Lesser Known Heroes of the freedom movement

Lesser Known Heroes

of the Freedom Movement

94th FC

A publication of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration

On the cover in clockwise order

Udham Singh, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay,
Ram Prasad Bismil, Kasturba Gandhi and Bina Das.

This project was conceptualized by Dr Sanjeev Chopra, Director, Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and executed by the
Officer Trainees of the 2019 batch, 94th Foundation Course

Lesser Known Heroes

of the freedom movement
94th FC

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From the Desk of the Director

What is History? Asked EH Carr in 1961

Well, in addition to what he said about the bias of historians, science, morality,
individuals and society, it has to be understood that perception of history
changes with time . In the fourth BCE , the Sanskrit litterateur Bhasha , who
wrote Madhyamavyayoga based on the years of Pandavas in exile, and
Herodotus who wrote Histories were in a way contemporary historians writing
about what they felt were significant events of their times . Right till the
mediaeval times , all across the world , history was the story of kings and
dynasties , usually written in the language of the court – as for example
Rajatarangini by Kalhana – the story of the kings of Kashmir in Sanskrit and a
few centuries later , the beauty of Kashmir , and the conquest of Mughals comes
to the fore in the highly Persianized Tuzk-e Jahangiri.

Not until Carlyle, who wrote of Odin, Prophet Mohammed, Galileo and
Shakespeare as men who shaped history were people beyond the charmed
circle of royalty accorded the honour of being relevant to history, Then we had
Toynbee who discussed the cycles of history , the school of historical
materialism , the colonial and post-colonial construction of history , and now
the subaltern and feminist discourses. And so one can say, that each generation
must produce its own history by reinterpreting facts, government records, oral
histories, anecdotes and by connecting the dots. This exploration becomes even
more illuminative when we contemplate the panorama of epic events that
culminated in the independence of our nation, we are likely to think that only
images, events and names that have come to us through textbooks and the media
make up the saga of our freedom movement . We are likely to have allowed these
emblems of our past to define the contours and substance of what the Freedom
Movement means to us. these carriers of meaning have probably settled like
neat layers of precious silt into the recesses of our sub conscious . The History
Project by my colleagues Monika Dhami and Gauri Parasher Joshi was an
attempt to disrupt this complacency that afflicts our understanding of the
defining moments of our collective past.

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We read every day that we live in an age of disruptive technologies. Well, this
endeavour is, in some ways a disruption of memory, a pricking up of the
particles of silt so that the deceptive clarity of water would now give the viewer
myriad particles of silt to view and to comprehend. Histories of great nations can
hardly be thought of as flowing through linear canals, they are meant to be
explored in the very detail that disperses through their rocky and meandering
course, giving them form, taking them to their origin and end.

The History Project is not, however, a general exploration of all that came into
being and to the fore during our struggle for freedom. I am reminded of
Shakespeare's Hamlet, of whom Polonius says, 'Though this be madness, there is
method in't'. If every exploration warrants a degree of 'madness', even if for the
love of the subject that one wishes to delve into, then it is essential that 'method'
be found so that there is a trajectory, a course, and that glimpse of treasure at the
end of the journey, that is its own reward. So, we nudged the young minds to
delve deeper into the syllables in the hidden names, to the stamp of daredevilry
in the silence of forgotten explosions and to present the invaluable contribution
of the women and men who neither claimed nor were bestowed with recognition
due to them. They were the foot- soldiers of the cause of freedom, of self-respect,
the sparks without which the flame of freedom might well have waned for lack of
energy. Theirs were the necessary but invisible sacrifices that the exacting prize
of freedom demanded.

Quite like the rigor of History, The History Project will not end with this bringing
together of the efforts of Officer Trainees of the 94th Foundation Course. I
envision that it will light many alternatives paths to comprehending the
intricacies of the past that continue to form our present and unravel into the many
futures that await our great nation.

