(This article was posted on History Under Your Feet at: https://historyunderyourfeet.wordpress.com/2020/07/26/kalpana-datta/ and has been republished with the author’s permission)

Chittagong now in Bangladesh, was one of the most important cities strategically for the British during their rule. Located on the banks of the Karnaphuli river, the city was host to many British companies like James Finlay, Duncan Brothers, Burmah Oil, the Indo-Burma Petroleum Company, Lloyd’s. Not to mention the fact that the city was a front line defense in the event of a Japanese attack.

And this was the reason why the city was chosen to be the venue of one of the most audacious attacks ever by Indian revolutionaries during the British rule. Organizing a strike in Chittagong, and securing it, would mean hitting at one of the nerve centres of the British rule in India. It was not just the armoury, the raid also targeted, the telegraph office, the exclusive Europeans only club. While the twin armories in Chittagong would be captured, the telegraph and telephone office would be destroyed cutting off all forms of communication. The exclusive Europeans only club, whose members were high ranking Government or military officials, would be targeted.  There would be a large scale massacre of these officers, while retailers of fire arms would be raided. All rail, road communications would be cut off, totally isolating the city. What was planned was nothing short of a mini insurrection, which if carried out, would complete severe Chittagong from the British. It was one of the most audacious, ambitious plans ever carried out, mind boggling in its scope.

And the mastermind behind this audacious plan was a humble school teacher affectionately called as Master Da aka Surya Sen, born in a small village called Noapara, near Chittagong in 1894.  His father, Ramniranjan Sen was a teacher himself. As an intermediate student in 1916, while studying at Chittagong, he learnt about the history of the Indian freedom movement from his teachers. Motivated by one of his teachers, he joined the Anushilan Samiti, one of the noted revolutionary groups in Bengal then.

And one of the more prominent faces of the raid was Pritilata Wadedar, she would play a major role in the attack on the Pahartali European Club in Chittagong, as part of the Armory Raid.

One of her classmates at Bethune College was Kalpana Dutta, who would play a pivotal role in the Chittagong Armory Raid. 

Kalpana Dutta was born on July 27, 1913 in Sripur, a small village near Chittagong. Unlike Wadedar’s more nationalist family, her family was more pro British. Her friendship with Wadedar at Bethune in a way moulded her ideology and future course too. Both Kalpana and Pritilata were inspired by the bravery of Rani of Jhansi, through their teacher Usha Di, who used such stories to spread the nationalist feeling among students.

They both became part of the Chatri Sangha, a revolutionary group headed by Kamla Dasgupta. The Chhatri Sangha, became a training ground for female revolutionaries in Bengal, with study circles and training in physical combat. Girls from Victoria, Bethune, Scottish Church, Diocesian began to flock to Chhatri Sangha to be trained.

After the Chittagong Armory Raid of 1930, she joined the Indian Republican Army, Chattagram, where she met Master Da, whom she described in her memoir as

He was a smallish short man, very reserved. Nobody would guess that this man was the daring ‘King of Chittagong

Impressed by his character and demeanour, she soon learnt guerilla warfare under him and became an active member of the resistance group.

Along with her comrade Mani Dutt she learnt how to hide under water for hours together holding their breath, to avoid the British. From another comrade Anant Singh, she also learnt the techniques of making gun cotton, and proved to be really good at it.

I had a wrong idea about the worth of women in revolutionary work. They should forgive me for my mistake.

In a way both Kalpana and Pritilata, broke the “unsaid rule” that women were not fit enough to join the guerilla movement and male revolutionaries should steer clear of women. It was their ability that gave Master Da enough confidence to entrust them with another daring mission, the raid on the Pahartali club in Chittagong, one of the exclusively for Europeans clubs, which had a signboard saying “Dogs and Indians not allowed”.

However with Kalpana being arrested just a week before the attack, it was Pritilata who led the attack on September 23, 1932 and committed suicide, rather than surrendering. The suicide of her friend greatly affected Dutta, who was now at home under police observation. Again when Master Da was arrested on February 17, 1933, she once again managed to escape.

Finally during the Second Supplementary Trial in 1933, of the Chittagong Armory Raid, she was once again arrested and sent to the Hijli Jail meant for political prisoners. It was here she met Bina Das, who was arrested for the attempted murder of Bengal’s Governor at Kolkata University. It was at this time she was attracted towards Communism and the works of Marx and Lenin.

Communism is the true spirit of patriotism

Released in 1939, she graduated from Kolkata University in 1940 and joined the Communist Party of India. During the 1943 Bengal famine she served as a relief worker, as well as during Partition, when refugees flooded Kolkata. She also married P C Joshi, then General Secretary of Communist Party.

But her most well-known work would be “Chattagram Astragara Akramanakaridera Smriti Katha”, an autobiographical work that describes her life as well as the Chittagong Armory Raid. The book was later translated into English as Chittagong Armoury Raiders: Reminiscences by Arun Bose & Nikhil Chakraborty in 1945. She also contested the 1946 elections for Bengal Legislative Assembly, as a Communist Party of India candidate from Chittagong, but lost. After independence she joined the Indian Statistical Institute, where she worked till retirement. And finally on February 8,1995 she passed away.

Her elder son Chand Joshi, was a noted journalist  known for his work, Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality, while his wife Manini Chatterjee penned another book on the Chittagong Uprising, titled Do and Die: The Chattagram Uprising 1930-34. Her legacy would forever be in the form of her memoir due to which we know about the Chittagong Uprising and Master Da’s stellar contribution.

Ratnakar Sadasyula is an IT professional from Hyderabad with a passion for history. He has published a book City of Victory on Rise and Fall of Vijayanagara Empire. His other interests include movies, books, music, technology. He is a prolific writer on various platforms like Quora, and has his own dedicated history blog, History Under Your Feet. Watch his video on the Vijayanagara Empire here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QruuNq0w_g&t=1379s

 

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