Prafulla Chandra Ghosh: The Forgotten First Chief Minister of West Bengal
“In December (1947), one day Ghanshyam Das Birla came to 8 Theatre Road with a paper signed by a majority of Congress MLAs (about 3-4 more than half) and gave it to me. There were no allegations against me in it; it only stated that for better administration, a change in leadership was needed and they wanted to make Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy the leader”
These words were written by the first Chief Minister (Premier) of West Bengal, Prafulla Chandra Ghosh.
How many in India know about Prafulla Chandra Ghosh. Even in Kolkata, hardly any people remember him. A forgotten man, Prafulla was a revolutionary of Anushilan Samiti, a Gandhian, a Congressman and later an anti Congress politician.
Prafulla was born to Purnachandra Ghosh and Binodini Devi on December 24, 1891 in the village Malikanda, Dhaka district (now in Bangladesh). The family was poor but proud. Prafulla would later note, with characteristic humility, that he was the first in his entire lineage to earn a university degree. His childhood was shaped by an event that shook India, and Bengal in particular, to its foundations. The Partition of 1905. Prafulla was fourteen when Lord Curzon drew a line through Bengal to partition it along communal lines. He was a student then, and the Swadeshi Movement electrified him. He later recalled in his autobiography Jiban Smritir Bhumika, “From this point, my life’s endeavour became three-pronged, (1) to acquire a good education, (2) to lead a religious life, and (3) to serve the nation.” Three goals, plainly stated, sincerely held and, as history would confirm, remarkably kept.
From Swadeshi Movement to Armed Revolution
Prafulla passed the High School examination in the first division from Pogose School, Dacca. With a scholarship, he joined Jagannath College and later Dacca College, where he earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry with first-class honors, and later M.Sc., topping among all Chemistry candidates. He received the Doctorate from Calcutta University in 1920.
During the Swadeshi movement, five leaders influenced his thought, viz., Surendranath Banerjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh, and Lala Lajpat Rai. Believing in armed revolution, he joined the Dacca Anushilan Samiti in 1909. However, to procure arms, the group resorted to dacoity (robberies). This created a vicious cycle of arrests and legal costs, leading to more robberies. Realizing this path would not bring true freedom, he left the armed movement in 1913. That same year, Prafulla formed an unnamed group with medically trained friends like Dr. Suresh Chandra Banerjee and others like Subhas Chandra Bose (who was a junior and called me ‘Prafullada’). Though Subhas later left due to political differences, their personal relationship remained sweet. After this, he immersed himself in history, scriptures, and Sanskrit literature.
Responding to Gandhi’s Call
In 1919, Prafulla joined Presidency College as a Demonstrator in Chemistry, and in 1920, became the first Indian to be appointed Deputy Assay Master at the Calcutta Mint. Moved by Mahatma Gandhi’s call to non-cooperation, he resigned from this lucrative job in January 1921 to join the Movement.
Prafulla later recalled, “I understood that a man committed to non-violence could still be fearless. And I felt that even if Swaraj did not come in one year, this path would take the country far forward toward freedom.”
On January 12, 1921, Prafulla resigned from his job. On January 13, his resignation was accepted. His father, old and ailing, asked him, “The essential thing is the attainment of freedom. Can you do it?” Prafulla replied, “I will try with all my might.” Eight days later, his father died of pneumonia.
After this, Prafulla and others established the ‘Abhay Ashram’ to dedicate himself to rural reconstruction, spinning (khadi), and national education. He worked extensively in villages, organizing khadi production, agriculture, and dairies.
During the national movement, Prafulla was imprisoned multiple times and spent about seven and a half years in different jails. During the Civil Disobedience Movement he led the Salt Satyagraha in Contai, Midnapore. In 1942, he was detained in the Ahmednagar Fort alongside top national leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, and Acharya Kripalani.
The Partition and the “Shadow Cabinet”
In 1947, before the partition of Bengal, an agreement was reached between the Congress, the Muslim League, and the Government of India that till the partition of the country came into effect, the leaders of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly party would join the existing Bengal Ministry as a “Shadow Cabinet”. This meant that a Congress legislative party would act as a ‘cabinet’ within the Muslim League dominated cabinet which would be consulted for policies regarding West Bengal.
