Sudha Roy

Sudha Roy (1914–1987) was an Indian communist trade unionist and politician. She was a prominent leader of the Bengal Labour Party, the Bolshevik Party of India and later joined the Communist Party of India. She was one of the most prominent female leaders of the Bengali left.

Roy was born in 1914 into a Kayastha landlord family in Faridpur. She joined labour movement in the 1930s, having been introduced to labour politics by her brother Sisir Roy during her student days. Alongside her brother, she became a key leader of the Bengal Labour Party when it was founded in 1933.

She worked as mathematics teacher at Kamala Girls School in south Calcutta between 1932 and 1958. At the time she was a well-known labour leader. Roy, nicknamed Bahinji ('Honoured sister') by dock workers, would pass the Kidderpore dock daily in the afternoon for union tasks.

Roy joined the women's movement in 1943, being active in the All India Women's Conference. Roy served as vice chair of the National Federation of Indian Women between 1954 and 1982.

Sudha Roy was the sole candidate of the BPI in the 1951–1952 parliamentary election. She stood in Barrackpore constituency and obtained 25,792 votes (16.2% of vote in the constituency).

She was jailed in 1954.

Roy contested the Fort constituency in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, 1957. She finished in fourth place, with 9.75% of the votes.

In 1958 Sudha Roy's union, the Dock Mazdoor Union, underwent a split. Sisir Roy, Sudha Roy and Buthnath De were pitted against Bishwanath Dubey. Whilst Roy's group constituted the majority faction, the split significantly weakened the union.

Sisir Roy died in 1960, and Sudha Roy succeeded him in the post as general secretary of the United Trade Union Congress.

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