Dr. Sanjeev Chopra
Director,

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration

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Contents

Foreword..........................................................................................iii
From the Desk of Director................................................................v
Alluri Sitarama Raju and the Rampa Rebellion................................1
Azad Hind Fauj - The Forgotten Army remembered ......................7
A K Gopalan.....................................................................................11
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay..............................................................17
Kasturba Gandhi: Sangini.................................................................21
Leela Roy..........................................................................................27
Jallianwala Bagh and Udham Singh.................................................31
Kanaklata Barua - The Lioness of the North-east
India...................................................................................................37
Rash Behari Bose - 1886-1945..........................................................43
Matangini Hazra................................................................................51
Bina Das.............................................................................................57
Parallel Governments - Experiments in Self-Rule.............................61
Jatindranath Das.................................................................................65
Nana Patil and his Efforts to Establish Parallel
Government (prati sarkar) in the Satara-Sangli
Region of Maharashtra during the
Quit India Movement (1943-1946)....................................................69
Ram Prasad Bismil ............................................................................73
The Ghadar Party...............................................................................77
Sardar Udham Singh..........................................................................81
(Un)Making of a Nation...................................................................85
Pritilata Waddadar..............................................................................91

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Alluri Sitarama Raju and
the Rampa Rebellion

1

Alluri Sitarama Raju was one among India's greatest revolutionary tribal leaders
and is one of India's forgotten heroes. He was the main leader of the Rampa
Rebellion (1922- 24), which is known as, though less popularly, the Gudem
Rebellion, since Gudem was the main area of impact. .It is also known as the
Manyam Rebellion andAlluri is fondly remembered as the 'Hero of the Jungles'.
Alluri Sitarama Raju, also known as Alluri Srirama Raju, was born in Mogallu,
in West Godavari district in 1897 and received his initial schooling at his village.
He studied up to the fifth form at various places in Andhra Pradesh and was
never known to be bright at school. Subsequently, at Narasapur, where he
studied, he developed an interest in astrology, palmistry and horse-riding. He
was also known to take interest in medicinal properties of herbs and Ayurveda.
He practised meditation and all these ascetic qualities led to his image of being a
sanyasi. He commanded the respect and admiration of the tribal people. Some
also attributed magical powers to him and considered him a 'devudu'.
Alluri's patriotism and conviction was first shaped by his parents. Once, when
he was about to salute a British officer, his father immediately reprimanded him
for his act and told him – “The British have occupied our lands and are
exploiting its resources and robbing the people. It is an insult to our manhood to
bow before them”. His ideas and patriotic fervour were further shaped by his
contacts in the Calcutta Secret Society; his meetings with the Chittagong
revolutionaries; and by Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of non- cooperation. His love
for Swadeshi is proven by the fact that he always wore khadi. Moreover, he was
a social reformer in the sense that he advocated a strong anti-liquor campaign.
He was able to spread passive resistance in the hills through acts like the boycott
of British courts, the setting up of panchayats, and administration of justice
locally in the hills.

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The Rampa rebellion was a radical reaction against the British rule due to local
grievances and the immediate economic reasons that spurred it were –
exploitation by money lenders, eviction of muttadars, forced and unpaid tribal
labour, ban on podu (shiftingcultivation) and restrictions on collection of forest
produce. However, Alluri was successful in creating a political and anti-colonial
consciousness among the hill peasants that went beyond the economic reasons.
Unlike in the earlier tribal revolts, Alluri was able to channel the grievances of
the hill peasants and provide their struggle with a different social context. He
helped them visualize a political alternative in the form of Swaraj. His
understanding of colonial rule as the immediate and only enemy can be gauged
from the fact that during the armed Rampa revolt, not a single shot was fired at
the natives by the police on the merchants from the plains and landholders.
The sole aim of the rebellion was to drive out the British who threatened the
tribals' very existence.
Alluri was a hero of the masses who commanded immense respect and during
his lifetime, no tribal, villager, or rebel turned hostile despite the government's
unleashing severe repression and torture on the locals. Alluri was captured at
Mampa in May, 1924. He was tied to a tree at Koyyuru and shot dead on the 7th
of May. His martyrdom and execution of other leaders of the rebellion
ultimately led to the crushing of the revolt. However, Alluri lives on in the
memory of the local people as the 'Hero of the Jungles.'

