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Pritilata Waddedar

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Pritilata Waddedar
Born(1911-05-05)5 May 1911
Patiya, Eastern Bengal and Assam, British India (now in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh)
Died24 September 1932(1932-09-24) (aged 21)[1]
Chittagong, Bengal Province, British India (now Chittagong, Bangladesh)
Cause of deathSuicide by consuming potassium cyanide
Other namesRani (nickname)
Alma materBethune College
OccupationSchool teacher
Known forPahartali European Club attack (1932)
Parents
  • Jagabandhu Waddedar (father)
  • Pratibha Devi (mother)
RelativesAsh Sarkar (great-great-niece)
Signature

Pritilata Waddedar (5 May 1911 – 24 September 1932)[1][2] was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist from Chittagong who was influential in the Indian independence movement.[3] She is often praised as "Bengal's first woman martyr".[4][5]

After completing her education from Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' High School in Chittagong and Eden College (now Eden Mohila College) in Dhaka, Pritilata graduated in philosophy from the Bethune College in Calcutta. She worked as a school teacher for sometime before becoming part of the Indian Independence movement. In 1932, she joined a revolutionary group headed by Surya Sen. In September 1932, she led a group of revolutionaries in an armed attack on the Pahartali European Club. The revolutionaries torched the club and shot at it later, and one person was killed and eleven people were injured in the attack. After being cornered by the colonial police, Pritilata committed suicide by consuming potassium cyanide as planned earlier.

Early life

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Matriculation examination certificate of Pritilata

Pritilata Waddedar was born in a middle-class Bengali Baidya Brahmin family on 5 May 1911 in Dhalghat village in Patiya upazila of Chittagong (in present day Bangladesh).[6][7][8] The family originally held the surname Dasgupta; Waddedar was a title conferred to an ancestor of the family. Her father Jagabandhu Waddedar was a clerk in the Chittagong municipality, and her mother Pratibhamayi Devi was a housewife.[3][9] Pritilata was the second of six children, and had an elder brother Madhusduan, and four younger siblings–Kanaklata, Shantilata, Ashalata and Santosh. She was nicknamed Rani.[9] Jagabandhu tried to arrange the best possible education for his children, and got Pritilata admitted to the Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School in Chittagong.[10] Pritilata was a meritorious student in school,[11] and arts and literature were her favourite subjects.[12] A teacher in the school, whom students affectionately used to call Usha Di, used stories of Rani Lakshmibai to inspire nationalism in her students. Kalpana Datta, a classmate of Pritilata, wrote in the biography Chittagong Armoury Raiders– "We had no clear idea in our school days about our future. Then the Rani of Jhansi fired our imagination with her example. Sometimes we used to think of ourselves as fearless...".[13] She passed out of school in 1928 and got admitted to the Eden College in Dhaka in 1929. In the Intermediate examinations, she stood first among all students who appeared in that year's examination from the Dhaka Board.[14][10] As a student in Eden College, she participated in various social activities. She joined the group Sree Sangha, headed by Leela Nag, under the banner Deepali Sangha (Dipali Sangha).[14]

Pritilata graduated in philosophy with a distinction from the Bethune College in Calcutta.[15] However, her degree was withheld by the administration of the Calcutta University. In 2012, she (and Bina Das) were conferred their certificates posthumously.[16] After completing her education in Calcutta, Pritilata returned to Chittagong. In Chittagong, she took up the job of headmistress at a local English medium secondary school called Nandankanan Aparnacharan School.[14][10][17]

Revolutionary activities

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Joining Surya Sen's group

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"Pritilata was young and courageous. She would work with a lot of zeal and was determined to drive the British away."

