Biography of some famous Freedom Fighters
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The Accounts of the two Padma’s
Women in Freedom Movement :
Gandhiji advised people to ensure the participation of women in all movements. Mukunda Das, the Bengali bard from Barisal, sang, “ unless the womenfolk arise, India won’t get free”. In Medinipur, specially in Kanthi and Tamluk, women in large numbers took part in the movements from the early period of the upheaval. This is why in this part of the country the movement was all-embrasive, enduring and vehement. Here we propose to give brief accounts of two of those unsung female – heroes who, perhaps, like Joan of Arc, heard a voice in their heart that converted them from unlettered, uncultured, simple village-women to female heroes, a fountain of inspiration to people.
Padmabati Majhi
Pitchaboni :
1930, The afternoon of 6th May, Salt Law Violation Movement was afoot. Pitchaboni, a small village beside the Pitchaboni canal, 10 kms from kanthi town, was selected as the centre to produce salt violating the Colonial law against it. Volunteers from all parts of Bengal had come to take part in the ritualistic operation, and people from all around had assembled to greet the volunteers. A woman of a farmer family, clad in a Sari(cloth) woven of home-spun yarn, came, garlanded the volunteers and marked their foreheads with victory-streaks of vermilion. This was Padmabati.
A peasant family and the Mother :
Padmabati Majhi, an aged woman, lived at Rasulpur near Pitchaboni with her son, Jhareswar, who was a Primary school-teacher, her daughter-in –law and grand-children. She was proved that her son was the President over the meeting.
A hell-fire burnt by the police :
On 11th May, a court, after the fashion of a Kangaroo Court, was set up to sentenced Jhareswar, with others, to imprisonment for one and a half years and imposed a fine of Rs. 250/-. To realize the fine, the police raided the house of Jhareswar, seized the bullocks and cows and sent them to Kanthi town for sale, as no local buyer was founded. Then the policemen started their diabolical action. Padmabati and other inmates were kept standing to watch the action. All the articals of domestic movable property in the house were brought and hurled about. In front of the house, a fire was made of the straw out of the stack near by. Now, paddy grain stored in the granary, made of straw-rope, was being brought in buskets and offered to fire until the granary was there no more. Padmabati saw the food-stock of the family gone, saw the paddy-grain which she regarded as the house-hold deity, Lakshmi, going up in flame, but she did not shed tears.
The indestructible spirit :
In the afternoon, the volunteers visited her house, apparently to console the miserable lady. They found Padmabati lying on the verandah using a part of her ‘Sari’ as a bed-sheet, in absence of a piece of mat which had all been destroyed at noon. The woman said that she was all right, there was nothing to worry about her, rather she considered her son and herself blessed to have sacrificed their all for the cause of freedom. Next day she too served as a volunteer.
Padmabati Pal
The milk-maid :
Padmabati was born in the Bengali Year 1290 at Patharghata, a village beside Kanthi-junput road, to the south of Dowki. Birnarayan and Jhumrimoni were her parents. She was married to Baidyanath Pal of a neighbouring village, Subdi. But Baidyanath died a premature death leaving a male baby, Upendranath, and Padmabati. To bring her child up, the widow took to the job of a milk-maid. She collected milk from village-houses and with it would go to the town to vend it from house to house. She was popularly known as Padma, the Milk-maid.
The beasts in uniform :
One day after the Pitchaboni centre started producing salt, another centre was set up at Chaulkhola, about one and a half kms south, on 7th May. The centre was mainly for women volunteers to work, and Padma, then forty years old, was the leader. The police raided the centre. A policeman tried to pull down the flag-staff planted at the centre. Padma held it fast to her bosom and did not allow him to dishonour it. With their staff, the policeman showered blows on her, and when she fell down, they dragged her over the ground to a distance and thrust a baton into the female organ and left her only when she became unconscious. People brought her back to senses and took her to the doctor.
Feelings frozen and hardened :
The police barbarity had a treatmendous effect on people. They became more resolute. Feelings in them seemed to freeze and made them more adamant and enduring. In that afternoon a protest meeting was held at Saraswatitala of kanthi town. Two workers, Debaprasad and Sanat Kumar observed fast for ten days.
