Biren Dutta

Birendra Chandra Dutta (1910 – 18 December 1992) was an Indian communist politician. He founded the communist movement in Tripura. Dutta was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament of India, 1952–1957), the 3rd Lok Sabha (1962–1967) and the 5th Lok Sabha (1971–1977).

When the Janshiksha Samiti ('People's Educational Association') was founded in 1945, Dutta played a key role as an organizer, despite not officially being part of the leadership of the movement. After the party congress, Dutta sought to build a movement amongst the tribal people of Tripura. But soon the Tripura Government began a crack-down against the nascent communist movement. Dutta left for the hills, where he began to build a revolutionary movement, the Mukti Parishad ('Liberation Council'). Whilst Dutta was a key organizer of the movement, he did not join the executive of the organization as it was an organization of tribal people.

Political career At the end of the armed struggle of Mukti Parishad, the ban on the Communist Party was lifted. The CPI fielded him as its candidate in the 1952 Indian general election for the Tripura West constituency.

By the 1957 Indian general election Tripura West and Tripura East had been merged to a two-seat constituency. Dutta lost his parliamentary seat, obtaining 119,798 votes.

Dutta returned to the Lok Sabha in the 1962 Indian general election, winning the Tripura West seat with 86,084 votes (52.12%).

Dutta lost the Tripura West seat in the 1967 Indian general election, now standing as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He finished in second place with 92,143 votes (42.25%). The result was challenged, with accusations of rigging, but the Supreme Court of India awarded the victory to the Indian National Congress candidate.

Dutta contested the Ramnagar seat in the 1977 Tripura Legislative Assembly election. He won the seat with 8,420 votes (63.41%). After the election Dutta urged the party leadership to install tribal leader Dasarath Deb as Chief Minister. Instead the party selected Bengali Nripen Chakraborty, a move Dutta called 'a big mistake'. Dutta later argued that had the party selected a tribal Chief Minister at this juncture, the violent upheaval that Tripura experienced could have been avoided.

Dutta was a minister in the Tripura state government between 1978 and 1985.

Dutta served as the state secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions between 1970 and 1990.

In 1991 Dutta's health deteriorated and he was relieved of party duties. He died on 18 December 1992.