Jatindra Nath Das was an Indian freedom fighter who was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). He was also part of several other Indian independence movements, such as the Non-Cooperation Movement, which was started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1921. At the age of 29, Jatindra Nath Das died after a 63-day hunger strike in Lahore jail on the 13th. September 1929. Jatindra Nath Das demanded equal treatment of European prisoners in the Lahore jail for Indian revolutionary prisoners.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Jatindra Nath Das was born on Thursday, 27 October 1904 (age 24 at the time of death) in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India. His zodiac sign was Scorpio. Soon after completing his schooling, Jatindra Nath Das went to Vidyasagar College, Calcutta, India to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Bankim Bihari Das. His mother’s name is Suhashini Das. He had a younger brother named Kiran Das.
Wife
He was not married.
early life
Jatindra Nath Das was born and brought up in a middle-class family in Calcutta. During his school days, he was a brilliant student who completed his matriculation in first division. When Jatindra Nath Das was receiving his school education, he became inclined towards revolutionary activities. Soon after passing school he joined Anushilan Samiti, a Bengali revolutionary group. In 1921, when Jatindra Nath Das was seventeen, he became part of the non-cooperation movement, which was led by Mahatma Gandhi.
revolutionary activities
hunger strike
In 1925, he was arrested by the British police for his involvement in anti-British activities and was imprisoned in Mymensingh jail in Bangladesh. Jatindra Nath Das experienced the ill-treatment meted out to Indian revolutionary prisoners in prison by the British government. Jatindra Nath Das went on a hunger strike for twenty days demanding reforms, after which the Jail Superintendent apologized to Jatindra Nath Das and accepted his demands. Soon, Das gave up his hunger strike. During this period, Das learned bomb making from Sachindra Nath Sanyal, a famous Indian revolutionary. On 14 June 1929, Jatindra Nath Das was again arrested by the British authorities for his involvement in the Lahore Conspiracy Case and this time, Jatindra Nath Das was sent to Lahore Jail. In Lahore jail, he became disturbed after experiencing the miserable conditions of the revolutionary Indian prisoners, who were given unhealthy food to eat from the kitchen, where a lot of rats and cockroaches were seen roaming around, and the uniforms of these Indian prisoners were very dirty. And had not been washed for many days. Indian prisoners had no facilities for education as were provided to European and British prisoners. Then Jatindra Nath Das decided to raise his voice against this discrimination in jails and on 13 July 1929 he went on a hunger strike. During the hunger strike, British officers used to beat Jatindra Nath Das and also tried to force-feed him. This force-feeding damaged his lungs and left parts of his body paralyzed. Prison authorities decided to release him after monitoring his physical condition, but the British government rejected his unconditional release.
Death
Jatindra Nath Das died on 13 September 1929 in Lahore jail after a 63-day hunger strike.
funeral procession
Her funeral procession from Lahore jail to Calcutta was led by Durgavati Devi, a woman revolutionary freedom fighter. Thousands of Indians gathered to join his funeral procession, which was led in a train. Subhash Chandra Bose found the coffin of Jatindra Nath Das at Howrah Railway Station. His coffin was carried on foot from Howrah Railway Station to the cremation ground, two miles away. According to media sources, it was one of the largest funeral processions in Indian history with the largest gatherings. In Kanpur, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi and Jawaharlal Nehru led the funeral procession, and Kamala Nehru led the funeral of Jatindra Nath Das in Allahabad. The then Viceroy of India informed his London officials about the death of Jatindra Nath Das. He said,
Mr. Das of the conspiracy case, who was on hunger strike, died today at 1 pm. Last night five hunger strikers gave up their hunger strike. So, it is only Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt who are on strike.”
The book titled “Profile of Martyr Jatin Das” states that the dead body of Jatindra Nath Das, at the entrance of Lahore Jail, was photographed by The Tribune newspaper on the evening of 13 September 1929, and the photograph was described as That it was decorated with garlands and flowers. It is mentioned in this,
After taking the photo of the deceased hero, the bier was decorated with flowers and garlands. Jatin’s body was buried under a pile of flowers soaked in fragrant water. Lying on a large pillow, his head was just a skull. Marks of death agony were visible on the blood soaked face with sunken cheeks and pupils of the eyes. It was easy to see that it was destroyed inch by inch.
An excerpt from a news published by The Tribune India after the death of Jatin Nath Das in 1929
The picture of Jatin’s dead body, which shocked the souls of the Indian people, was published in the Tribune newspaper the day after his death and this anger of Indians forced the British Empire to change its policies regarding handing over the bodies of revolutionaries. Was forced to. their relatives. Reportedly, all shops from Lahore to Calcutta were closed during the funeral of Jatindra Nath Das. A large number of people gathered to join the funeral procession and some people were seen showering coins on his dead body. Other people were seen collecting these coins and heard saying that they would use these coins as jewelery for their children.
post mortem
Soon after the death of Jatindra Nath Das, Punjab Legislative Council leaders Mohammad Alam and Gopi Chand Bhargava resigned from their respective posts in the party, to protest against the British. Motilal Nehru adjourned the Central Assembly in protest against the ill-treatment meted out to Indian revolutionaries by the British government in prisons. On the martyrdom of Jatindra Nath Das, Congress Party leader Jawaharlal Nehru said,
Another name has been added to the long and illustrious list of Indian martyrs. Let us bow our heads and pray for the strength to continue the struggle, no matter how long it takes and no matter what the outcome, until victory is ours.”