A living martyr :
Padmabati became a living martyr. She took part, thereafter, in all the movements- boycotting foreign goods, breaking glass bangles, making bonfire of foreign cloth.
Peace :
On the eve of the independence, Padmabati went to Gaya, a place of pilgrimage for the Hindus, and there, a few years later, passed away at the age of sixty.
Nikunja Bihari Maity ......‘The Chittaranjan of Khejuri’ :
The son of a middle –class teacher got the highest degree of the Calcutta University, accepted the Headmaster’s post in a Govt. aided High School, married the beautiful daughter of a well-to-do person, a Land-lord, and was thus ready to lead a peaceful, secured and so-called successful life. But the seeds of patriotism sown in him in boyhood days now sprouted and made him feel uneasy and discontented. At this time, in conformity with the Non-Co-operation Movement, the first National School of Bengal was proposed to be established in his native village. At once, the young man found his path- a path that promised nothing else for him personally but insecurity, suffering and sacrifice. He became the founder-Headmaster of the National School. This was Nikunja Bihari Maity of Khejuri.
Early life (Boyhood, education and marriage):
On 26th September, 1992, Nikunja bihari was born at Kalagetchia in Khejuri Police Station area of Kanthi Sub-division. He was the younger of the two sons of Biswanath Maity and Sabitry Maity. Biswanath was a teacher, patriot and freedom-fighter who had a part in organizing protest in Khejuri and bhagwanpur against the partition of Bengal in 1905. Nikunja had his primary education in his father’s school at Gopinathpur.Then he got admitted into Kanthi high School from where he passed the Matriculation Examination in the First Division in 1911. From Berhampore Krishnanath College of Mursidabad, he passed the B.A. Examination and obtained M.A. degree in English from Calcutta university. He joined the staff of Nandigram B.N. Sikshaniketan as its Headmaster and married Ahalya Devi, the daughter of Sagar Chandra Das, who was the landlord of Kalicharanpur in Nandigram P.S.
The Headmaster :
It is already stated that Nikunja Bihari started his career as a Headmaster First, he served Nandigram B.N.Sikshaniketan which he left to take charge of the National School at Kalagetchia. Soon he left it too to take the leadership in a larger area. In 1929 again, in the face of a financial crisis, he had to take up the job of the Headmaster of a High School at Diamaond Harbour for one year. Then again in 1934, having just been released from jail, he became the headmaster of Srinath Institution in 24-Parganas, on the request of its Secretary. Whichever school he served, however short might be his tenure, he always left a lasting impression.
Jail – the price for patriotism :
Nikunja Bihari had to go to jail for as many as five times. In 1921, on the occasion of the British king, George the Fifth, coming to Calcutta, Nikunja organized strike and demonstration, and was consequently arrested and jailed. In 1930, during Salt Satyagraha Movement, as a Congress leader he addressed many meetings, and as a result he was arrested on April 25 and had to be in prison till the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed. In 1933 again, Nikunja Bihari with some others, in observance of the Independence Day, organized a large meeting at Darua, violating 144 P.C., and was, therefore, arrested and jailed for six months. In 1940, after the Ramgarh conference of the Congress, he observed personal ‘Satyagraha’, gave speeches against war, was arrested on 9th December and had to serve a prison term for another six months. He attended the Bombay Congress (1942) which adopted the historic ‘Quit-India’ resolution. Coming back, he organized meetings, was arrested and kept in jail till 1945. This term was not only long but also harrowing. At first he was kept in Medinipur central jail, but when he was ill he was transferred to the Presidency Jail for treatment. His wife and daughters were not allowed to see him. From the jail he got the news of the devastating flood in Medinipur, the precarious condition of his family and the suffering of people. The only silver lining of the cloud that he heard of was the heroic fight of people.
Social Worker :
In 1926 when the three rivers –Keleyghai, Kangsabati and Shilabati – were in devastating mood, a large area of Kanthi Sub-division was flooded. The Relief Committee with Acharya P.C. Roy as the President and Birendranath Sasmal and himself as the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary worked vigorously for the relief of the suffering people. In 1931, when Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed and the Civil Disobedience Movement came to a halt, Nikunja Bihari took up the 18-point programme of Gandhiji in right earnest to put it into effect. He tried to channelise the newly aroused sentiment and enthusiasm through constructive courses like mutual settlement of crop-sharing disputes between land-owners and tenants, doing away with untouchability and popularizing spinning and ‘Khadi’.
