| Pritilata Waddedar | |
|---|---|
| Native name | প্রীতিলতা ওয়াদ্দেদার |
| Born | 5 May 1911 Chittagong, Bangladesh; erstwhile Bengal, British India |
| Died | 23 September 1932 (aged 21) Chittagong, Bangladesh; erstwhile Bengal, British India |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Pritilata Waddedar (Bengali: প্রীতিলতা ওয়াদ্দেদার) (5 May 1911 – 23 September 1932) was a Bengali anti-British revolutionary from what is now Bangladesh.
Contents |
Born in Chittagong on 5 May 1911, she was a meritorious student at the Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School of Chittagong and passed the matriculation examination in the first division in 1928.[1] She continued her education in Eden College, Dhaka and in 1929, she passed the Intermediate examinations securing the fifth place among all the candidates from Dhaka Board.[1] Two years later, Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College of Kolkata. In her college days, Pritilata used to visit Ramkrishna Biswas, a rebel who later was hanged. Pritilata received combat training from Nirmal Sen. He died on 10/11 June 1932.
In early 1930s, Pritilata joined Surya Sen's armed resistance movement. In 1932, Surya Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the notorious sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. He assigned Pritilata to lead a team of 10-12 men that would attack the Club on September 23, 1932.[1][2] Members of the team were instructed to carry potassium cyanide with them so that in case they were caught by police they could swallow it before the arrest. Kalpana Datta, a fellow revolutionary of Pritilata said, "Surya Sen told us he does not support suiciding. But he took Potassium Cyanide from me before he went".[1] The raid was successful but Pritilata, dressed as a man was trapped without a way of escape on that fateful night. She committed suicide by swallowing cyanide, thus ending her short endeavor in fighting for freedom of her country. Some say that Pritilata committed suicide voluntarily to convey the message that women can, and have to, sacrifice their lives for securing the freedom of India from British Colonial Rule.
Pritilata was vocal against gender discrimination. She wrote a letter a day before she died in which she questioned her countrymen for it. Pritilata was the headmistress of "Nandankanon Aparna Charan School" in Chittagong.[1]
In Ashutosh Gowariker's film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey based on the Chittagong Uprising in 1932, newcomer Vishakha Singh debuts in the role of Preetilata Waddedar. She is the only other heroine in the film besides Deepika Padukone, who plays the revolutionary Kalpana Datta.