Brajendranath de - Family

Family

Some of De's children and their spouses, many of whom studied in Presidency College, Calcutta and then were admitted to Oxbridge colleges as well medical colleges in London and Edinburgh, later distinguished themselves in public service or the bureaucracy in India, especially in Bengal. His eldest son-in-law, Dr. Sashi Bhushan Mitra, a winner of the Faraday Medal in England, was the proprietor of Equitable Insurance Company in Calcutta. He was closely linked to the nationalists of the Congress party. His second eldest son-in-law, Sir Sarat Kumar Ghosh, I.C.S., was the First Chief Justice of Rajasthan and also of Jaipur and Jammu & Kashmir. His third eldest son-in-law, Prof. Satish Chandra Basu, I.E.S., was a Professor of Economics at Hooghly College, Chinsura. His fourth daughter, Saroj Nalini Dutt, M.B.E., was a pioneer of the feminist movement in India and had founded a number of Mahila Samities in the districts of Bengal. The Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association in Calcutta is named after her. Her husband and Brajendranath's fourth son-in-law, Gurusaday Dutt, Esq., I.C.S., who founded the Bratachari movement in Bengal, retired as Secretary, Local Self Government and Public Health, Government of Bengal. The Gurusaday Museum in Calcutta is named after him. In 1941, one of Calcutta's main thoroughfares, was named after him (Gurusaday Road). His eldest son, Hemanta Kumar De, Esq., Bar-at-Law, was a Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta and had earlier been a junior of his father's cousin, Sir Nripendranath Sircar. His fifth son-in-law, Col. Jyotish Chandra De, I.M.S., was an eminent physician, who became the Second Indian Principal of Calcutta Medical College. His sixth son-in-law, Dr. Pares Chandra Datta, an eminent doctor, who was a member of East Indian Railways was the First Chief Medical Officer of B.R. Singh Memorial Hospital, Calcutta and also became Director, Health Services, Government of Bengal. His second son, Maj. Basanta Kumar De, was District Commercial Officer, Adra, Bengal, and then retired as the Second Indian Commercial Traffic Manager (Chief Commercial Manager) of Bengal Nagpur Railway. His seventh son-in-law, Dr. Debabrata Datta, was Additional Director, Health Services, Government of Bengal.

His grandchildren and grandchildren-in-law have also done well. Dharani Kumar Bose, a grandson-in-law, was an eminent builder to whom can be credited the construction of the Mackinon Mackenzie building in Calcutta, and who was also an elected member of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. Himangshubhushan Mitra, a grandson, a former student of Imperial College, London, became the Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer of the BNR. A granddaughter-in-law, Aroti Dutt, an eminent social worker, was the World President of the Associated Countrywomen of the World for two terms and Chairperson of the Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association, Calcutta. Pradip Sen, a grandson-in-law, was the Managing-Director of Mackinon Mackenzie, Ranajit Datta, a senior railway officer, firstly of the BNR and then South Eastern Railway, was General Manager of Varanasi Locomotive Works and retired as Chairman and Managing-Director of Braithwaite, Burn and Jessop Ltd. and Barun De, an eminent historian, was the First Director of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta and was also Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission.

Some of his greatgrandchildren also became well known. Uma Bose, an eminent singer, was considered to be a musical prodigy, and sang songs such as Rupe Gandhe Barne, Jibane Marone Esho and Madhu Murali Baje. Subrata Mitra, Padma Shree, an eminent cameraman, shot Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar, Aparajita, as well as Shakespearewalla, Teesri Kasam and New Delhi Times among other equally well known films. Three other greatgrandsons, Debashish Mitra, worked as a senior scientist with NASA and is presently a Director of Dupont, USA. Debkumar Ghosh, worked as an officer of the Indian Airforce, and Devsaday Dutt, FCA (England & Wales) was Chief Financial Officer of Burroughs Wellcome and of Tata International. He later became a Partner of KPMG. A great granddaughter, Chandrika Nalini Ghose, was a student of Loreto College, Kolkata. Another great-granddaughter, Urmila De, is one of the few Indian students who stood first (in the first class) in her Honours School in history at St. Catherine's College, Oxford University.

Two great-great grandsons have also done well. They are Rajsaday Dutt, who was First Class Second in Mathematics & Statistics from University of Mumbai, and later stood first in his MBA (Finance) from Darden School of Management, University of Virginia. In 2012, he is Senior Director at Capital One, USA and is based in Richmond, Virginia. The other great-great grandson, Shivsaday Dutt was also awarded a First Class from the University of Mumbai, and won the Dean's Prize at Kelley School of Management, Indiana University. In 2012, he is Vice President of Sears and is based in Chicago.