Subhash Chandra Bose compared the martyrdom of Jatindra Nath Das with the sacrifice of Dadhichi. Bose said that Dadhichi, a famous mythological yogi, sacrificed his life to kill a demon and Jatindra Nath Das gave his life to overthrow the British Empire in India.
Facts/General Knowledge
- He was also called by the name Jatin.
- On 12 September 1929, a day before the martyrdom of Jatindra Nath Das, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had given a historic speech in which he had said that the soul of the man who was on hunger strike in Lahore jail believed in equality and justice. He said,
The man who goes on a fast has a soul. He is inspired by that spirit and he believes in the justice of his cause.”
- Inspired by the death of Jatindra Das due to hunger strike in Lahore jail, many other famous Indian freedom fighters protested against the many illegal detentions by the British government soon after.
- Later, Kama McLean, Associate Professor of South Asian and World History at the University of New South Wales, Australia, noted in her book “A Revolutionary History of Interwar India” that the British had stopped handing over the bodies of Indian revolutionaries to their families. . Jatindra Nath Das died in custody in Lahore jail. she wrote,
Das’s death had a major impact on nationalist politics, as depicted on the front page of The Tribune. After this the British stopped handing over the bodies of the revolutionaries to their families.”
He further said that the funeral procession of Jatindra Nath Das created a sensation in the press as the train carrying his body was stopped at major stations for many people to watch. she wrote,
Jatin Das’s body was handed over to the family, but Bengal Congress took the responsibility of sending him back to Bengal. The train stopped at major stations and many people saw the body. This created a sensation in the press and throughout Calcutta.
- During Das’s hunger strike, Kiran Das, younger brother of Jatindra Nath Das, looked after him in Lahore jail and this was permitted by the British government.
- Later, Shiv Verma, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Lahore jail and was one of the associates of Jitendra Nath Das, published a book ‘Memories’ in which Shiv Verma mentioned the nature of Jatin Das, which was serious. He was a healthy looking person. Soft spoken person.
- It is said that when Jitendra Nath Das was on hunger strike, he never followed the advice of doctors. He even refused to take medicines from him. He also rejected the advice of famous Congress Party politicians who had tried to persuade Jitendra Nath Das to stop his hunger strike. However, he took the medicine on the insistence of Bhagat Singh. Someone once asked Jatindra Nath Das why he followed the instructions of Bhagat Singh. Then he replied,
You don’t know how brave he is! I can never refuse his offerings.”
- Apparently, according to Jatindra Nath Das, the hunger strike was a rebellion against British rule in India. According to conversations with his revolutionary comrades, Jatindra Nath Das found the hunger strike more difficult than the gun battle. They said,
By announcing this hunger strike, we are jumping into a battle that will be hard to fight, even harder than a gun battle. Sliding towards death inch by inch is more difficult than facing death by bullet or dying on the gallows. Retreating after jumping into the struggle would be against the dignity of the revolutionaries. It is better not to get involved in the conflict than to withdraw yourself midway.”
- The Government of India issued a thirty paise postage stamp with the name and photograph of Jatindra Nath Das to honor his sacrifice in the Indian independence movements.
Jatindra Nath Das on a 1979 India stamp
- In 2002, the character of ‘Jatindra Nath Das’ was played by Indian actor Amitabh Bhattacharjee in the film ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’.
- ‘Amar Shaheed Jatin Das’, a documentary film was released in 2009 and the thirty-five-minute story depicted the sacrifices made by Jatindra Nath Das during the Indian freedom struggle.
- Later, in West Bengal, in the memory of Jatindra Nath Das, a statue was installed in Jatindradas Nagar to honor his sacrifice for the independence of India.
Statue of Jatindra Nath Das
- A research paper titled ‘How Empire Mattered: Imperial Structures and Globalization in the Era of British Imperialism’ concluded in its analysis that the death of Jatindra Nath Das due to a prolonged hunger strike was the result of resistance against illegal detention by the British government. This led to several more hunger strikes by Indian revolutionaries in Deoli and the Andaman Islands. It further analyzed that the British government found it difficult to justify illegal arrests of thousands of people without trial. It is mentioned in this,
The hunger strike by Jatin Das in 1929 that resulted in his death was a significant moment in the resistance against illegal detention; Hunger strikes in Deoli in 1932 and in the Andaman Islands in 1934 and 1937 further compounded the public relations problem the colonial government faced in explaining why it was detaining thousands of people without trial.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn