Thread by @sheshapatangi1

The Condition Of His Grave Tells How We Honour Our Heroes!

Belated tributes for an Unhonoured, Never Remembered Freedom Fighter, an Exemplary Scientist, an Extraordinary Inventor
#SATISHCHANDRADASGUPTA.

Satish was born on June 14, 1880, in Kurigram (now a part of Bangladesh) in Rangpur district of Bengal. He belonged to a poor family, yet due to his hard work and dedication, he was awarded a Master’s degree in chemistry from Presidency College, Calcutta.

Science and literature, though a lethal combination, makes this man stand out of the crowd. A simple linen dhoti with a shawl around his neck, Satish Chandra Dasgupta was man who never chose the normal road but preferred walking through a forest.

The Bengal Chemical Works Lab.,

was used by chemistry students to carry out practical’s. Satish Chandra’s work in the laboratory and was closely watched by Acharya P.C. Ray, who got him a job in the Bengal Chemical Works factory as factory superintendent.

Satish was determined to take the organisation

to great heights.
He developed medicinal products such as strychnine and caffeine from indigenous raw material. He knew that the tree nux vomica grew only in India. He worked out a process to produce the much-in-demand strychnine from nux vomica.
The supply was large enough

to meet the demand of the domestic market and was also exported. (Till then, the herb used to be taken to England and the product sold at a high profit in India).

Similarly, Bengal chemicals made good profit with the production of caffeine, a medicinal product in great demand.

Satish was a versatile personality. He could work in the laboratory, in the factory, the smithy and even do the carpentry with immense ability.

In 1910, the organisation had to install fire extinguishers for the safety of the factory and its workers. The sole supplier of the

extinguishers was a British firm and the prices were extremely high.

Satish felt that the expenditure involved would be unaffordable. He bought only one extinguisher, opened it up, studied it very carefully and designed a new and a much superior one which costed them

one-fourth of the price charged by the Brit.

The new design was called Fire King. The company sold it, making hundred per cent profit, yet it cost the buyers half of what the British firm charged.
As an incentive, the founder P.C. Ray shared half the profit with

Satish Chandra and the latter got Rs 2 lakh for Fire King.

Soon after this Satish Chandra was influenced by MKGandhi, joined freedom movement.

Despite the requests made by directors of the Bengal Chemicals, begging Satish not to leave them, he quietly left one night.

Satish Chandra donated his entire savings, which amounted to several lakh rupees, and got down to serving the nation.
He was given the charge of the Wardha Institute for Research in Village Industries.
He improved the charkha’s working, found more profitable ways of

making paper from bamboo pulp bringing higher profits to the farmers.

Satish also designed a cheaper and a simpler ghani (a simple oil crushing machine) with a higher efficiency.

After Independence, Satish Chandra was offered posts of high offices, but he preferred to work at

Khadi Pratisthan at Sodepur, on the outskirts of Calcutta. He improved the mustard seed crusher, found a more economical way of manufacturing palm gur and twisted jute yarn.

In 1965, at the age of 86 years, Satish began soil research as various areas of West Bengal were

affected by drought.
He found ways of increasing the water retention capacity of laterite soil tapping ground water resources & raising good crops on fallow land.

He revived the art of making hand-made paper, carried out a project of making safety matches from bamboo sticks.

He also wrote some books which include “Cow in India” and “Home and Village Doctor”.

“Fountain Pen Ink” is a popular book which gives an account of how he invented Sulekha ink. During the Swadeshi Movement Gandhi was looking for a locally-made ink, Satish shared his formulation

with the Maitra brothers, Nanigopal and Sankaracharya.

The brothers, had just been released from jail and jumped on the opportunity to defy the British again and started selling the ink.

The sales increased multifold and it came to be known as Professor Maitra’s ink.

The name Sulekha (Su – good and lekha – writing) was later given by India’s cultural ambassador, Rabindranath Tagore. The versatile yet unsung hero of Bharat joined his mother’s feet on December 24, 1979. He was 99 then.

In late 1920s, Satish Chandra donated his entire savings to Congress, which amounted to several lakh rupees…
Ask yourself what Congress gave him back?

#SatishChandraDasgupta
#Jayanti
#ForgottenHeroes
#VANDEMATARAM