Born on 30th July 1948, he received his Bachelor Degree in Arts in 1967, Bachelor of Laws in 1972 from University of Calcutta. His Special Academic Attainments consisted of Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), London for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in 1975 and a top level Management Course on 'Managing Sustainable Rural Development' (MSRD) at Birmingham University, UK on Government of India Scholarship. He started his career as an Advocate of Calcutta High Court and was appointed as Justice of Peace (J.P.) in the year 1972 by Sri A. L. Dias, the then Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal.
On 24th May 2018, the Shobhit University conferred D.Litt. Doctorate - Honoris Causa to Sri Sanyal by the auspicious hands of Sri Ram Naik, Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh for recognition of his exemplary and multifaceted works on Gandhian principles and values that sets certain goals for the youth to follow and his standards of intentions and works for the poor, the underprivileged and the marginalized section of the society has won their hearts.
Sri Sankar Kumar Sanyal had been the Hon'y Secretary of the West Bengal Branch of Harijan Sevak Sangh (HSS) founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 from 1978 to 2013. His principal mentor was Late Ms. Niramala Deshpandeji who herself was a Padma Bibhusan and spiritual daughter of Acharya Vinoba Bhabe. Hairjan Sevak Sangh both at the national level of which he was the Vice President (1997-2008) and at the state level he has undertaken a plethora of activities for the downtrodden and the marginalized. He revived the activities of the moribund Harijan Sevak Sangh of Bengal and spread the same all over the state with innovative programmes based on Gandhian philosophy. Through his active participation in developmental work in Gandhian models he got recognition as one of the noted Gandhian activists of the State and at National Level. Gradually he became associated with almost all the reputed Gandhian organizations of the State as well as of the country. Sri Sanyal through HSS, Bengal has installed 5,31,018 improved smokeless chullahs in four districts of West Bengal to ensure smoke free kitchens and helped the rural artisans and the Khadi organizations in maintaining their sustenance with the help of Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC). He built up hundreds of low cost houses for the poor and the downtrodden who are living far below poverty line in several districts and installed 595 sanitary latrines for promotion of rural health with the financial assistance from Council for Advancement of People Action & Rural Technology (CAPART). The West Bengal State Branch of the Sangh under his able guidance had successfully organized training of young rural and urban entrepreneurs in Entrepreneurship Development Programme under Rural Employment Generation Programme and Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme sponsored by KVIC since 2005-2006 and has so far trained 1,784 entrepreneurs of Howrah and Hooghly districts of West Bengal who have invested Rs. 50,42,90,407.00 financed by nationalized banks. He helped establishment of a Free Residential Primary School at Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri and numerous pre-primary education centers throughout West Bengal, thus providing primary and pre-primary education to more than 75,000 children of poor and backward communities since 1980s. Sri Sanyal was instrumental in starting Shree Agrasain College in cooperation with his colleagues-the first self financed institution under the University of Calcutta in its 150 years of existence.
On 24th April 2013 Sri Sanyal was unanimously elected President of the Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932. He succeeded to this universally acclaimed post once occupied by national leaders like Sri G.D. Birla, Mata Rameswari Nehru, Sri Biyogi Hariji, Padma Bibhusan Nirmala Deshpande and other Gandhian stalwarts of the country. Incidentally this is for the first time a person has been elected from Bengal and Eastern and North Eastern India to this exalted post.
He was also appointed as a member of the Governing Body and Executive Committee of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samity, an autonomous body under Ministry of Culture, GOI headed by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India as its Chairman.
