Jatindra Nath Das
| Jatindra Nath Das | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Jatindra Nath Das October 27, 1904 Calcutta, British India |
| Died |
September 13, 1929 (aged 24) Lahore, British India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Known for | Indian freedom fighter |
Jatindra Nath Das (27 October 1904 – 13 September 1929), also known as Jatin Das, was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary. He died in Lahore jail after a continuous hunger strike for 63 days and it shocked the whole of India.
Early life
Jatindra Das was born in a Bengali family in 1904 at Calcutta. He had joined the Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary outfit in Bengal, at a young age. He also participated in Gandhi's Non-Cooperation movement in 1921.
In November 1925, while studying for a B.A. at Vidyasagar College in Calcutta, Jatindra Nath was arrested for his political activities and was imprisoned at the Mymensingh Central Jail. While being interned there, he went on a hunger strike to protest the ill-treatment meted out to the political prisoners. After fasting for twenty days, the Jail Superintendent apologised and he gave up the fast. He was contacted by revolutionaries in other parts of India and agreed to participate in bomb-making for Bhagat Singh and comrades.
On 14 June 1929 he was arrested for revolutionary activities and was imprisoned in Lahore jail to be tried under the supplementary Lahore Conspiracy Case.
The hunger strike
In the Lahore jail, Jatin Das started a hunger strike along with other revolutionary fighters, demanding equality for Indian prisoners and undertrials. The conditions of Indian inhabitants of the jails was deplorable. The uniforms that Indian prisoners were required to wear in jail with were not washed for several days, and rats and cockroaches roamed the kitchen area making the food unsafe to eat. Indian prisoners were not provided with any reading material such as newspapers, nor paper to write on. In contrast, the condition of the British prisoners in the same jail was strikingly different.
The memorable hunger strike started on 15 June 1929 and lasted 63 days.[1] The jail authority took many measures to forcibly feed Jatin Das and the other freedom fighters, beat them and did not even provide them with drinking water.[2] However, Jatindra did not eat. The jail committee recommended his unconditional release, but the government rejected the suggestion and offered to release him on bail. Meanwhile Bhagat singh continued his hunger stike for long, and when he suspended his hunger strike, it was 116th day since 15 June 1929.
Jatin died on September 13, 1929, after his unbroken hunger strike for 63 days.[3] Durga Bhabhi led the funeral procession of Jatin Das from Lahore to Kolkata. As his body was carried from Lahore to Kolkata by train, thousands of people rushed to every station to pay their homage to the martyr. A two-mile long procession in Kolkata carried the coffin to the cremation ground.[4] The hunger strike of Jatin Das in prison was one crucial moment in the resistance against illegal detentions.[5] After his death, the Viceroy informed London.:[6]
Mr Das of the Conspiracy Case, who was on hunger strike, died this afternoon at 1 p.m. Last night, five of the hunger strikers gave up their hunger strike. So there are only Bhagat Singh and Dutt who are on strike ...
The highest tributes were paid by almost every leader in the country. Mohammad Alam and Gopi Chand Bhargava resigned from the Punjab Legislative Council in protest. Motilal Nehru proposed the adjournment of the Central Assembly as a censure against the inhumanity of the Lahore prisoners. The censure motion was carried by 55 votes against 47.
Remembrance
"Another name has been added to the long and splendid roll of Indian martyrs. Let us bow our heads and pray for strength to act to carry on the struggle, however long it may be and whatever consequences , till the victory is ours ". This is what Jawahar Lal Nehru said while commenting on death of Jatin Das.[7]
In popular culture
In the 2002 film The Legend of Bhagat Singh, the character of Jatin Das was played by Amitabh Bhattacharjee[8] .
See also
Notes
- ↑ Heroes of Anti Imperialist (British) Movement
- ↑ Dr. Premdatta Verma, Punjab University Weekly Bulletin, 19 September 1964
- ↑ Indian Post article
- ↑ Gateway for India article
- ↑ Ghosh, Durba (4–5 April 2003). "Britain’s Global War on Terrorism:containing political violence and insurgency in the interwar years" (DOC). How Empire Mattered: Imperial Structures and Globalization in the Era of British Imperialism. Berkeley, CA. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ↑ The martyr: Bhagat Singh experiments in revolution by Kuldip Nayar
- ↑ Contemporary India , NCERT textbook in Social Studies
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1569093/
External links
- Indian Post article
- The Pioneer article by Balbir Punj
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