Move against Untouchability :
Nikunja bihari made many meetings arguing against the curse of untouchability. He took some positive steps. Mass –feasts in which people, irrespective of caste and creed, were to sit together in the same rows were arranged. One instance caused a lot of sensation. At Serkhanchauk there is a temple of Lord Shiva. As it was usual, people belonging to the so-called lower classes, were not allowed to enter the temple. At the portal, nikunja observed fasting and declared that he would go on fasting until and unless the door was open to all. The temple authority had to give in.
Political Role –before and after Independence :
As a devoted Congress leader of the Sub-division and the district, he took part in all its programmes sincerely. With his daughter, Abha maity, he accompanied and looked after Gandhiji, when the great man visited kanthi for the second time, in 1945, nikunja was the President of the Provincial Committee formed by the Congress in order to execute the Land Donation project launched by Binoba bhavey in the post-independence era. He joined the Ministry of West Bengal, headed by Dr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, as its Education Minister. When he resigned the ministry in a matter of principle, the Ministry fell. Dr. bidhan Chandra Roy formed the Ministry and Mr. Maity was in charge of the Relief & Rehabilitation department in addition to Co-operatives & supply. He was so pre-occupied with the relief and rehabilitation problem of refugee-influxes-numbering no fewer than ten lakhs in 1946-48 – that he scarcely found time to pay attention to local demands of his constituency and consequently was defeated in the first general election of 1952. however, in the next few years, mr. Maity worked so vigorously getting all the congress organizations and workers in different constructive work that in the next election in 1957 Congress won 22 Assembly seats out of 32 and 4 Parliamentary seats out of 5 in Medinipur and he himself won the Ghatal parliamentary seat.
Last phase of Life :
Nikunja Bihari had three daughters all of whom were well-established. The eldest one, Abha maity, taking the cue from her father, took part in Congress-led movements and became minister in the state and and at the centre, while the younger two were M.BB.S.doctor. Mr. Maity spent the rest of his life like a devout Hindu and dedicated disciple of Gandhiji. Everyday he read from the scripture, spun yarn and said prayers. He was a truly religious person without a trace of narrowness aor fanaticism, a man of catholicity, believing God to dwell in every heart without any exception. He left the mortal world on May 19,in 1970.
Nabin, the Hero............ Another ‘Indranath’ of Sarat Chandra’s ‘Srikanta’.
Panchrole is a fairly big village, beside a dense forest, about 16 km. south- west to Egra. A carnivorous animal of the cat family, abounding in the forest, often raided the locality in search of prey and preyed on ducks, hens, goats or calves and even attacked human beings, if baulked. The animal was called ‘Kuk-Bagh’, ( in Bengali ‘Bagh’ means tiger and “Kuk’ suggested the sound they made), perhaps, because of its ferocity. One evening suddenly people cried out, ‘Kuk-bagh ! Kuk-Bagh !’. A young man was going somewhere with a lantern in one hand and an earthen jar in the other. Attracted by the shout, he ran to a house which seemed to be the source of the noise, marked something lurking behind a tree. As he drew near the object to examine it in the light of his lantern, a ‘Kuk-bagh’ sprang upon him. The young man struck the animal on the head with earthen jar, and both the jar and the head were smashed. This youngman, a stranger to fear, was thereafter came to be known as Nabin, the hero.
Nabin on his way to be a revolutionary :
His full name was Nabin Chandra Das Mahapatra. He was born on 15th April, 1912. His father’s name was Dr. Nabakumar Dasmahapatra. Many a man of this village, Panchrole, like Dr. Kshitish Chandra Dasmahapatra, Girish Chandra Dasmahapatra, Dr. Hemanta Kumar Dasmahapatra, Biraja Kanta Dasmahapatra took active parts in the freedom movement of India. Patriotic feelings ran high at the time and Nabin Chandra imbibed the spirit to his fill. At first Nabin Was a student of Kanthi High School, but he left it to get admitted to the National School at Kanthi, and soon left that scool to in order to devote himself to the cause of the freedom movement.
