Sri Sankar Kumar Sanyal has had catholic ideas about social work and he has embraced all kinds of welfare activities be they amongst industrialists, Gandhians, rural development workers and international solidarity organizations. He is found to work with consummate skill and equal felicity in organizations like AVARD, Lok Samity, Loka Kalyan Parisad, Ramakrishna Mission, Rural Development Consortium, KVIC, Self Help Group Promotional Forum, Council of Consumer Guidance Centers and many other organizations working in various fields of social and economic developments of the people. During foreign invasion in 1965, 1972 and 1999 he took important role in collection of fund for the national defense and handed it to the Central Government. He also played vital roles in mitigating disasters during natural calamities like floods, earthquake, drought on several occasions.
In addition to his prolific profile as an astute Gandhian and a dedicated constructive social worker, Sri Sanyal has contributed immensely to the cause of rural development. Besides being Hon'y Secretary of Harijan Sevak Sangh, Bengal, which has multifarious and multidimensional educational and rural developmental activities, he has been serving as General Secretary of Rural Development Consortium (RDC), founded by Late Panna Lal Dasgupta, eminent revolutionary turned Gandhian leader, a pioneer networking rural development and support service training organization of Eastern India having 300 member organizations.
In 1954 a scheme for rehabilitation and uplift of the Lodhas, ex-criminal tribes, was taken up at Santigarh, Jhargram, a remote village of West Midnapore district by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, ex President of the Sangh and the then Chief Minister of West Bengal but the scheme was abandoned due to some unavoidable circumstances. In 1979, Sri Sanyal again took up the work for the development of the Lodhas and reclaimed land which were distributed amongst them for cultivation. They were also helped with irrigation, agricultural implements, fertilizers etc. Piggery, goatery, poultry and many other livelihood activities were also provided, which made them economically developed to some extent. Steps were also taken for their education. Thus the Lodhas had had the opportunity to merge themselves in the mainstream.
The Harijan Sevak Sangh has installed 5,31,018 improved smokeless chullahs in Birbhum, Medinipur, Murshidabad and Malda districts of West Bengal to ensure smoke free kitchens with the help of Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), which helped in promotion, development and propagation of renewable energy in research, training and extension of global renewable energy programme for the protection of environment and ecological balance under Non-Conventional Energy Programme of Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. Sri Sanyal, as a member of West Bengal State level and Zonal level Khadi & Village Industries Advisory Committee (KVIC) for Eastern Zone under the Ministry of Industries, Government of India had helped the artisans and the khadi organizations in maintaining their sustenance.
Presently the Sangh under his able guidance has been successfully organizing training of young rural entrepreneurs in Entrepreneurship Development Programme under Rural Employment Generation Programme sponsored by KVIC, Government of India since 2005-2006 and has so far trained 1,276 entrepreneurs of Howrah and Hooghly districts of West Bengal who have invested Rs. 35,19,75,671.00 financed by nationalized banks.
With the bent of mind of an educational organizer he helped establishment of a Free Residential Primary School at Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri and numerous pre-primary education centers throughout West Bengal on behalf of Harijan Sevak Sangh thus providing primary and pre-primary education to more than 75,000 children of poor and backward communities since 1980s. He also showed his keenness in information technology by establishing Uttaran Institute of Information Technology and Bijoyananda Institute of Technology which served the causes of the poor and the downtrodden.
During the same period 90 low cost houses were built for the poor and the downtrodden who are living far below poverty line in several districts and installed 536 sanitary latrines for promotion of rural health with the financial assistance from Council for Advancement of People Action & Rural Technology (CAPART). He had also evaluated more than 70 pre-funding and post-funding rural development projects under CAPART under the aegis of Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
As a chief functionary of the Sangh and RDC he successfully organized youth leadership training camps and 200 training programmes for 748 NGOs and 7,870 youth in social work, Gandhian values and capacity building support services so as to enable them to earn their living by undertaking various socio-economic programmes.
His main achievements is in the field of socio-economic and socio-cultural development for sustainable self-respect and self-reliant people of the rural Bengal encompassing about 1,000 villages through more than 200 affiliate and associate organizations in respect of educational, environmental, sanitation, agricultural, irrigation, cottage industries, IT skill development income generating programmes etc.
He conducted Regional Orientation Course on Constructive Workers of Eastern Zone in 1984 graced by the august presence of Mother Teresa, the Noble laureate for Peace. He is also closely associated with various local clubs for encouraging the youth in promotion of sports, games and various cultural programmes.
He was also associated with Akhil Bharat Prakritik Chikitsha Parishad, Rajghat, New Delhi, an institution promoting natural treatment of diseases and with Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal as their Vice-President and Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD), W.B. branch, West Bengal State Peoples Committee, West Bengal Small Manufacturers Association and Ramakrishna Mission Janasiksha Mandir Youth Movement, Belur Math, Lal Baba College Students' Union as General Secretary.
Nothing ever is achieved without hard work. No man is rewarded for his own betterment / gain. Ancient Indian wisdom teaches us that our first responsibility is to the "COMMUNITY", second to our "FAMILY" and third to our "OURSELVES". When this system breaks a society starts degenerating. Social responsibility ought to be the moral obligation of every citizen. Responsibility and freedom go hand in hand. All these basic ideas has permeated the physiological fabric of Prof. Sanyal and propelled him to the path of social work steeped in essence of Gandhian philosophy.
