World War II and After
The year 1943 saw a devastating famine sweep over Bengal, caused by the loss of Burmese rice and the dislocations of war. A cyclone also devastated part of Midnapore district. Sen began relief work there and spent most of the war years travelling the districts helping destitute women. In 1947 India attained Independence; a few months later the Communist Party of India was outlawed and Sen was jailed in 1948. She remained in custody till 1951, and was released to find the Party embroiled in controversy and her beloved Barishal now part of East Pakistan. She withdrew somewhat from the ideological debates dividing Indian communism and increased her work for various feminist organisations such as the Women's International Democratic Federation and the All India Women's Conference. She had come to realise that the Party had integral biases against women and that she would not rise in its hierarchy. Around this time she met her future husband, the Kashmiri Jolly Kaul, also a Party activist. She was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from the Kalighat constituency in 1952, campaigned for the Hindu Code Bill and clashed with rightwing leaders such as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
Read more about this topic: Manikuntala Sen
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