Sukumar Sen (civil servant)
| Sukumar Sen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chief Election Commissioner of India | |
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In office 21 March 1950 – 19 December 1958 |
|
| Succeeded by | Kalyan Sundaram |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater |
Burdwan Municipal High School Presidency College, Calcutta University of London |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | First Election Commissioner of India |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Sukumar Sen (1899–1961) was an Indian civil servant who was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India, serving from 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958. Under his leadership, the Election Commission successfully administered and oversaw independent India's first two general elections, in 1951–52 and in 1957. He also served as first Chief Election Commissioner in Sudan.
Sen was the older brother of the more famous Ashoke Kumar Sen (1913–1996), Union Law Minister and a noted Indian barrister. Another brother was Amiya Kumar Sen, an eminent doctor, who was the last man to see Rabindranath Tagore alive.
Sen was born in 1899 in Bengali Vaidya-Brahmin family. He was the elder or eldest son of a district magistrate. He was educated at Presidency College, Kolkata and at the University of London. He was awarded a gold medal in Mathematics at the latter. In 1921, Sen joined the Indian Civil Service, and served in various districts as an ICS officer and as a judge. In 1947, he was appointed Chief Secretary of West Bengal, the senior-most rank that an ICS officer could attain in any state in British India. He was still serving in that capacity when he was sent on deputation as chief election commissioner. He was among the first recipients of the civilian honour of Padma Bhushan.
Historian Ramachandra Guha wrote of Sukumar Sen in The Hindu in 2002, on the 50th anniversary of independent India's first general election:
Nehru's haste [in wanting India's first general election] was understandable, but it was viewed with some alarm by the man who had to make the election possible, a man who is an unsung hero of Indian democracy. It is a pity we know so little about Sukumar Sen. He left no memoirs and, it appears, no papers either. ...
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