Chief Minister of West Bengal
Which position did Siddhartha Shankar Ray hold from Mar 1972 to Apr 1977?
Siddhartha Shankar Ray Siddhartha Shankar Ray ( 20 October 1920 – 6 November 2010 ) was an Indian lawyer , diplomat and Indian National Congress politician from West Bengal . In his political career he held a number of offices , including Union Minister of Education ( 1971–72 ) , Chief Minister of West Bengal ( 1972–77 ) , Governor of Punjab ( 1986–89 ) and Indian Ambassador to the United States ( 1992–96 ) . He was at one point the main troubleshooter for the Congress Party . Biography . Ray was born in a Vaidya family . Rays father , Sudhir Kumar Ray , was a well known barrister of Calcutta High Court and a member of the Indian National Congress and his mother Aparna Devi , was the elder daughter of the barrister and nationalist leader Chittaranjan Das and Basanti Devi grew up in England . Rays sister is Justice Manjula Bose ( 1930–2016 ) who was a senior judge of the Calcutta High Court ; along with Padma Khastagir , she was one of the first female judges of the Calcutta High Court . Ray was also related to Sudhi Ranjan Das , a former Chief Justice of India and Satish Ranjan Das , a former Advocate General of Bengal and a Law Member of the Viceroys Executive Council . Ray studied at , Mitra Institution , Bhowanipore Branch , Calcutta , Presidency College , Calcutta and University Law College , of the University of Calcutta . In college and university , he was active in both sports and politics . In 1941 , he was elected as student Under-Secretary in the Calcutta University Institute Elections and was put in charge from time to time of various departments including Students Aid Fund , Debates , Sports and Socials . He was also the Debate Secretary and later the General Secretary of the Calcutta University Law College Union . As a sportsman he captained the Presidency College cricket team . He was the captain of the team that won the Inter Collegiate cricket Championship in 1944 . He had scored three double centuries and 1000 runs for three consecutive seasons . He was also a keen footballer in Calcutta playing for the Kalighat Club . He was a University Blue in this sport and represented the Calcutta University in inter-varsity matches . In 1939 , he was the captain of the victorious Presidency College football team which won both the Elliot and Hardinge Birthday Shields . He was also interested in lawn tennis and table tennis . Later Ray was called to the bar by the Honourable Society of Inner Temple , London , in 1947 . While in London he played cricket for the Indian Gymkhana Club . Career . Upon his return from England in 1946 , Ray joined the Calcutta Bar as a junior of Justice Ramaprasad Mukherjee , who later became a Judge and Chief Justice ( Acting ) of the High Court of Calcutta . In 1954 he became one of the three junior Central Government counsels in Calcutta . In 1957 he was elected to the Bhowanipore Assembly seat which he won by a large majority , becoming the youngest member of the West Bengal Cabinet under the leadership of Dr . Bidhan Chandra Roy . He was appointed as Minister of Tribal Welfare and Law Department , West Bengal . In 1962 , he was re-elected to the states Legislative Assembly as an Independent Candidate . In 1966 , he became the Union Cabinet Minister of Education & Youth Services for the Government of India . He was also the Union Cabinet Minister of West Bengal Affairs of the Government of India . After the Congress won the General Election of 1972 , he became the Chief Minister of West Bengal from March 19 , 1972 to June 21 , 1977 . He took office shortly after the Bangladesh Liberation War , and his administration was faced with the massive problem of resettling over a million refugees in various parts of the state . The crackdown on Naxalites also took place during this period . Later , he had the distinction of serving as the Governor of Punjab from April 2 , 1986 to December 8 , 1989 . When the Congress came back to power once again in Delhi in 1991 , Ray was sent as Indias Ambassador to the United States . He remained in the United States from 1992 to 1996 . Prior to that , he was the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1991-1992 . Role in the emergency . Siddhartha Shankar Ray had a major role in the imposition of The Emergency from 1975 to 1977 . He proposed to the prime minister Indira Gandhi to impose an internal emergency and also drafted a letter for the President to issue the proclamation and showed her how democratic freedom could be suspended while remaining within the ambit of the Constitution . Retirement . During his retirement between 1996 and 2010 , Ray returned to his law practice as a Barrister of the High Court of Calcutta . Ray died of kidney failure on 6 November 2010 at the age of 90 . Legacy . A philanthropic society named Siddhartha Shankar Ray Foundation was formed by Mr . Rajesh Chirimar in memory of Ray with the due consent of Maya Ray . The society engages in various social activities and will be celebrating the Birth Centenary Year of Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray . External links . - Official Biographical Sketch in Lok Sabha Website - S.S . Ray - an administrator par excellence , Indo-Asian News Service , 7 November 2010 - S.S . Ray accorded a state funeral , Indo-Asian News Service , 7 November 2010 - Ray , Bengals last aristocrat politician , departs , The Times of India , 7 November 2010 - A leader of many hues , The Times of India , 7 November 2010 - Sukharanjan Sengupta , Misunderstood for role in Naxal period , The Times of India , 6 November 2010 - Legal eagle with excellent court etiquette , The Times of India , 7 November 2010 - Ray : The Left’s whipping boy till the end , The Statesman , 6 November 2010 - Punjabs friendly troubleshooter , The Tribune , 7 November 2010