Surya Sen was a Bengali freedom fighter. He was a revolutionary against British rule in Bengal and the Indian subcontinent during the Indian independence movement. He served as the President of the Chittagong branch of the Indian National Congress in 1918. In 1930, he was appointed as the leader of the Chittagong armory raid.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Surya Sen was born in Noapara village, Thana Raojan, Chittagong on Thursday, 22 March 1894 (age 39 years at time of death). His zodiac sign was Aries. He received his primary school education at Dayamoy Primary School. He received his middle school education from Noapada Higher English School. In 1912, he began his Bachelor of Arts studies at Berhampur College (now Krishnath College), Murshidabad.
Physical Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
A statue of Surya Sen in front of the Calcutta High Court
Family
Surya Sen belonged to a Baidya family in Noapada under Raozan upazila of Chittagong.
parents and siblings
His father’s name was Rajmoni Sen and he was a teacher. His mother’s name was Shila Bala Devi. Surya was the fourth child among six siblings. His parents died at an early age. All the children were brought up by their uncle ‘Gauromoni’.
Wife
Surya Sen was married to Poshapo Kontola Dutta in 1919.
early life
Surya Sen was pursuing his Bachelor of Arts at Berhampur College (now Krishnath College) in Murshidabad, West Bengal, when he came to know about the Indian independence movements through one of his teachers in 1916. As a result, he became attracted to the ideals. Revolutionary freedom fighters soon started participating in a revolutionary organization called Anushilan Samiti. In 1918, he went back to Chittagong and started teaching mathematics at Nandankanan, a national school. In school he was called Master Da. Later, he left his teaching career to join the Indian independence movements. The Indian National Congress was the leading political party in Bengal at that time and he began serving as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1918.
Participation in non-cooperation movement
Surya Sen actively participated in the non-cooperation movement started by Mahatma Gandhi. Later, Surya Sen was arrested for his involvement in Indian independence movements and was imprisoned for two years from 1926 to 1928. During his revolutionary activities, Surya Sen was fond of repeating his phrase:
“Humanism is a special quality of a revolutionary.”
raid on chittagong armory
In 1928, Surya Sen was released by the British government and he again started participating in revolutionary activities in Chittagong. In 1930, he joined a group of revolutionaries in the Chittagong branch and founded an organization called the Indian Republican Army (IRA) along with other like-minded people like Nirmal Sen and Ambika Chakraborty. On 18 April 1930, he planned a raid on the police armory and additional forces in the Chittagong armoury. According to the plan, the revolutionaries divided themselves into five groups and weapons were seized from the armory by destroying the city’s communications system, including telephones, telegraphs, and railways. The communication system isolated the British government from the city of Chittagong. Weapons were confiscated by the revolutionaries after the raid; However, they failed to capture the ammunition. Immediately after the raid, they hoisted the Indian national flag at the scene and fled. A few days after the raid on the hills of Jalalabad, the British police captured a large number of revolutionaries. Twelve revolutionaries and eighty police soldiers died in the clash between police personnel and revolutionaries. Many of them were arrested by the police and some of them managed to escape, including Surya Sen. The fleeing revolutionaries hid in local villages and divided themselves into small groups, continuing raids on government treasuries and properties.
Chittagong attack youth after being captured by British soldiers
Surya Sen was the recruitment chief of the revolutionaries and youth involved in the Chittagong raid. Some of the famous freedom fighters who participated in the raid were Anant Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and Loknath Bal. They all fought against the British Empire in Chittagong.
An excerpt from a newspaper article shortly after the Chittagong armory raid
Immediately after the raid, Surya Sen kept running away from the police. During this time, he did many jobs including that of a labourer, a farmer, a priest, a domestic worker to earn his livelihood. He also lived as a Muslim at one time. During this time, once he hid at his friend’s house. A relative of Surya Sen named Netra Sen lived near the house of Surya Sen’s friend. Soon, Netra Sen informed the police about Surya Sen’s whereabouts, and upon receiving information about Surya, the police came and arrested him in February 1933. After the incident, Netra Sen was beheaded by a man with a sharp and long knife. Surya Sen’s colleagues before being honored by the British Government. This entire incident was witnessed by Netra Sen’s wife, but she did not reveal the name of the revolutionary who killed her husband because she was a supporter of Surya Sen. Tarakeshwar Dastidar was the second revolutionary who was hanged along with Surya Sen.
Death
On 16 February 1933, Surya Sen was arrested by the British police and he was hanged on 12 January 1934. Many of his associates were also arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Reportedly, Surya Sen was brutally tortured and hanged by the British government. The jailer broke his bones, organs, joints and teeth with a hammer and pulled out his nails so that he could not say ‘Vande Mataram’. In the last letter written by Surya Sen to his friends it was said,
Death is knocking at my door. My mind is flying towards eternity. At such a happy, such a grave, at such a solemn moment, what will I leave behind you? There is only one thing, that is my dream, the golden dream – the dream of independent India. Never forget the date, April 18, 1930, the day of the Eastern Rebellion in Chittagong. “Write in red letters in the depths of your heart the names of those patriots who sacrificed their lives at the altar of India’s freedom.”
Facts/General Knowledge
- His full name was Surya Kumar Sen. He was also called by the name of Surya Sen.
- The gallows on which Surya Sen was hanged has been designated as a historical monument by the Government of Bangladesh.
Surya Sen’s hanging platform
front hanging platform
side hanging platform
- ‘Masterda Surjo Sen Metro Station’, a metro railway station in Kolkata, India, was built in the memory of Surya Sen.
- The movement started by Surya Sen in 1930 was inspired by the Easter Rebellion of 1916 in Ireland. After the death sentence to Surya Sen, the movement led by him came to an end.
- During the arms raid on 18 April 1930, two leaflets were distributed throughout Chittagong city. Chittagong’s independence was declared after Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement in a pamphlet that read “Breaking the Laws of Sedition”. The second pamphlet was a call to the youth of India to join revolutionary movements against the British Raj in India.
- In 1928, Surya Sen established a gymnasium in Chittagong for the young revolutionaries of India. He ordered his comrades to improve their physical and psychological stamina by engaging in regular physical exercise. The exercises he focused on included swimming, boating, climbing trees, running sticks, throwing knives, boxing etc.
- Surya Sen and his revolutionary comrades carried out the attack on the armory on 18 April 1930, which was a holiday on the occasion of Good Friday. That day, most Europeans, including police personnel, were at home. This raid successfully captured the headquarters of the European Club.
- In 1932, a wanted poster was distributed by the Inspector General of Police of Chittagong immediately after the Chittagong Raid. The reward amount for the informant was Taka 10,000.
Surya Sen’s 10,000 taka wanted poster distributed by the Inspector General of Police Division, Chittagong in 1932
- A postage stamp was issued in 1978 by the Government of India commemorating Surya Sen’s fight for India’s independence during the Chittagong attack in 1930.
A postage stamp commemorating the life and legacy of Surya Sen
- In 1949, a Bengali film named ‘Chattagram Astragar Lunthan’ was made on the life of Surya Sen.
‘Chattagram Astragar Lunthan’ is a Bengali film based on the life of Surya Sen.
- In 2010, a Bollywood film titled ‘Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se’ directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar was based on the life story of Surya Sen. Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan was the lead hero of the film.
Poster of the movie Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se
- In 2012, a film named Chittagong was released directed by Bedabrata Penn in which Indian actor Manoj Bajpayee played the lead role in the film. The film was based on the armory raid carried out by Surya Sen and his revolutionary comrades in 1930.
movie chittagong poster
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn