Sadhan Gupta

Sadhan Chandra Gupta (7 November 1917 – 19 September 2015) was an Indian lawyer and politician. Gupta became the first blind parliamentarian in independent India in 1953, and later served as Advocate General of West Bengal.

Early life and education Gupta was born in Dacca on 7 November 1917. His father, Jogesh Chandra Gupta, was a lawyer at the Calcutta High Court and a leader of the Indian National Congress. His actions in the "Emperor vs Shibnath Banerjee" case provoked praise from Mahatma Gandhi. Gupta finished in third place with 32,168 votes (22.24%). Gupta was elected to the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament of India) from the Calcutta South East constituency in a 1953 by-election, held after Mukherjee died. He thus became the first blind parliamentarian in independent India. In the election he had defeated Radhabinod Pal, who was a senior lawyer. He would softly type braille whilst listening to the debates. He obtained 143,350 votes (62.68%).

State legislator When CPI was divided, Gupta sided with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was elected to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in the 1969 election from the Kalighat constituency.

Left Front period When the Left Front came to power in West Bengal in 1977, Gupta played an important role in maneuvering the various legal challenges put against its land reform programs and Operation Barga.

In 1986 he was named Advocate General of West Bengal by the Left Front government, following the death of Snehangshu Kanta Acharya. He became the first visually impaired person to hold that office.

Social work Gupta founded the National Federation of the Blind and became the first president of the organization. He also became the first president of the Indian chapter of Disabled Peoples' International. He served as president of various trade unions, such as in the insurance and ITC sectors.

Apart from his legal and political career, Gupta was noted as a singer of ganasangeet, Rabindrasangeet and folk songs.

Death Gupta died on 19 September 2015.