Mira Datta Gupta

Mira Dattagupta (1907-1983) was a well-known freedom fighter, social worker, educationist, politician and activist on women's issues in Calcutta, India. She was the daughter of Sarat Datta Gupta, an Auditor-General of India and Sarajubala Datta Gupta (nee Sen).

Biography
She was born on 5 October in Dhaka at her maternal grandparents' house. Her parents were greatly inspired by patriotic feelings and she too absorbed these ideas as she was growing up. Since her father was a senior government official, the police did not suspect her of being a revolutionary worker for a long time. She secretly kept documents and even arms and ammunition for revolutionary party workers at her family home at 41 Hazra Road in Calcutta. During the Calcutta Riots of 1946 she gave shelter to both Muslim and Hindu riot victims. In this endeavour she had the active backing of her family members, including her parents.

Academic and social work
The last decades of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century saw the dawn of awakening of Indian women across India. Born in this period, Mira, like some of her contemporaries contributed towards the education and advancement of women in her province. She completed her masters in mathematics and secured a first class with second rank from Calcutta University in 1930. As the vice principal of Vidyasagar College, Calcutta and the founder-principal of the women's section of Surendranath College, Calcutta, (appointed in 1931) she was very popular for her strong sense of discipline and academic standards.

She was the founder of many prominent women's organisations and educational institutions in West Bengal, India. She was among the founder members of the All India Women's Conference and All Bengal Women's Union. She had a devoted following in the Ballygunge Constituency, all along the southeastern environs of the city, and was known for her social commitment. During the devastating Bengal Famine of 1943, she, along with co-Congress workers played a leading role in organising relief and rehabilitation for famine victims.

Political career
In a political role, she was a member of the Indian Congress Party between 1939 and 1959. She was twice elected as member of the state legislative assembly of Bengal, later renamed West Bengal. She was offered the post of deputy minister in the Cabinet of 1952 of the then Chief Minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy, which she declined.

Mira's reputation grew with her increasing involvement in the revolutionary movement. She was associated with Indian revolutionary groups, such as Anushilan, Jugantar and Bengal Volunteers. As a member of Bengal Volunteers she was the editor of the women's section of its magazine - Benu. While, initially she was put in charge of the organisation's South Calcutta Women's group, she later moved into a low profile role, choosing to work for India's independence secretly. In those days she used to donate her entire salary towards India's freedom movement to her party Bengal Volunteers. Around this time she also provided a channel for information between the revolutionaries who had to remain under cover and other members of the party. She participated in one of the important meetings of Bengal Volunteers held at Baranagar near Kolkata to discuss the group's activities in Midnapore and other parts of the state. From 1933, the police became suspicious of her activities and she was placed under constant surveillance. In 1938, many party members such as Bhavani Bhattacharya and Ujjala Mazumdar were arrested in connection with the shooting of Governor John Anderson in Darjeeling district. Mira was cross-examined by the police for many hours in connection with this case. At this stage her father sent her away from Calcutta for two years to ensure her personal safety. She was very actively involved in fund raising activities throughout 1942, the year the Quit India Movement was started. In 1946, she was jailed for her nationalistic activities. After she was released from prison she became one of the first members of Netaji Shubhash Chandra Bose's Forward Bloc.

Later, after independence, her many activities included relief activities for those affected by famines, floods, and also the rehabilitation of the homeless and economically weaker women.

She had served as an honorary justice of peace in the juvenile court in Kolkata and was a member of the Board of Film Censors in West Bengal. In 1958 she joined the Indian goodwill mission to China and later visited Berlin, Copenhagen and Moscow to attend developmental, educational and women's conferences. She was also a member of the Calcutta University Senate and the West Bengal Secondary Board of Education, Calcutta.