Titumir
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Titumir (Bangla: তিতুমীর) , properly Titu Mir, was a rebel against the zamindars and British colonial system in 19th century Bengal, part of British India. He rebelled against the rich landlords and colonial British rulers and put up an impressive resistance. Along with his followers, he built a Bamboo fort (Bansher-Kella in Bangla) which passed into Bengali folk legend. After the storming of the fort by British soldiers, Titumir died of his wounds on November 19, 1831.
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[edit] Early life
Titu Mir, real name Sayyid Mir Nisar Ali, was born on 27 January 1782 (14 Magh 1182 according to the Bangla calendar), in a small village named Chandpur, in the Bashirhat Thana area of the North 24 Parganas district (currently in West Bengal, India). His father was Mir Hassan Ali and his mother’s name was Abeeda Rukaya Khatun.
Titu Mir’s education was begun in his village school, after which he moved to a local Madrassa, a traditional Muslim school. By time he was 18 years of age, Titu Mir had become a Hafiz of the Qur'an, ie he knew large parts of it by heart, and a scholar of the Hadith or Muslim traditions. He was also accomplished in the Bengali, Arabic, and Persian. During this time he came under the influence of several Wahabi seers, who preached a mixture of militant Islam and anti-colonial thought and saw both religious and political reform as extremely necessary in Bengal of that time.
[edit] Freedom fighter
In 1822, Titu Mir went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, the Haj enjoined upon all Muslims, and on his return he commenced organizing the peasants of his native village against the landlords or Zamindars and the British colonialists. He also affected the 'tahband' a tube shaped garment worn around the waist, in preference to the dhoti, seen as more overtly Hindu, and enjoined his followers to do likewise.
Titu Mir opposed a number of discriminatory measures in force at that time which included taxes on the earing of beards and on mosques. The rift between Titu Mir and his followers on one side, and the local Zamindars supported by the British rulers on the other side, continued to widen, and armed conflict broke out at several places. Titu Mir had himself served a Zamindar as a 'lathial or 'lethel' a fighter with the quarterstaff, (which in Bengal is made of bamboo, not wood) and he was actively training his men in hand to hand combat and the use of the bamboo staff. This weapon in skilled hands is deadly against anything except projectile weapons.
The followers of Titu Mir, believed to have grown to 5,000 by that time, readied themselves for prolonged armed conflict, and they built their fort of bamboo at Narikelbaria, near the town of Barasat. This was surrounded by a high double curtain wall of bamboo stakes filled in with mud cladding and sun-baked.
Titu Mir declared independence from the British, and regions comprising the current districts of 24 Parganas, Nadia and Faridpur came under his control. The private armies of the Zamindars and the forces of the British met with a series of defeats at the hands of his men as a result of his strike-and-retreat guerrilla tactics.
Finally, the British forces, armed with cannon and muskets, mounted a concerted attacks on 14 November 1831, on Titu Mir and his followers. With their simple swords and spears, Titu Mir and his forces could not withstand the might of modern weapons, and were overwhelmed. The bamboo castle was destroyed, and Titu Mir was martyred along with several of his followers. The commanding officer of the British forces noted his opponent's bravery in despatches, and also commented on the strength and resilience of bamboo as a material for fortification, since he had had to pound it with artillery for a surprisingly long time before it gave way.
[edit] Legacy
The saga of the bravery of Titu Mir and the bamboo castle continue to be a source of inspiration to the Bengali people, and are also believed to have inspired the freedom fighters of Bangladesh in the liberation war of 1971. Mahasweta Devi wrote a novella called Titu Mir, and Titumir-er Basher Kella has been a popular play on TV in Bangladesh as well. It has also featured as a theme for Puja pandals which are often done up as historical tableaux.
Titumir Hall,a major dormitory of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology at Dhaka, is named after him.
[edit] Further reading
- Titumirer Bansher Kella (Bamboo Fort of Titumur, 1981) by Rabeya Khatun