He was one of the founders of Howrah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (HCCI) along with 6 other business professionals and has been serving as its President for last 16 years being elected consecutively for 5 terms (2002–2018). Under his leadership HCCI has become a state level Merchants' Organization keeping under its fold a large number of entrepreneurs, which have turned the district of Howrah in West Bengal an industrial hub reminiscent of its past glory as Sheffield of India and Birmingham of the East. His crowning achievement was establishment and developing of a big Industrial Park with different clusters of Small Industries including Re-Rolling Mills Cluster in a remote area of Jagatballavpur of Howrah in West Bengal. The uniqueness of the project was that 320 Micro and Small Entrepreneurs have purchased land directly from the farmers without creating any problem or tension and that the project is overwhelmingly environment friendly in as much as the entire area is proposed to be illuminated through solar energy. This industrial cluster has been included in the National Innovative Council set up by the Hon'ble Prime Minister. It is the only one of such types of clusters from this state out of 400 clusters established in the country. He is the Managing Director of Bengal HCCI Infrastructure Limited, a joint venture company with HCCI and West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC), GoWB. He was also the Former Director, State Bank of India, Bengal Circle.
His persevering efforts were rewarded by the Ministry of MSME, GOI and National Institute of Design (NID) with the opening of a Regional Centre of Design Clinic in Eastern Zone in Kolkata and Sri Sanyal was appointed as the Chairman of the Regional Monitoring Committee for Eastern and North Eastern Region of National Institute of Design, Ahmadabad. This has greatly benefited the SMEs of different clusters in the Eastern and North Eastern Region and has been appreciated by all concerned.
Sri Sanyal is also associated with various socio-economic organizations as one of their leading figures like President, Akhil Bharatiya Prakritik Chikitsa Parishad (ABPCP) founded in 1956 - a National Confederation of Naturopathy Institutions and Doctors who is working in the field of imparting natural treatment to the common people throughout the country with its vast network of more than 300 Naturopathy Centers and thousands of Naturopaths and Doctors, President, Purba Kolkata Gandhi Smarak Samiti, an organization which is looking after the heritage building 'Beliaghata Gandhi Bhaban', Kolkata where Gandhiji stayed during the independence days in 1947 to restore communal harmony, President, Loka Kalyan Parisad, a State level resource centre for collaborative initiatives with Local Self Government institutions, Chairman, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Bengal - a State branch of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Rajghat, Delhi, a rural development institution on Gandhian model, Chairman, Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya, Ishwar Nagar, New Delhi, established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1944, a Secondary School Recognized & Aided by Government of Delhi & Affiliated to CBSE, Chairman, Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya Samithi, T Nagar, Chennai - A Charitable Trust founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1933, running Industrial Training Institute (ITI), School, Working Women's Hostel and other social welfare activities, Chairman, SMART Academy for Healthcare at Gandhi Ashram, Delhi, a joint venture of Tech Mahindra Foundation and Harijan Sevak Sangh to provide high quality Health Professional Skill Training for underprivileged youth through its SMART (Skills-for-Market Training) Programme, Senior Vice President, Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj, New Delhi (ABRS), - an All India Confederation of Gandhian Constructive workers and organizations founded by Padmabibhusan Late Ms. Nirmala Deshpande, M.P., noted Sarvodaya leader of the country, Vice President, Self Help Group Promotional Forum, West Bengal, a federal networking organization comprising of 22,000 Self Help Groups with 2,50,000 members, Vice President, Vidyashram - a pioneering Gandhian Organization of North Bengal with a history of over 60 years, Vice President, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Howrah Branch, Secretary General, Rural Development Consortium (RDC) - founded by Late Pannalal Dasgupta, great revolutionary leader and later a Gandhian reformer, General Secretary, People's Forum for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a national network to promote universal love, brotherhood, peace and to curb social decadence by uniting masses irrespective of caste, creed, economic hierarchy and religious learning.
Former Monitor-Evaluator, Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), New Delhi, under the aegis of Ministry of Rural Development, GOI, to evaluate pre-sanctioning and on-going Projects of CAPART.