When a friend gave him a handful of badges with King George's picture on it, the
13-year- old Alluri threw all but one. He pinned it up on his shirt and said: “To wear
them is to flaunt our servitude. But I pinned it on my shirt near my heart to remind
all of you that a foreign ruler is crushing our lives.” (this can be placed next to the
photograph above)

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Rampa Rebellion

Economic Reasons for the Rampa Rebellion

Exploitation by money lenders,
Eviction of muttadars,
Unpaid tribal labour,
Ban on podu(traditional Agriculture),
Restrictive Madras forest Act 1882
Ban on natives against collection of forest produce.

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Alluri lives on in the memories of the local people as the Manyam Veerudu
(Hero of the Jungles).

Alluri's progressive ideas

Swadeshi and Ayurveda
Anti-liquor campaign
Importance of meditation and connection with self Compassion towards
animals
Tribal rights over forests and forest produce

5

The Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication and Information
Technology, Government of India, issued a colour 50 paise stamp in the
memory of freedom fighter, Alluri Sitarama Raju.

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Azad Hind Fauj - The Forgotten
Army Remembered

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BOSE EXAMINING THE JHANSI REGIMENT WITH CAPTAIN LAXMI SEHGAL

BOSE WITH REGIMENT

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Centre of activity changed
from Malaya to Burma

Arakan Campaign

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A K Gopalan

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A K Gopalan

Ayillyath Kuttiari Gopalan was born on October 1, 1904 in Peralasseri,
Kannur District of Northern Kerala and educated in Tellichery. He was one
of the mass leaders of the communist movement in the country, and was also
a dedicated soldier in India's freedom struggle against British rule. His
transformation from a Satyagrahi to a revolutionary is a fascinating story
and in a microcosm reveals, as few individual experiences can, the strengths
and weaknesses of the Mahatma Gandhi-led national movement. It shows
how the movement galvanised and politicised a whole section of idealistic
youth in the fight against imperialism but stopped short of taking up the
demands of the mass of exploited workers and peasants – leading men of
action and compassion like AK Gopalan to embrace revolutionary
Marxism.

By the time, he became a teacher, India's independence movement was
becoming energized through the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Gopalan
took part in the Khilafat Movement which prompted a marked change in his
outlook, transforming him into a dedicated full-time social and political
worker.

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AKG wrote in his autobiography The Cause of the People, “Yes, I was a
mad man to officialdom. It may be madness in the eyes of the imperialist to
work for the independence of the country of one's birth. There are many
types of madness. I am proud to say that I am a 'political lunatic”. It is my
wish that this madness does not disappear as long as oppression remains in
the world.”

In 1927, he joined the Indian National Congress and began playing an active
role in the Khadi Movement
and the uplift of Harijans. He
was arrested for participating
in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930.

While in prison he got
acquainted with communism
and became a member of the
Congress Socialist Party and
later the Communist Party of
India when it finally took
shape in Kerala in 1939. He
led the hunger march from the
Malabar region to Madras in
1936 and the Malabar Jatha in
support of the movement for
responsible government in
Travancore.

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Though relentlessly active in the picketing
activities that marked the Gandhian
Satyagraha of that time, AK Gopalan was
beginning to question the efficacy of the
method which inspired middle class youth in
their thousands but left the poor unmoved. It
was at this time that the Congress decided to
start a struggle against untouchability and
other social evils. At the Kerala Pradesh
Congress Committee (KPCC) meeting,
Kelappan moved a resolution on starting a temple-entry Satyagraha. Some
Congress men argued that it would divert attention away from the political
struggle. But AK Gopalan fully backed the resolution and “was happy that
a struggle against die-hard conservatism was in the offing.” He was elected
captain of the Satyagraha volunteers. He led a march of Harijans on a public
road at a place called Kandoth near Payyannoor. Till then, the Harijans
were not allowed to walk on that road because it was near a temple. As he
led the procession, a mob of men and women rushed forward and brutally
beat up Gopalan till he was unconscious. He recalls, “This was the first
physical attack I had faced in my political life. But there was the
satisfaction that the “Kandoth assault” found a prominent place in news
coverage. It was the best propaganda for the Guruvayoor temple entry
satyagraha. The incident opened the eyes of the public. District Board
authorities came to inspect the place. They put up a board that all had the
right to use the road.”

