Dhar, Manoranjan

Dhar, Manoranjan (1904-2000) politician. He was born on 21 February 1904 at village Chatal in Mymensingh district. His father was Jagat Chandra Dhar. He obtained his BA and LLB degree from Calcutta University. He joined the jugantar party of arobind ghose in 1917 and continued to work as an activist of the party till 1933. He participated in the non-cooperation movement in 1921. In 1928 he was elected the general secretary of the Bengal Provincial Student Association. He took part in the chittagong armoury raid in 1930.

Manoranjan Dhar was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1946. He was one of the members of the peace mission of Mahatma Gandhi to East Bengal in 1947. He had pioneering role in the formation of Pakistan National Congress in 1947 and was made its general secretary. He was a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1947 to 1958. During the language movement of 1952 he played active role both in and outside the Legislative Assembly. For this, he had to undergo imprisonment. Manoranjan Dhar was a member of the minority commission formed by the Legislative Assembly in 1954. He was a member of the provincial cabinet in charge of the Ministry of Finance and Minority Community between 1956 and 1958.

Manoranjan Dhar participated in the war of liberation in 1971. He was a member of the All Party Advisory Council sponsored by the Mujibnagar Government headed by maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani. In 1972, he was appointed the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan. He was elected a member of the first Jatiya Sangsad of Bangladesh in 1973 as a nominee of Awami League. He was included in the cabinet on 16 March 1973 in charge of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Manoranjan Dhar earned fame as an ardent supporter of Bengali movement and also as a social worker. He took part in activities for rural development and in social welfare. He was a member of the Bangladesh Peace Committee and was connected with different cultural organisations of Chittagong, Mymensingh and Dhaka. He was editor of the weekly Gana-Abhijan in 1938-40. Besides, he wrote a number of books on activities of the Congress. Monoranjan Dhar died on 22 June 2000. [Md. Ali Akbar]