Former Member :
(a) West Bengal State Level Certification Committee and Zonal Khadi & Village Industries Advisory Committee for Eastern Zone (KVIC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Industries, GOI during the tenure of Sri Laxmi Dass, Chairman, KVIC,
(b) West Bengal Khadi & Village Industries Board under the aegis of Micro & Small Scale Enterprises and Textile Dept., GoWB,
(c) Railway Station Consultative Committee, Howrah,
(d) Governing Body, Society for Modern Mini Tool Room and Training Center, GoWB,
(e) State Level Project Steering & Monitoring Committee of Micro, Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) for Rolling Mills Cluster, GoWB,
(f) State Level Advisory Board (SLAB) attached to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of GoWB,
(g) WB State Micro & Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, GoWB
He organized South Asia Peace Meet and All India Constructive Workers Conference under the aegis of Akhil Bharat Rachnatmak Samaj at Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta from 18th to 20th January, 2000 under the Presidentship of Late Nirmala Deshpandeji which was attended by more than 12 thousand delegates from all over the country & abroad and was the first of its kind in Calcutta.
Sri Sanyal organized All India Gandhian Constructive Workers' Conference in Gandhi Ashram, Delhi on 25th and 26th November 2017, the first of its kind after a long gap of 12 years as a part of the preparation of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba's 150th Birth Anniversary in 2019, which was inaugurated by Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon'ble Vice President of India and the valedictory session was addressed by H.E. Sri Ramnath Kovind, Hon'ble President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. In this Conference 5000 Gandhian Constructive Workers & Youth from different corners of the country and abroad and many dignitaries from various walks of life participated.
Sri Sanyal led a Gandhian Goodwill Mission to Srinagar, Kashmir from 16th to 19th July 2017. The specialty of the Mission was fruitful interactions and dialogue with senior leaders of all leading political parties, peace activists, youth and students and established an environment of Love, Compassion and Brotherhood through People to People contact for defusing the tense situation through Gandhian means.
He also sent Gandhian Peace Mission team to disturbed areas like Unna (Gujarat), Mazafarnagar, Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and other disputed areas and tried to intervene in the conflict situations in order to restore peace and harmony by interacting with the local population of both the groups and local leaders.
Took initiative to renovate the Museum on Kasturba (a Museum on the life and activities on Ba), at "Kasturba Kutir". The renovated Kasturba Kutir was inaugurated by then Hon'ble Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari on 7th July 2017 in the gracious presence of Ms. Tara Gandhi Bhattacharya, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and others.
The Udyogshala which was established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939 at Gandhi Ashram, Kingsway Camp, Delhi became defunct a long time back was revived as a Skill Development Training Institute by Tech Mahindra SMART Academy for Healthcare in collaboration with the Sangh where skill training of youth is organized and youths are getting a plethora of benefits at minimum cost even placement in various reputed health care institutes.
The Mahatma Gandhi Yoga Center at Gandhi Ashram, Kingsway Camp, Delhi was established to impart yoga training to youth, which was inaugurated by Sri M. Venkaiah Naidu, Hon'ble Vice President of India on 25th November 2017.
Sri Sanyal is the recipient of a number of awards and honours like : (a) 'National Unity Award' from Gyani Zail Singh, former President of India in 1990, (b) 'Non-Conventional Energy Award' from Sri Surendra Mohan, Chairman, KVIC on 5th July 1997, (c) 'Moonis Raza Memorial Award' by Global Association of NRI (Non Resident Indians) on 3rd April 1998, (d) 'International Man of the Year - 1997-98' awarded by the Editorial Board of International Biographical Centre (IBC), Cambridge, England on 28th April 1998, (e) 'MSPI outstanding Personalities - 1998' and awarded Certificate of Merit by the Management Studies Promotion Institute, New Delhi on 30th October 1998, (f) 'Award for National Integration and Social Work' from Prof. Ashish Bandopadhyay, Vice-Chancellor, Calcutta University awarded by the Calcutta University National Integration Council on 26th January 2005, (g) 'Bangabandhu Mujibar Rahaman International Award' awarded by Banbabandhu Jatiya Swadhinata Parishad from Janab Rezaul Karim Hira, Hon'ble Minister of Land & Land Reforms, Govt. of Bangladesh on 7th August 2010, (h) 'Corporate Energy Management Award' awarded by Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management, Kolkata on 14th December 2010, (i) "Ganga Award" presented by His Excellency Dr. Krishna Kanta Paul, Governor of Uttarakhand, on behalf of Global Inter Faith WASH Alliance (GIWA) & UNICEF for leading the Gandhian Workers towards Swachh Bharat and other Constructive Work as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi in the "You are the Solution : Summit of Leaders", an International Seminar held at Risikesh on 3rd & 4th May, 2017, (j) 'Ch. Ranabir Singh National Peace & Harmony Award' in recognition of his outstanding voluntary work at National level for the Development of Peace, Integration and Harmony by Shri Dependra Singh Hooda, MP and Swami Chidananda Saraswati Maharaj, President, Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh and Founder Chairman, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) on 25th November 2017, (k) 'Prafulla Chandra Sen Memorial Award 2018' in the memory of Late Prafulla Chandra Sen, noted Gandhian of the country and former Chief Minister of West Bengal on 10th April 2018 in recognition of his close association with Sri Sen during his student days and presently the leading light of Gandhian thinking and protagonist of the State as well as of the whole country.
