A hardcore follower of Mahatma Gandhi, president for the local Congress branch, an active participant in the famous Non-cooperation movement and a math teacher shook the balancing British military men in a day with his revolutionary personality. He led the Chittagong armed struggle against the mighty Britishers and punched them in Indian extreme actions, and he is none other than Bengal’s “Surya Kumar Sen.”
Surya Kumar Sen, popularly known as Master Da in Chittagong, was born in 1894. Master Da was attracted to India’s freedom struggle from his days in Berhampur in 1916, where he completed most of his education. He later went on to work as president for Chittagong’s Indian National Congress Party and was an ardent follower of the great activist Chittaranjan Das.
Master Da’s days in the Congress pushed him to be an active participant of the Non- cooperation movement, leading tallies/marches from the front. After coming out of jail in 1928, his life took a turn as he joined the “Anushian Samithi” – an organisation of revolutionary thoughts. Indeed, the jail life turned Master Da into a person.
The Anushilan Samithi believed in an arms struggle against British rule, as it’s a group of many young men. Their ideology wasn’t just limited to words; their actions mobilised the young blood in Chittagong to take up armed struggle and end the oppression. This Samithi formed the ” Indian Republican Army” that carried forward revolutionary actions.
As part of it, there was a plan to destruct the Telegraphic system in Chittagong, attack British garrisons, loot them and disrupt the railway links. Finally, on April 18, 1930, the plan was put into action. However, as planned, military equipment was looted but lost hold of ammunition; this stopped Surya Sen Day and his men from continuing their plans; therefore, they decided to move away in groups and hide in different places. Although a part of the plan was executed well i.e. they made the British suffer heavily, successfully dismantling the communication system.
Later started a chase game. Britishers were heavily involved in hunting down Surya Kumar Sen and his men. Days passed, and one day, the British soldiers tracked them down into the mountains of Jalalabad. Both sides were involved in heavy firing, and the soldiers suffered heavy losses. At the same time, the armed men, including Surya Kumar Sen and others, managed to escape into the villages and took cover with the help of local shepherds.
Master Da lived in disguise for year’s but in 1933, his co-member of Anushilan Samithi “Nethra Sen” traded Master Da’s location in exchange for life. Master Da was caught in February and later hanged to death in 1934 Nethra Sen too was killed by other revolutionaries, an act of revenge for his cowardly actions and betrayal.
Later, his life inspired many to drive the Britishers out of Chittagong. His actions contributed to keeping the spirits of the revolutionaries higher than ever before, and today, Surya Kumar Sen’s services are remembered and honoured by both the governments of Bangladesh and India, celebrating the shared history of bravery and wisdom.