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Gopalan then stormed into the Guruvayoor temple, leading a group of
volunteers on foot, all the way from Cannanore to Guruvayoor. They
addressed hundreds of public meetings enroute, and for the first time the
poorest of the poor, the Harijan youth, were drawn into a Congress-led
agitation. Volunteers from all over Kerala set up camps at the temple gates
and the Satyagraha had a huge impact throughout India. But the temple
owners remained unmoved. In the meantime, the British authorities were
unnerved by the rapid spread of the national movement and in January 1932
decided to crack down on the activists. Congress leaders throughout the
country were arrested and among them wasAK Gopalan. He was sentenced
to six months' rigorous imprisonment.

On the occasion of Independence Day, the Madras government released all the
political prisoners but Gopalan was not one of them. He was alone, inside jail,
unable to celebrate the freedom he had so bravely fought for. His memoirs
recall, “On August 14, 1947, I was in solitary confinement in the big Cannanore
jail. There were no other detenue prisoners. I could not sleep at night. Cries of
'Jai' issued from all four corners of the jail. The echoes of slogans - 'Mahatma
Gandhi ki jai' and 'Bharat Mata ki jai' reverberated through the jail. The whole
country was waiting for the celebration due after sunrise. How many among
them had waited for years for this and fought for it and sacrificed their all in the
struggle! I nurtured a feeling of joy and sorrow. I was glad that the goal for
which I had sacrificed all my youth and for which I was still undergoing
imprisonment had been realised. But I was even now a prisoner, I had been
imprisoned by Indians — by the Congress government, not by the British.
Memories of the Congress from 1927 passed through my mind. I felt proud of
the role I had played in the Congress movement in Kerala. A man who was
secretary of the Kerala Congress and its president for some time and member of
the AICC for a long time was celebrating August 15 in jail!”

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And yet, celebrate he did. The next morning, he walked the length of the
jail compound carrying a national flag that he had kept with him. The
flag was hoisted from the roof where all the prisoners had gathered.
Gopalan spoke to them of the meaning of freedom. And for the rest of his
life, AK Gopalan remained true to the vision of his youth, fighting
always and everywhere for the cause of the people.

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Fig. Google Doodle on Kamala Chattopadhyay's 115th Birth Anniversary

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay

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A freedom fighter and activist, a social reformer, Gandhian, a patron of

handicrafts, theatre and perfroming arts, Kamaldevi Chattopadhyay will be

always remembered for her efforts in fighting against orthodoxy, advocating

women's rights and rejuvenating the handicrafts, thereby contributing immensely

to the uplift of artisans of the country.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was born on April 3, 1903 in
Mangalore in an aristocratic family. Her educated mother and
enterprising grandmother left the deepest impression on her
mind and it was from them that she inherited her independent
streak and lifelong love for books. Her father died when she was
just seven years old without writing a will and thus the entire
property went to her stepbrother. This gave Kamala her first
exposure to the gender inequalities that she would fight for the
rest of her life.

Kamaladevi grew up at the home of her social reformer maternal uncle and this
helped to awaken political consciousness in her at very early age. In 1917, 14-year-
old Kamaladevi was married but her husband died within a year of the marriage,
leaving her a widow. However, her liberal father-in-law encouraged her to continue
her education. At Mary's College in Madras, Kamala was introduced to
Harindranath 'Harin' Chattopadhyay. The two bonded over a love for the arts and
theatre and married in the face of much societal opposition. Kamala and Harin then
moved to the United Kingdom where Kamala earned a degree in Sociology from
Belford College.
Upon her return, inspired by the Gandhian concept of non-violence, she joined the
Seva Dal and the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1927 and threw herself into the
freedom struggle. She became the first to run for Legislative office. Her stellar
contribution to the freedom movement came when she led women in the Salt
Satyagraha and was even arrested for entering the Bombay Stock Exchange to sell
packets of salt.
Among the striking images of Kamaladevi is of her holding on to and protecting the
flag of the INC as a group of satyagrahis were caught in a tussle with the authorities.
During the Second World War, she extensively toured the US and some other parts
of the world, drumming up support for Indian independence and for colonialism to
be overthrown.

