Surya Sen, a daring freedom fighter from Bengal - British India

Patriot Surya Sen Indianetzone

Patriot Surya Sen  Towards Freedom

Surya Sen (22 March 1894 – 12 January 1934)was a school teacher turned revolutionary from Bengal.  Born on 22 March 1894  in a Baidya family at Noapara, under Raozan Upazila in Chittagong  his father was Ramaniranjan Sen, a teacher. Educated at Behrampore College, Bengal his  hatred for the British  rulers and their subjugation of India led him to believe that violence was the only way to get the attention of the British as well as natives  to see Free India.  He was a member of a revolutionary organization called Anushilan Samity. Earlier he was a Congress leader and later became President of Indian National Congress, Chittagong branch.

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He was one among countless patriots who believed that Gandhiji's chosen path of non-violence as a tool to get freedom from the British  won't work because they were aware that the British were a hard nut to crack. Further, the British shamelessly exploited the Indian lands and Indian people to improve their economy and standard of living. India being a cash cow, it is not that easy to get off the British yoke  by following Satyagraha - non-cooperation. Surya Sen, having touch with other spirited patriots led the Chittagong Armory Raid in 1930  to prove that an armed uprising against the mighty British was a way to instill fear in them.  Under his   expert  leadership and guidance, a group of sixty-four other revolutionaries captured the Police Armory at Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) and damaged  the telephones and telegraph lines and dislocated the railway lines to and from Chittagong. They took the arms, but could not find the ammunition. The purpose of this raid was to isolate Chittagong from the rest of Bengal The uprising was so effective, the revolutionaries took control of Chittagong for a brief time.  They went ahead and hoisted a tricolor Indian flag on  the armory building . A large contingent of British forces overpowered the revolutionaries near the Jalalabad hills  and in the fight, about 12 revolutionaries were killed and some were captured and the rest escaped from the scene and  were at large.  Surya Sen kept moving from place to place without being seen by the British forces. Sometime he moved around from place to place incognito avoiding arrest and torture by the government. At last he took refuge in  the house of Netra Sen who later betrayed him and informed the police who finally arrested him in 1933. Soon,  a revolutionary entered the house of Netra Sen and killed him in cold blood for having blown the whistle on Sen.  On 12 January 1934 Sen was hanged to death by the British  for his revolutionary activities. He was barely 39 years of age at the time of his death.  Before  death his letter to his friend  is as follows:  ............. "Death is knocking at my door. My mind is flying away towards eternity ...At such a pleasant, at such a grave, at such a solemn moment, what shall I leave behind you? Only one thing, that is my dream, a golden dream-the dream of Free India... Never forget the 18th of April,1930, the day of the eastern Rebellion in Chittagong... Write in red letters in the core of your hearts the names of the patriots who have sacrificed their lives at the altar of India’s freedom." (Wikipedia)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surya_Sen

https://www.thebetterindia.com/23959/unsung-heroes-freedom-fighters-india