Binod Bihari Chowdhury, a contemporary revolutionary[18]

As Pritilata joined the Indian independence movement, Surya Sen heard about her and wanted her to join their revolutionary group.[18] On 13 June 1932, Pritilata met Surya Sen and Nirmal Sen in their Dhalghat camp.[9] Binod Bihari Chowdhury objected to her participation as women was not allowed to join their group. However, Pritalata was allowed to join the group because the revolutionaries reasoned that women transporting weapons would not attract as much suspicious as men.[18] Pritilata took part in several attacks on telephone and telegraph offices in the region and the capture of the reserve police line.[7] She took the responsibility to supply explosives to the revolutionaries.[3]

Meeting Ramkrishna Biswas

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Surya Sen and his revolutionary group decided to kill Craig, the inspector general of Chittagong. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were assigned for this task. However, they mistakenly killed Tarini Mukherjee, the superintendent of police in Chandpur. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were arrested on 2 December 1930.[19] Biswas was ordered to be hanged and Chakravarty was exiled to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[20] The family and friends lacked the amount of money for travel from Chittagong to Alipore Jail in Calcutta. Since at that time Pritilata was staying in Calcutta, she was asked to go to Alipore Jail and meet Biswas before his punishment was carried out.[20] Pritilata used to meet him in the alias of his cousin sister.[21]

Pahartali European Club attack (1932)

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The Pahartali European Club (shown here in 2010) was torched by the group of revolutionaries.

In 1932, Surya Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European Club which had a signboard that read "Dogs and Indians not allowed".[22][23][24] Sen decided to appoint a woman leader for the mission. As Kalpana Datta was arrested prior to the planned attack, Pritilata was assigned the leadership of the group. Pritilata went to Kotowali sea side for arms training and the plan of their attack was finalised there.[10] It was decided to attack the club on 24 September 1932, and the members of the group were given potassium cyanide, to be swallowed to commit suicide if they were caught.[14][1]

On the day of the attack, Pritilata dressed herself as a Punjabi male. Her associates Kalishankar Dey, Bireshwar Roy, Prafulla Das, Shanti Chakraborty wore dhoti and shirt. Mahendra Chowdhury, Sushil Dey and Panna Sen wore lungi and shirt.[20] The group reached the club at around 10:45 pm to launch their attack, and divided themselves into three separate groups. There were around 40 people inside the club during the attack. The building was set on fire before the armed group started shooting into it. A few armed police officers, who were present at the club, returned fire. Pritilata was shot and incurred a single bullet wound. According to the police report, one woman was killed, and four men and seven women were injured in the attack.[20]

Death

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There is a plaque dedicated to Pritilata at the place where she committed suicide

An injured Pritilata was trapped by the colonial police, and she consumed potassium cyanide to evade capture.[3][18] The police found her body the next day, and found a photograph of Ramkrishna Biswas, some bullets, a whistle, some leaflets, and a draft plan of the attack. She had a suicide note with her, where she had penned down the objectives of the Indian Republican Army of Chittagong branch. In the letter, along with the names of Surya Sen and Nirmal Sen, she had also mentioned about her experience of meeting Ramkrishna Biswas in the Alipore Jail.[21]

During the post-mortem examination, it was found that the bullet injury was not life threatening and her cause of death was ruled as cyanide poisoning.[20] The chief secretary of Bengal sent a report to British authorities in London. In the report it was written that Pritilata:[25]

had been closely associated with, if not actually the mistress of, the terrorist Biswas who was hanged for the murder of Inspector Tarini Mukherjee, and some reports indicate that she was the wife of Nirmal Sen who was killed while attempting to evade arrest at Dhalghat, where Captain Cameron fell.

Influence and legacy

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Bangladeshi writer Selina Hossain calls Pritilata an ideal for every woman.[26] The Birkannya Pritilata Trust (Brave lady Pritilata Trust) was established to promote the life and achievements of her, and commemorates her birthday annually.[27][28] Her great-grandniece is British journalist and activist, Ash Sarkar.[29]