Sri Sankar Kumar Sanyal participated in a number of global missions for peace and development. Among such important activities are : (a) Participated as a group leader of West Bengal in the National Integration Peace March in 1983 under the leadership of Late Ms. Nirmala Deshpande and with the blessings of Srimati Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, went to Punjab and deescalated the conflict. (b) Represented India as delegate in 'South Asian Seminar on Legal Aid' held in Kathmandu, Nepal in March 1986. (c) He led a delegation to Italy, France, Switzerland and the UK as a member of the 'Gandhi-in-Action' on the occasion of International year of Peace in 1986 with the blessings of Sri Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. (d) Represented India as a delegate to the United Kingdom, being jointly nominated by the Ministry of Rural Development, GOI and British Government as the only NGO representative in a group of seven senior Government officials of India from March-June 1995. (e) Participated in South West Asia Regional Conference of SERVAS International held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 10th & 11th December 1999. (f) He participated in an Indian delegation of Association of Peoples of Asia to China from 28th October to 3rd November 2003 led by Late Ms. Nirmala Deshpande on the invitation of Chinese Association of International Understanding visiting Beijing and Shanghai and participated in bilateral dialogues with Chinese Association of International Understanding and State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development. (g) He went to Pakistan from 30th August to 1st September 2004 under the leadership of late Ms. Nirmala Deshpande, MP to promote peace, friendship and brotherhood and strengthening goodwill between the two nations. (h) He participated as a delegate of Association of People of Asia in the World Social Forum held at Karachi, Pakistan from 24th to 29th March 2006 and chaired a symposium on Nuclear Free South Asia with elimination of nuclear stockpiles in India and Pakistan and diverting nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. (i) He went to Dhaka, Bangladesh from 11th to 16th October 2004 to speak on Gandhian values and their contemporary relevance sponsored by Indian Council of Cultural Relations under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, GOI. (j) He led a 15-member delegation at the conference on the centenary celebration of Satyagraha organized by Gandhi Development Trust in association with Kwa-Zulu Natal Government at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa held from 10th to 13th September 2006. (k) From 4th to 7th December 2008 he represented India in a 15-member delegation at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Lanka Jatika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya and a conference on "Concerted Community Action for a Sustainable Life on Earth Fair to All" held at Vishva Niketan International Peace and Meditation Center at Moratuwa, Colombo, Sri Lanka. (l) Led a Gandhian delegation from India to the Parliament of the World's Religions held at Salt Lake City, Utah, USA from 15th to 19th October 2015 which was attended by over 10,000 delegates from 80 countries and 50 Heads of different religions. It may be mentioned that this was the first time that a Gandhian delegation was invited to attend this illustrious Parliament. This was a proud moment for all the Gandhian fraternity. It is worth remembering but without comparing the fact that the same Parliament was attended by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 at Chicago, USA.