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She propounded that civil rights, environmental justice, religious freedoms, and
political independence were all inter-related issues. After independence, at the time
after Partition, she worked tirelessly to set up the city of Faridabad where refugees
from the Northwest Frontier province could be resettled. Being a feminist, she
worked relentlessly for the uplift of women. She pioneered the cooperative
movement that helped raise the socio-economic status of women around the
country. She contributed immensely to the global discourse on feminism and
attended the InternationalAlliance of Women in Berlin in1929.

Kamaladevi also played a phenomenal role in reviving thousands of indigenous art
and craft traditions in India during the post-Independence era. She set up a series of
national institutions including the National School of Drama, All India Handicrafts
Board and Central Cottage Industries Emporia to archive, protect and promote
Indian dances, drama, art, puppetry, music and handicrafts. She was awarded
Padma Bhushan in 1955, Padma Vibhushan and Ramon Magsaysay Award for
Community Leadership in1966.

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A fearless woman with an indomitable spirit, Kamaladevi passed away on October
29, 1988, at the age of 85. As Indian President R. Venkataraman said on her death, it
is difficult to prefix the word 'late' to Kamaladevi's name, because “hers was, and
will always be a palpable presence.”

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Kasturba Gandhi – 'Sangini'

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Kasturba Gandhi, fondly known as'Ba', played an instrumental role in the
Freedom Struggle. She was the wife of our Father of the Nation, Mahatma
Gandhi. She participated both actively and behind the scenes during Gandhi ji's
leadership of the freedom movement. Before Gandhi ji returned to India from
South Africa in1915, he was fighting for the rights of the Indian immigrants in
South Africa. At this time also, Kasturba stood strong behind him, a firm pillar
of support.
Kasturba Gandhi's contribution to Indian independence is special in many ways
but finds mention in only a few leaves in history books. Our research for this
project gave us an opportunity to dig deeper into the contributions of Kasturba
to the Indian Freedom Struggle. We present four incidents which give a glimpse
of Kasturba's work, sacrifices, and her dedication to the cause of India's
independence.

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Gandhi arrested in SouthAfrica

Kasturba Gandhi was a woman with a steely resolve.Atestimony to that was her
role in the protests in 1913 in South Africa. When Bapu was imprisoned for
protesting against the ill treatment of Indian immigrants, Kasturba took up the
mantle upon herself to carry forward the movement. She had to face the same
fate herself as she was also arrested for her part in the protests. This didn't deter
her and she was able to exert her influence even when imprisoned. In prison, she
helped other women survive by leading them into prayer. She referred to the
prison as a temple and the women as her sisters. While in jail, she also inspired
the educated women to teach the uneducated women how to read and
write.Kasturba was thus able to create her own place in history through her
patient resolve and persistence.

Defiance

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi would not have been a Mahatma without
Kasturba. It was her love, her resolve, her loyalty and yes, her defiance that
strengthened Gandhi ji's conviction in his own ideals. If Gandhi ji took a
decision, Kasturba was the first impediment he had to face before embarking
upon it. Not only did it further strengthen Gandhi's resolve, it also enabled
Kasturba to pursue goals set by Gandhi out of conviction rather than
compulsion. Several such incidents ranging from the initial reluctance of
Kasturba to clean toilets and advocating and voicing concerns of the people
vociferously, showcase the strong and bold nature of Kasturba that is seldom
talked about.

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Champaran Sanitation Movement

History has always presented Kasturba Gandhi as the subsidiary or shadow of
her husband, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. While the father of the nation is
revered for being on the frontlines of the freedom struggle, Kasturba Gandhi too
left an indelible mark on Indian History, with her significant, although
unrecognised, contribution to the struggle for independence.
In 1917, the Champaran Satyagraha took place, which was one of the first
Satyagraha movements inspired by Gandhi. While Mahatma Gandhi was at the
forefront of the Satyagraha movement, Kasturba played a major role in the
Satyagraha towards sanitation and personal hygiene. Kasturba Gandhi worked
for women's welfare by educating them about hygiene, discipline, reading and
writing. This was an important step towards giving real freedom to women and
she continued her work towards it subsequently in other movements as well, for
instance in the Borsad Satyagraha.

