Surendranath Banerjee was a great Indian patriot from Bengal. He was chosen for the Indian Civil Services in 1896 but was dismissed on controversial grounds. He was on of the founding members of the Indian National Congress and was elected its President twice. Surendranath Banerjee also distinguished himself as a journalist. He launched powerful press campaigns especially through his own paper Bengalee to spread nationalist sentiments throughout the country. He played a prominent role in the Swadeshi Movement and in movements launched against the partition of Bengal. In 1918, however, he left the Congress. In 1921, he accepted the offer of the job of minister of local self-government and health, which was resented by other nationalists.