1 July: Remembering Purushottam Das Tandon on his Punya Tithi

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Purushottam Das Tandon

Purushottam Das Tandon (1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter.

Early Life and Career

Purushottam Das Tandon was born on 1 August 1882, in Uttar Pradesh, India. He graduated from Muir Central College, Allahabad, in 1904 with a law degree and a master’s in history.

He joined the Congress party while studying in 1899 and found time to participate in some of the party’s activities for India’s welfare. He represented Allahabad at the All-India Congress Committee and he also started practicing law in 1906. In 1919, he also worked with the Lok Sevak Sangh and the Jallianwala Bagh investigation committee.

In 1908, he joined the Allahabad High Court as a junior to Tej Bahadur Sapru. In 1921, he quit practicing to focus on public service. He worked as a Professor of Hindi at Victoria College, Gwalior.

He formed the Allahabad District Peasants’ Committee in 1918, to improve the working conditions for farmers. During the Indian independence movement, he organized Kisan sabha. In 1906, he represented Allahabad at the All-India Congress Committee session, and in 1921, he gave up his law practice to go into politics. During the Salt March in 1930 and the noncooperation movement in 1921, he was arrested.

In his later political career, he worked at various levels of the Indian government. He served as speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (1937–50) and was a member of the Constituent Assembly. In 1952, he was elected to the Lok Sabha and in 1956 to the Rajya Sabha. He retired from politics the same year.

He died on 1 July 1962.

Awards

In 1961, he received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award for his contribution to public affairs.

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