In 2012, a bronze sculpture of Pritilata Waddedar was erected in front of the Pahartali Railway School, adjacent to the Pahartali European Club.[30][31] The last section of the Sahid Abdus Sabur Road leading to Mukunda Ram Hat of Boalkhali upazila in Chattogram has been named as Pritilata Waddedar Road.[32] Educational instiutions named after her include Pritilata Waddedar Mahavidyalaya in Panikhali, Pritilata Waddedar Primary School in Chattogram, and Khantura Pritilata Shiksha Niketan schools in Gobardanga.[33] There are halls and buildings named after her at Jahangirnagar University, Kalyani Government Engineering College, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, and University of Chittagong.[citation needed]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Kalpana Dutt (1979). Chittagong Armoury raiders: reminiscences. Peoples' Pub. House. p. 53.
  2. ^ "Pritilata's 100th birthday today". The Daily Star. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "Pritilata Waddedar (1911–1932)". News Today. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  4. ^ "8 Facts About Pritilata Waddedar - Bengal's First Woman Martyr". The Times of India. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Pritilata Waddedar: Bengal's First Woman Martyr". Bangladesh Post. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  6. ^ "8 Facts About Pritilata Waddedar - Bengal's First Woman Martyr". The Times of India. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b "A fearless female freedom-fighter". Rising Stars. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Pritilata's birth anniversary observed at CU". New Age. Retrieved 19 December 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ a b c "Agnijuger Agnikanya Pritilata". BDNews (in Bengali). 5 May 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d "The Fire-Brand Woman Of Indian Freedom Struggle". Towards Freedom. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  11. ^ Pritilata (in Bengali). Prometheus er pothe. 2008. p. 15.
  12. ^ Manini Chatterjee (1999). Do and die: the Chittagong uprising, 1930–34. Penguin Books. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-14029-067-7.
  13. ^ Kalpana Dutt (1979). Chittagong Armoury raiders: reminiscences. Peoples' Pub. House. p. 46.
  14. ^ a b c d Amin, Sonia (2012). "Waddedar, Pritilata". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  15. ^ S. S. Shashi (1996). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Anmol Publications. p. 135. ISBN 978-8-17041-859-7.
  16. ^ "After 80 yrs, posthumous degrees for revolutionaries". The Times of India. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  17. ^ "CCC plans to house 2 girls' schools in commercial complex". The Daily Star. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  18. ^ a b c d "A Long Walk to Freedom". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  19. ^ Reva Chatterjee (2000). Netaji Subhas Bose. Ocean Books. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-8-18710-027-0.
  20. ^ a b c d e Pal, Rupamay (1986). Surjo Sener Sonali Swapno. Kolkata: Deepayan. p. 162.
  21. ^ a b Craig A. Lockard (1 January 2010). Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History: Since 1750. Cengage Learning. pp. 699–. ISBN 978-1-4390-8534-9. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  22. ^ Geraldine Forbes (1999). Women in Modern India. The New Cambridge History of India. Vol. IV.2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-0-521-65377-0.
  23. ^ "Remembering the Legendary Heroes of Chittagong". NIC. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  24. ^ "Indian Independence" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  25. ^ Fortnightly Reports on Bengal, for the second half of September 1932, GOI Home Poll F. No. 18/1932 as quoted in Chatterjee, Manini (1999). Do and Die: the Chittagong uprising, 1930-34. Penguin Books. p. 284. ISBN 978-0-330-53629-5.
  26. ^ "Contribution of Pritilata recalled". The Daily Star. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  27. ^ "A beacon of light for women". The Daily Star. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  28. ^ "80th death anniversary of Pritilata observed". New Age. Retrieved 18 December 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  29. ^ Sarkar, Ash (5 February 2018). "My great-great-aunt was a terrorist: women's politics went beyond the vote". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  30. ^ "Pritilata's bronze sculpture to be installed in port city". The Daily Star. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Pritilata's memorial sculpture unveiled in Ctg". The Daily Star. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Road named after Pritilata in Ctg". The New Nation. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  33. ^ "Affiliated College of University of Kalyani". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012.
  34. ^ "Young rebels". Business Standard. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  35. ^ "The veer Konna of Chittagong". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  36. ^ "Manoj Bajpayee, back in the limelight". Screen India. Retrieved 18 December 2012.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  37. ^ "Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives". BBC. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  38. ^ Siddique, Habibullah (15 June 2021). "Pori Moni: From Pirojpur to FDC's most popular heroine". Business Standard.

Further reading

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