The famous Quit India speech

In 1942, after the Gowalia tank incident when Mahatma Gandhi was arrested,
Kasturba Gandhi stepped into his shoes and took a lead in the Quit India
Movement. Addressing a rally of women, she said, “Gandhiji poured his heart out
to you for two hours at the All India Congress Committee meeting last night. What
can I add to that? All that remains for us is to live up to his ideals. The women of
India have to prove their mettle. They should all join in the struggle regardless
of caste or creed. Truth and non violence must be our watchwords.”
After this incident, she was stopped on the way to the meeting that day and was
taken as a prisoner.

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“I am Kasturba”:
Malayalam (Original):

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This is the English translation of the poem,
originally written by our fellow
Officer Trainee in Malayalam -
I am Kasturba,
Wife of The Father of our Nation,
Mother of Harilal , Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. Oh!! the certificate the
world gave me!
I am Kasturba, Gandhi's 'Ba',
The warrior born in the Phoenix Farm,
The revolutionary who spent in prison all her life and who finally died in
the same!
I am Kasturba,
The one who had to leave without seeing her dreams come true, The one
who lead the women who were confined to the villages, The one who
guided her celibate husband and misguided son.I am Kasturba,
I am that distance,
The distance between a village and the world, Between a woman and a
mother, and Between a Gandhi and the Mahatma!!

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Leela Roy

27

Leela Roy's stellar contribution to the making of our nation somehow got side-
lined in the bustle of history writing. A staunch feminist, political activist and
social activist, Leela Roy was one of the lesser known women architects of the
Indian freedom struggle.
Her dedication to the cause of women's education and their uplift, and her
extraordinary commitment to the freedom struggle has etched her place in the
pages of history. She was a gentle-faced revolutionary with a fiery spirit and was a
natural leader who wouldn't bow down to injustice and fought against
discrimination of all kinds.
Born on the 2nd of October, 1900 in Goalpara, Assam, Leela Roy grew up in a
Bengal that was carving its own identity in the nationalist movement. A young
Leela was aware of the importance of education and was one of the pioneers in
promoting education among women. She was dedicated to this cause and this laid
a fertile ground for the active participation of women in the freedom struggle.

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A Revolutionary in the Making

She was the first female student to enter the male dominated halls of the University
of Dhaka and a lifelong proponent of women's education and defence training.
When the platform of the freedom struggle was dominated by males, Leela Roy
was the first female member to enter the core group of an 'all-male revolutionary
party', Shree Sangha. She was also a member of other secret revolutionary groups
like theAnushilan Samiti and Yugantar.
She motivated women to initially take up secondary roles but subsequently, these
women became key players in the missions in Bengal's freedom movement.
Women were taught to make bombs, work with arms, and circulate seditious
pamphlets. She was the mentor of Pritilatha Waddedar and a close associate of
Netaji.
She was the only woman from Bengal in the Constituent Assembly, but she soon
quit the assembly as she was pained by the way the great leaders were conceding to
the sinister demand of the partition of the beloved nation she dedicated her life to.
During the partition violence, she met Gandhi in Noakhali. She opened a relief
center and rescued 400 women. After the Partition of India, she ran homes in
Calcutta for destitute and abandoned women. For this, she was praised by Gandhi.

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Social Work

As an advocate for women's education, Leela established Dipali Sangha, an
association for women in December, 1923. It was a women's group that
encouraged and taught social and political awareness to women, imparting
leadership training. It also facilitated the economic liberation of women. In
1931, Leela Roy launched Jayashree Patrika, a magazine targeting
women,edited and written by women. She used to take up projects that would
require women to come out of their walled existence and participate in public
activities.
Her life's work brought up a brand of feminism that stressed on defence training
and independence rather than expecting women to be mere picketers and
satyagrahis. Her efforts got recognition when her portrait was unveiled at
Parliament's Central Hall by the Prime Minister of our country, in 2008.