Mental strength on a par with physical strength :
Nabin was about eighteen when Salt Satyagraha started in 1930. Leaving school. He became a member of the ‘Freedom Struggle Organisation of Egra’. Jointly with Jiban Krishna Chakrabarty, Nabin Chandra was in charge of the Congress Workers’ Camps in Egra P.S.. The salt producing centres in the western part of Egra fell within his area of supervision. He wandered from centre to centre encouraging the volunteers and overseeing the operation. One day when he was at the Gopalpur centre he became the target of police atrocity. The police who had the order to stop the operation by any means were scaring away the volunteers by beating them at random. Because of his tall and healthy figure, the police caught sight of Nabin. But, however thick and fast did the blows rain down upon him, Nabin Chandra neither made any attempt to protect himself, nor did he flee. He stood like a rock until he fell down unconscious.
Another feat :
Another incident took place on 22nd April of that year when he was in charge of the Thakurchauk centre. That day he was ill, but physical illness could not deter him from doing his duty. He saw a constable dismantling the flag-staff and tearing away the tri-colour flag with the spinning wheel at the centre.But before he could defile it, in the twinkle of an eye, Nabin snatched the flag out of his grasp, jumped into a pond nearby, swam across to the other side and vanished with the flag.
‘Quit-India’ Movement (1942) :
On 07.08.1942, the All India Congress Committee, in its Bombay (now Mumboi) session, adopted the historic ‘Quit-India’ resolution, and Gandhiji declared – “We’ll do or die”. The slogan fired the hearts of the leaders and common people of Kanthi and Tamluk. In Egra P.S., a war-Council was formed with Dr. Basanta Kumar Sou (Das) as the Commander-in-Chief. Nabin Chandra was a member of the Council and was in charge of training the volunteers in the South western part of Egra P.S. Under his leadership, a team of volunteers disrupted the rail, road and telegraph communication between Jaleswar in Orissa and Balighai in Kanthi sub-division. The British declared a handsome reward for anyone who could facilitate his arrest. And the race of Judas is never extinct. With the help of a traitor, Nabin was arrested by the Mohonpur police, while he was sleeping, on 26th February, 1943. he was kept in jail till the British Quit India.
Last Days :
Coming out of jail after the country had become free, Nabin Chandra led a peaceful life. The Government awarded him a bronje medal in appreciation of his contribution to the cause of freedom. On 6th July, 1987, Nabin Chandra Das Mahapatra left the mortal world, and perhaps, passed into an Ellysium, the Blissful home for patriots and heros after death.
Dr.Rasbihari Pal
The salt of the earth :
When God gives something, he gives it galore. During the first half of the twentieth century, Kanthi and its surroundings found a number of men and women who, by the high standard of life they lived, by the sacrifice they made for the country and people, by the excellence they showed in different fields, brought in a golden era in the area. They were the salt of the earth. Dr. Rasbihari Pal was one of this class.
Birth and Education :
On 16th January of 1905, Rasbihari was born at Purba Radhapur in Bhagwanpur P.S.. He was the first child of Jasodamoyee Pal and Muchiram Pal, a poor couple of the village. As a student, Rasbihari was meritorious and made his mark in every examination he sat for. From the village Primary School he went to Haripur Middle English School and from there he passed the final examination with the credit of winning a scholarship. After reading one year in Mugberia Ganghadhar high School, he came to Kanthi and got admitted to Kanthi High School. However, responding to the call of boycotting Govt. or Govt.-aided Schools, he left kanthi High School to get admission to Kalagetchia National School in 1921. Next year he passed the final examination [ equivalent to Matriculation of the Goudiya Sarba-bidyayatan, which had 200 schools under it, and stood fourth among the successful candidates. Then he ot admission to National Medical Institute, established in 1921 by Dr. Sundarimohon Das. Four years after, he passed its final examination in the First Class, standing First in order of merit and thereby winning the gold medal. Thereafter, he practiced in Kolkata for some time.
