Tushar Kanjilal (1 March 1935 – 29 January 2020)^[1] was an Indian social worker, political activist, environmentalist, writer and headmaster of Rangabelia High School.^{[citation needed]} He was the founder of a non governmental organization, which merged with the Tagore Society for Rural Development, a social organization working for the upliftment of the rural people in Sunderbans region, in the Indian state of West Bengal.^[2]

Born to Dwigendralal Kanjilal^[3] in Noakhali, in the present day Bangladesh, Kanjilal's family migrated to West Bengal before the Indian independence.^[4] He was attracted to Marxist ideologies from a young age and had a frequently disrupted education due to his activism. After his marriage to Bina, he settled in Rangabelia, a small hamlet in the Sunderbans region, where he stayed with his family of three children, Tanima, Tania and Tanmoy, and worked as the headmaster of the local high school.^[4] There, he started his social service, founding an organization, which was later merged with the Tagore Society for Rural Development. He was also involved in environmental activism^[5] and wrote a book, Who Killed the Sunderbans?, which deals with the issue of the destruction of the mangrove forests of Sunderbans.^[6]

The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986.^[7] He received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2008.^[1] Kanjilal was in the process of founding an institute, Interpretation Complex, which is aimed at dealing with the problems of the Sunderbans region.^[4] He resided in Kolkata, West Bengal.^[4]