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Jallianwala Bagh
and Udham Singh

31

Udham Singh was born as Sher Singh on December 26, 1899, at Sunam in
the Sangrur district of Punjab. His father, Sardar Tehal Singh Jammu, was a railway
crossing watchman in the village of Upalli. After his father's death, Singh and his elder
brother were raised in an orphanage. It was here that he was administered the Sikh
initiatory rites and received the name of Udham Singh. Udham Singh was among the
thousands of people who had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh on the fateful day of
April 13,1919, to commemorate the annual Baisakhi festival, where a massacre took
place.

Jallianwala Bagh

The city of Amritsar had already been on the boil over arrests of national leaders
Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew who were protesting against the Rowlatt Act. Dyer
had banned all meetings. This notice, however, was not widely disseminated.
On April 13,1919, it was the occasion of Baisakhi and people had gathered at
Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate the local festival. The Jallianwala Bagh is a public
garden with an area of 7 acres (2.8 ha), walled on all sides, with only five entrances.

Figure - Design of Jallianwala Bagh

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Dyer, in order to instill fear and 'discipline' among Indians, took the advantage of
the design of the park. He blocked the main exits with only one entrance opened
from where he came in with his troops and without any warning, ordered his troops
to open fire. The firing continued for approximately 10 minutes until the
ammunition supply was almost exhausted.

Loss

Dyer and his troops did not stay to count the dead. The Hunter Commission report
that was published in the next year quoted a figure of 379 identified dead, and
approximately 1,100 wounded. However, the casualty number estimated by the
INC was more than 1,500 injured, with approximately 1,000 dead.

Figure - 120 dead bodies were removed from this well as Jallianwala Bagh.

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The 21-year wait for revenge

Deeply scarred by the Jallianwala massacre and full of anger against the British,
Udham Singh soon got involved in the freedom struggle that was then unfolding,
both in India and in foreign countries. He travelled to East Africa in the early 1920s
working as a labourer before arriving in the USA. For some time,he neven worked as
a tool-maker at the factory of Ford in Detroit. While in San Francisco, he met with
the members of the Ghadar Party.
In1927, following the instructions of Bhagat Singh, he returned to India. Back in
Punjab, he devoted himself to publishing the Ghadar-di-Gunj, the radical journal of
the Ghadar Party. He was arrested on this charge and for illegal possession of arms
and sentenced to imprisonment for five years.

Figure - Udham Singh with Ghadar revolutionaries in USA

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However, he was released on October 23,
1931 after spending four yearsin jail.
Udham Singh discovered that in1927,
Brigadier-General Dyer, “The Butcher of
Amritsar”, had died in Britain, after
suffering a series of strokes. He travelled to
Kashmir and then escaped to Germany after
duping the police. From there, he
successively travelled to Italy, France,
Switzerland, and Austria before reaching
England in1934. He took up residence at 9
Adler Street, Whitechapel (East London)
and even purchased a motor car. While in London, he worked in various capacities
like a carpenter, signboard painter, motor mechanic, and even as an extra in a couple
of Alexander Korda films. All this while, he remained obsessed with the idea of
assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, when the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place. For Udham Singh, like for many
revolutionaries, O'Dywer was the culprit for he had vested Brigadier-General Dyer
with the power to restore the 'law and order' situation.

Udham Singh found out that Michael O'Dwyer would be addressing a joint meeting
of the Central Asian Society (now the Royal Society for Asian Affairs) and the East
India Association at Caxton Hall, London on 13 March 1940. He managed to buy a
revolver in a pub from a soldier, concealed it in the pocket of his jacket and gained
entry to the hall. As the meeting came to a close, he approached the platform and
unleashed a volley of shots. Of the two shots that he fired at O'Dwyer, one passed
through his heart and right lung killing him immediately. He also managed to wound
Lord Dundas, the Secretary of State for India.
After the shooting, Udham Singh remained calm and did not try to flee or resist
arrest and was taken into custody by the police. It is also said that Singh chose a
public place for his assassination attempt so that he could create a
furore and draw attention to the atrocities that the British had carried out in India.