Congress in Bengal chose its leader, Prafulla wrote, “I agreed to [the proposal]… Surendramohan Ghosh also wanted to be the leader. Kripalani-ji was then the Congress President. He decided that he would personally ask the members of the Assembly Congress Party. Whoever had the majority support would be elected leader unanimously… Since the majority was in my favor, I was elected leader unanimously at the party meeting”.
On July 3, 1947, Prafulla took charge of the chhaya mantrisabha (shadow cabinet) that would govern West Bengal in parallel to the outgoing League ministry. From that date to August 15, he managed the administrative birth of a new province, West Bengal, dividing civil services in negotiations with C. Rajagopalachari (whom he personally persuaded to become Governor).
Managing affairs with a Muslim League ministry at the peak of communal violence in 1946 was not an easy task. Prafulla recalled his first day at the ministry, “The day when Suhrawardi Sahib, who first sat with the League cabinet, told us, “By working with us, you will understand that we are not as bad as we are thought to be.” I said, “We will work together for a short time. Let us work in such a way that we can part ways amicably. Let us judge every proposal on its merits.” My words have had good results. Some ministers in the League cabinet have sometimes supported my views rather than those of Suhrawardi Saheb. Governor Frederick Barrows was also fair.”
Though Prafulla later regretted his decision to be a party to this process of the partition and said, “The greatest mistake of my life. I have made many mistakes, but being a party to the division of the country — this great blunder pierces my heart like a thorn.”
The First Chief Minister of West Bengal
On August 15, 1947, Prafulla Chandra Ghosh became the first Premier, later designated Chief Minister, of West Bengal. He appointed Sukumar Sen as Chief Secretary, who would later conduct India’s first general elections. He staffed his cabinet with care and pushed back against any attempt to impose people into the ministry. He recalled, “… one afternoon, I was surprised to receive a letter from Mahatmaji through a person. It said that a Marwari should be included in the West Bengal cabinet – Badridas Goenka or Devi Prasad Khaitan. Just a few days before, I had got the names of the ministers approved. Sardar was among the approvers. Even he did not tell me anything about it at that time. It seemed completely unreasonable that there should be a Marwari in the cabinet. I told Prafulla Chandra Sen about the letter. He asked me to include Badridas Goenka. But my mind did not agree at all. Mahatmaji could not hear me. So I told Kripalaniji everything on the phone. He went to Mahatmaji and told him everything. Mahatmaji told him – “If Prafulla does not find the proposal suitable, he can assume that I did not write this letter to him.”
A Short-Lived Tenure and Resignation
The tenure was short lived, Prafulla recalled, “”In December, one day Ghanshyam Das Birla came to 8 Theatre Road with a paper signed by a majority of Congress MLAs (about 3-4 more than half) and gave it to me. There were no allegations against me in it; it only stated that for better administration, a change in leadership was needed and they wanted to make Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy the leader. I like the two great qualities of this rich family that neither alcohol nor girl-related crime can enter the Birla family. But this is how they are trying to control politics – power in hand but no responsibility. This is not only harmful for the country but also for the Birla family. Of course, if someone from the Birla family is elected as usual and takes up a ministerial post, there is nothing to say about it.”
In January 1948, Prafulla resigned from his position and B. C. Roy was elected new leader of the legislative assembly to become the Second Chief Minister of West Bengal.
Disillusioned by the growing corruption within the Congress party after independence, Prafulla left the party in 1950 and formed the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party (which later merged to become the PSP). He kept working in constructive village development through the Lok Seva Parishad and Lok Bharati. In 1953, he traveled extensively through Europe and Israel to study their educational and agricultural systems.
In 1967, Prafulla briefly returned to government as the Food and Agriculture Minister in the United Front government, and subsequently served as Chief Minister for three months after toppling the United Front Government. He retired from active politics in 1970 to focus completely on constructive and literary work.
About his retirement he said, “I have retired from active politics—not because politics is a low-level thing. I believe that one who does politics honestly is also a saint (sadhu), and a true saint who lives a saintly life is also a patriot”.
(The ideas expressed are personal & do not represent Heritage Times)
