Santosh Mohan Dev facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Santosh Mohan Dev
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Dev in 2008
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| Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises | |
| In office 2005 – 2008 |
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| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Sushilkumar Shinde |
| Succeeded by | Praful Patel |
| Minister of Water Resources | |
| Additional Charge 18 November 2005 – 28 January 2006 |
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| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi |
| Succeeded by | Saifuddin Soz |
| Minister of State, Government of India | |
| In office 1986 – 1989 |
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| Prime Minister | Rajiv Gandhi |
| Term | Department |
| Oct. 1986 to Feb. 1988 | Tourism and Communications |
| Feb. 1988 to June 1988 | Defence |
| June 1988 to Dec. 1989 | Home Affairs |
| In office 1991 – 1996 |
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| Prime Minister | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Department | Steel (Independent Charge) |
| In office 23 May 2004 – 17 November 2005 |
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| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Department | Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (Independent Charge) |
| Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha | |
| In office 1980–1989; 1996–1998; 1999–2009 |
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| Preceded by | Kabindra Purkayastha |
| Succeeded by | Kabindra Purkayastha |
| Constituency | Silchar, Assam |
| In office 1989–1996 |
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| Preceded by | Ajoy Biswas |
| Succeeded by | Badal Choudhury |
| Constituency | Tripura West, Tripura |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 April 1934 Silchar, Assam Province, British India |
| Died | 2 August 2017 (aged 83) Silchar, Assam, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse | Bithika Dev |
| Children | 4 daughters including Sushmita Dev |
| Residence | Silchar |
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As of 25 February, 2006
Source: [1] |
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Santosh Mohan Dev (born April 1, 1934 – died August 2, 2017) was an important Indian political leader. He was a key member of the Indian National Congress party.
Mr. Dev was first chosen to be a part of the Parliament in 1980. This was the first of his seven times serving as a Member of Parliament (MP). An MP is someone elected by people to represent them in the country's main law-making body.
He represented the Silchar area in Assam five times. He was also elected from the Tripura West area twice. It's quite special that he was elected from two different states!
Contents
Santosh Dev's Political Journey
During his time as an elected leader, Santosh Dev held many important government jobs. He represented India at a big meeting about population in China in 1982. He also joined the Indian team at a Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in 1984.
From 1986 to 1988, he was the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Communications. This meant he helped manage these areas for the whole country. Later, from 1988 to 1989, he was the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. In 1991, he was in charge of Steel as a Union Minister of State.
Mr. Dev was first elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament) in 1980. This was for the Silchar area in Assam. He was re-elected from Silchar in 1984. Then, he was elected from Tripura West in 1989 and 1991. He returned to the Lok Sabha from Silchar again in 1996, 1999, and 2004.
He also led the Public Accounts Committee from 1990 to 1991. This committee checks how the government spends money. He was also a member of the Tea Board from 1981 to 1983. From 1999 to 2004, he had other important roles in Parliament. Santosh Mohan Dev lost the election in 2009 to Kabindra Purkayastha.
Key Achievements and Impact
From 2005 to 2009, Santosh Dev was the Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises. In this role, he helped create a big plan for India's car industry. This plan still helps shape the industry today. He also made sure that people working in government-run companies got better pay. This helped keep talented workers from leaving for private companies.
Another big achievement was making the steel industry more free in the mid-1990s. This helped India become a major steel producer in the world. He also helped set up a national university in Silchar, Assam. He played a key part in a plan that made train freight charges fair across all states. This helped different states compete better.
Santosh Mohan Dev came from a family with a long history in politics. His father was one of the first lawmakers after India became independent. His grandfather, Kali Mohan Dev, was also active in India's fight for freedom. He was even a member of the first Silchar Municipal council in 1913.
Helping Society and Culture
Santosh Dev started many important projects. He helped set up two Central Universities in Assam. These are big universities funded by the central government. He also worked for the well-being of workers, especially those in tea gardens and villages. He helped with flood and cyclone relief efforts.
He helped rural people in Assam get loans through the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). He also worked to bring electricity and better transport to villages. He helped provide water, electricity, and clean facilities to people living in poorer areas. He also gave financial help to people and clubs through a trust named after his father.
He helped develop the Silchar Regional Engineering College into a well-known institution. He was also the president of a big Bengali literature conference for two years. He helped establish a gas-based power project in Adamtilla and Banskandi. He was also involved in building the Barak Dam and extending the broad-gauge railway line to Silchar.
Santosh Dev's Personal Life
Santosh Mohan Dev was the oldest of three sons. His father, Satindra Mohan Dev, was a famous freedom fighter from Northeast India. Satindra Mohan Dev was known for strongly opposing British Rule. He was even jailed many times for his resistance. Later, he was offered to be the governor of Bihar, but he chose to stay in his hometown of Silchar.
A member of the Dev family has been elected to office from South Assam for almost all the years since India became independent.
Santosh Mohan Dev studied at G.C. College in Silchar, Assam. He also earned an MBA degree from the Welsh College in Cardiff, UK. He had four daughters. His wife, Bithika Dev, was a member of the state assembly in Assam until 2011.
Mr. Dev was also a certified football referee. In his younger days, he won the All Assam Lawn Tennis Championship. He loved to read, especially books by famous Bengali writers like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore. In 2009, his daughter Sushmita Dev became the chairperson of the Silchar Municipality. This made her the fourth generation of the Dev family to enter politics. In 2011, Sushmita Dev became a Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly. In 2014, she became a Member of Parliament for her hometown, Silchar.