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Udham Singh being arrested at Caxton Hall

Udham Singh was formally charged on April 1, 1940 with Michael O'Dwyer's
murder and sent to Brixton Prison. Not a cooperative prisoner, he went on a
hunger strike that went on for 42 days compelling the prison authorities to
forcibly feed him. When asked why he committed the murder in broad daylight,
Udham Singh, in his broken English stated that he bore a grudge against
O'Dwyer and that he didn't care about being put to death for the sake of his
motherland. He further said that he had been seeking vengeance for 21 years and
he was happy that he had finally managed to achieve his goal. As was expected,
Singh was convicted of murder and awarded a death sentence.
Udham Singh had given himself the name of Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, the
same name he had used to gain entry to England in 1933. He also tattooed this
name on his arm.
On July 31, 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at the Pentonville Prison in London
and was buried in the prison grounds.

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Kanaklata Barua
The Lioness of the North-East

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Kanaklata Baruah was born to Krishna Kanta Baruah and Karneswari Baruah on
December 22, 1924 at Barangabari village of Gohpur sub-division of Sonitpur
district. Her ancestors were from the Dolakharia Barua kingdom of the erstwhile
Ahom state who relinquished the Dolakharia title and continued with the Baruah
title. Her father was a farmer. She lost her mother at the tender age of five years and
her father later solemnized a second marriage. Kanaklata Barua received her
primary education from Barangbari School. She developed a sense of responsibility
very early on in her life. After the death of her mother, her father remarried but he
also died when she was thirteen. She dropped out of school after reaching the third
standard to take up responsibilities of the household and look after her siblings.

Joining the Mrityu Bahini

After Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement on 8th August 1942 in
Bombay with the slogan 'Do or Die', there were widespread protests across the
country. Assam also witnessed its ripple effects and many freedom fighters of the
State joined hands to oust the oppressive British from India. The patriotic waves
also motivated17-year-old Kanaklata to join the Quit India Movement. Kanaklata
wanted to join the Azad Hind Fauj, however, being a minor, she could not
succeed. The sacrifice of contemporary freedom fighters like Kushal Konwar, also
made an indelible impression on the revolutionaries of Gohpur subdivision.

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They decided to remove the British flag and unfurl the Indian National Flag at all
prominent places. For carrying out such perilous patriotic acts demanding supreme
sacrifice, only determined, courageous and dedicated youths were allowed to
participate. This group was named Mrityu Bahini. The group comprised hundreds
of youths above 18 years of age fighting the British together with one common goal
in mind - India's independence. It is significant that Kanaklata Baruah was 17,
hence underage, when she was granted membership of the group as an exceptional
case owing to her uncompromising patriotic feelings. She was subsequently made
the leader of the women cadres of Mrityu Bahini.

Martyrdom

On September 20, 1942, the revolutionary camp of Gohpur region of undivided
Darrang district decided to unfurl the National Flag at the local police station as part
of the Quit India Movement, following the Gandhian principles of non-violence.
However, the police were already prepared to counter such measures by the
freedom fighters. Rebati Mohan Som was the officer in charge of the police station.
Large numbers of the Mrityu Bahini members, under the leadership of Kanaklata,
started approaching the police station. The police warned them of dire
consequences if they proceeded further. Undeterred by these warnings, they kept on
shouting the slogan 'Do or Die' as they reached the police station and made a queue
before the police station gate. The police force took its position and did not allow
the picketers to enter the compound to hoist the flag.

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In order to dissuade the volunteers, the police pointed their guns towards the
Mrityu Bahini crowd. Ultimately, without any fear in her mind, Kanaklata entered
the compound by pushing aside a gun with her hand and saying that they could kill
their human bodies but not their soul which is made of iron. These immortal words
of Kanaklata gave inspiration to thousands of picketers in that moment of
imminent danger. The brutal police force opened fire at the unarmed picketers.
Kanaklata died on the spot with the flag in her hand. The flag she was carrying with
her was taken up by Mukunda Kakoti, who too was gunned down. Both Kanaklata
and Kakoti were killed in this police action. Kanaklata was only 17 years old at the
time she gave her life for her matribhumi. In this action, a lot of volunteers were
also injured but this brutality of the police action could not stop the volunteers
from achieving their goal, and ultimately, another volunteer Rampati Rajkhowa of
Kamdewal hoisted our Indian national flag on the top of the Thana building that
evening. This historic and valiant act by Mrityu Bahini at Gohpur gave an impetus
to the Quit India Movement all across the country.

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