the indigenous steel industry making India a global steel powerhouse. He was also instrumental in setting up a national university in Silchar, Assam. He played a key role in the freight equalization scheme in the early 1990s in India which removed unequal rail freight charges among the states, thereby making them more competitive. He is a third generation Congressman. His father was one of the first legislators of independent India. His grandfather Kali Mohan Dev was also an active member of the Indian freedom struggle and a member of the first ever Silchar Municipal council in 1913. Social and cultural Activities Dev was instrumental in several major initiatives, such as establishment of two Central Universities in Assam; welfare of labour especially of workers in tea gardens and villages; flood cyclone relief work; served the rural people of Assam with District Rural Development Agency (D.R.D.A.) Loans; development of rural electrification and transport; provision of water, electricity and sanitation facilities to the slum dwellers; instrumental in extending financial help to the needy individuals and Associations/Clubs through a Trust established in memory of his father Late Shri Satindra Mohan Dev; and developed Silchar Regional Engineering College into an institution of repute; president, Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelani for 2 years; Chief Patron, Bipin Chandra Pal Trust; engaged in Socio-welfare activities established in memory of noted freedom fighter from North-East Region; took initiative in establishing Gas-based Power project at Adamtilla and Banskandi; actively involved in the construction of Barak Dam and extension of the broad-gauge line up to Silchar. Personal life Santosh Mohan Dev is the eldest of three sons of the renowned Bengali North Eastern Freedom Fighter Satindra Mohan Dev. Satindra Mohan Dev was known as fierce opponent of British Rule and enjoyed the personal confidence of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was jailed a number of times by the British for his resistance activities. In the mid Sixties in an independent India he was offered the governorship of Bihar, but he turned it down, preferring to stay in his hometown of Silchar. A member of the Dev family has occupied an elected office from South Assam for all but 10 years since Indian Independence. Santosh Mohan Dev was educated at G.C college in Silchar, Assam and has an MBA from the Welsh College In Cardiff UK. Shri Dev has four daughters and his wife Bithika Dev was a Member of the state legislative assembly