Parts played in political movements :
In 1930, Rasbihari came back to Kanthi and joined the Salt Satyagraha movement. His special assignment was to maintain a link between Kanthi and Kolkata. It goes to his credit that the Congress organization in Khejuri P.S. became stronger and wider. He also played a useful role in the ‘No-Tax’ movement of 1932 led by Birendra Nath Sasmal. In 1935, he married Geeta Devi, daughter of a veteran Congress leader, Sashi Bhusan Bhowmik, through nuptial happiness could by no means overshadow his role in the political movement. When, in 1938, the Sub-divisional Congress Committee was reformed with 33 members, Rasbihari was made Assistant Secretary to it. He was arrested in 1941 and jailed for one year, and the next year he was again arrested from his house at Kisorenagar and this time he was kept confined for three years.He was released in 1945 and towards the end of the year when Gandhiji visited Kanthi for the second time, Rasbihari was the Secretary of the Reception Committee. The fact that Gandhiji was deeply impressed by the high standard of discipline shown by volunteers and people in prayer meetings and the general meeting and referred to it repeatedly may bear testimony to his organizing skill.
A ‘Mobile Hospital’:
Dr. Rasbihari pal was called a ‘Mobile Hospital’. Wherever he went, he always kept a letter-head and a pen with him, examined any patient he came across and prescribed medicine for him. As to fees for the prescription, it was not acceptable from the poor or from Congress workers, and it was purely optional in case of others. He attended Congress Conferences at Ramgarh of Bihar (1940), Jaipur of Rajasthan (1948) and Kalyani (1957), and everywhere he was found to carry with him a dispensary dispensing medicine, whenever needed, free of cost. One instance may suffice to show how highly he valued his duty as a doctor. It was 1939. The first food-taking ceremony of his only son Goutam was arranged. Guests and relatives had arrived. At this time a messenger came with the news that a Congress worker, Basanta Kumar Khatua, who was critically ill and, according to a certain Dr. Bera, required to undergo an operation immediately, needed his advice. Without hesitation Dr. Pal went out on bicycle, attended the patient, prescribed medicine, assuring of no necessity for immediate operation. Gradually Mr. Khatua came round.
Post-independence period :
After independence, unwilling to hold any post,Rasbihari preferred to spend time. On serving the society and working for Congress organization. But in 1957, urged by the party, he had to contest the South Kanthi Assembly seat and won it by a huge margin. He used his power and influence to bring about an all-round development of the Sub-division-in agriculture, irrigation, drainage, relief and rehabilitain and co-operatives. He occupiet a seat in West Bengal Legislative Council from 1962 to 1969. During this period, he also had to function as the Chairman of the Medinipur District School Board. He was instrumental in establishing a lot of Primary and Lower Basic Schools, Health Centres and Kanthi Polytechnic College. When the Congress was split in 1969, a political crisis that ensued caught many veteran leaders in a dilemma. After a few years of turmoil, came up the Janata Party, a conglomeration of some parties including a Congress splinter group.Dr. Pal joined the party and as a Janata candidate won the Kanthi (North) seat in 1977 general election.
Magnum Opus :
With the active co-operation of a Working Council, Basanta Kumar Das, Dr. Rasbihari Pal and Prof. Haripada maity have recorded,a glorious, yet critical period of Midnapur’s history in ‘Swadinata Sangramei Medinipur’ in three volumes of which the third one owes largely to Dr. Pal.
Death :
Dr. Pal had a chronic cardiac problem. For the last six years of his life, he was almost bed-ridden. As the 1995th year just passed making room for the 1996th year, to be exact at 2.40 a.m., his tired heart stopped beating. It signaled, perhaps, not only the end of a year but the end of a golden period.
A brief estimation of the man :
That Rasbihari was completely free from the lucre-lust was evident from the fact that, in spite of being a doctor by profession, being an M.L.A. for two terms, he lived in a house made of unburnt mud-brick and thatched roofing, and his wife had to walk on tight rope keeping balance between income and expenditure. He did not have the usual vices of a politicial. He was amicable to all, to friends and foes, to men of his own party and to those of other ones. Abusive language was foreign to him. A man of calm and cool temperament, he was never found to lose his cool. Regarding religious ideas, he believed –Service to man is service to God and every heart is only seat of God.
