Mr Brajendranath Dé, Esq., ICS, (Dec 23, 1852 - Sep 20, 1932) was a civil servant, linguist, and historian. He was appointed as (Acting) Commissioner of Burdwan thrice in 1905. Due to his pro-nationalist sentiments and decision to visit a number of Swadeshi Bazaars in the division in that year, he was severely criticised by his British colleagues in the civil service. This act of patriotism, however, won him high praise in nationalist circles, especially from Congress leaders, such as Surendranath Banerjee, and also from his Indian colleagues in the civil service. The Bengalee, the nationalist daily edited by S.N.Banerjee wrote: " What are the sovereign recipes for the unrest that Mr.De had? A little intuitive sympathy with his countrymen, born of first-hand knowledge of their desires, their requirements, their character and their temperament, and as the Pioneer says there was no trouble in Hughli. The Pioneer's testimony to the efficacy of sympathy in the governance of men is complete. " Even the Pioneer, which was a pro-British newspaper, supported the view that De was an exceptionally able and patriotic administrator, committed to the maintenance of law and order in his district. It wrote: "If it had been possible to multiply Mr.De sufficiently, there would have been no trouble in Bengal". The Indian Opnion added: "... but these are men who glide out of the service unnoticed while the person who is chiefly responsible for the mischief probably makes his exit under salutes, in a coat covered with ribbons and stars." As the Collector of Hooghly, he started a club, called the Duke Club in the district exclusively for Indians. His decision was promted by the British refusal to allow any Indian entry into any one of their clubs. Once his commissioner reportedly told him not to even entertain any thought of wanting to join one of the British clubs in his district. snipped from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brajendranath_De --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India