blockades hunger strikes etc which were highlighted in all the leading magazines and newspapers of the country He made every effort to highlight the precarious condition of suffering millions of his district on the floor of Odisha Legislative Assembly Kalahandi issue dominated Odisha Assembly most of the times For all these endeavors ultimately Kalahandi drew the attention of the entire nation As a member of Parliament and Minister in Governmemt of India EditBhakta Charan Das was at a young age of 30 was given ticket by Janta Party to fight the Lok Sabha Election 1989 from Kalahandi Lok Sabha Constituency Again this time too people made him victorious by a huge margin He became Deputy Minister Sports amp Youth Affairs in the Union Ministry headed by Hon ble Prime Minister Shri V P Singh Though the tenure was very short only for a period of five months his performance was excellent amp visible V P Singh Government fell The new government was formed headed by Hon ble Prime Minister Chandra Shekharjee Mr Bhakta Charan got a berth in the union ministry He was sworn in as Minister of State for Railways Though it too was a short tenure his performance was remarkable amp praise worthy Several new lines were surveyed approved by the Planning Commission amp included in the Union Railway Budget for sanction amp allocation of funds Provisions were made for many new trains to run on new routes railway stations were modernized with introduction of new technologies amp enhanced amenities He raises issue of the tribal farmer and other marginal sections from time to time Due to his effort the farmers of Odisha got the benefit of more than Rs 500 crore from National crop insurance Scheme in the year 2012 13 His effort has ensured several road irrigation and railway projects in Kalahandi and Nuapada districts in between 2009 and 2014 Conservation of Niyamgiri and protection of rights of the Primitive tribal groups EditIn 2003 Vedanta signed a MoU with government of Odisha for Alumina refinery at Lanjigarh and Bauxite mining from Niyamagiri He played a key role to protect the NIYAMAGIRI and the right of the local inhabitants particularly Dongaria Kondhs whose life cannot run without the NIYAMAGIRI is god for them and source of food fodder and all living materials He supported the battle in favour of the local community instead of Vedanta in this era of Neo liberal economy where politicians are patronizing investment and mining projects After a long struggle by different civil society groups and local community Mr Das appraised the details to Smt Sonia Gandhi President AICC amp Hon ble Chair person UPA from time to time Smt Gandhi assured her full cooperation to the tribal cause Subsequently Sh Rahul Gandhi M P amp Hon ble Gen Secretary AICC visited Niyamgiri Hills in spite of all denials by SPG amp local administration showing security threats He reached the tribal in the remote villages talked to them and had a close view of the earth s bounty amp the domain of PTGs their pristine forests amp mountains He heard the real stories of innocent tribal s torture by Vedanta He was spellbound by the tribal innocence He could realize the ground realities and assured the tribal that he is also a Sipahi at Delhi one among them in their battle There was a sudden twist amp the movement was geared up However Mr Das amp his activists carried on the movement in a peaceful amp non violent way on the foot steps of Gandhian ideology He managed to highlight the illegal activities of Vedanta at government of India level Implementation of forest rights act 2006 EditHe supported Jamguda village of Kalahandi district to ensure the right to sell bamboo from the natural forest first village in Odisha and second in India within the framework of FRA 2006 He has tried to put pressure on govt of Odisha through press meets for proper implementation of the act His effort paved the way for 100 crore bamboo business to forest dwellers in Odisha Due to his effort two central ministers Jayaram Ramesh and V Kishore Chandra Deo along with the revenue minister of govt of Odisha Surya Narayan Patra visited Jamguda village and ensured sale of Bamboo by Jamguda GramSabha on 4 March 2013 See also EditKalahandi Lok Sabha constituency Indian general election in Orissa 2009 Indian National Congress Orissa Pradesh Congress CommitteeReferences Edit Profile of Members Government of India Archived from the original on 1 January 2012 Retrieved 12 March 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bhakta Charan Das amp oldid 1169988452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
