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Chittranjan Das was born on November 5, 1870 in Calcutta. Das
descended from a family of "vaidyas" or physicians. His father,
Bhuben Mohan Das, was a lawyer and journalist. His mother's name was
Nistarini Devi. Das developed a logical mind owing to his father and
a liberal outlook and a deep sense of hospitality owing to his
mother. As a child, Das was deeply imbued with patriotism and
recited patriotic poems. After school, Das entered the Presidency
college. He excelled at English but did poorly in Mathematics. Das
developed a keen interest in Bengali literature and read most works
of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore. On his
father's advice, Das joined the Bar and the Inner Temple in London.
He became a barrister in 1893.
Das
started practicing in the Calcutta High court and had the
opportunity to defend national workers like Bipin Chandra Pal and
Arvinda Ghosh. The case against Arvinda Ghosh came to be known as
the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy. Two attempts on the life of the Chief
Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta, Mr. Kingsford, were made because
he was ruthless while handing out punishments. The first attempt
through a mail bomb was a failure. The second attempt was made by
Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki. The attempt resulted in the death
of 2 innocent English women but Lord Kingsford escaped. Prafulla
committed suicide and Khudiram was captured and sentenced to death.
A witch hunt ensued and A. Ghosh was labelled the master-mind behind
the blasts by the British Government. Nobody was ready to defend
Ghosh except Chittranjan Das. The entire trial lasted for 126 days,
200 witnesses were examined, 4000 paper exhibits and 500 material
exhibits in the form of bombs and explosives were filed in the case.
Das's concluding statements alone lasted for 9 days. Arvinda Ghosh
was acquitted. Das accepted no fee for defending Ghosh; in fact he
incurred a heavy loss of Rs. 15,000 by the time the case was
complete.
Besides
being an astute lawyer, Das was a literary man. He has works like
Mala and Antaryami (poems expressing religious spirit and devotion),
and Kishore Kishori (poem expressing the eternal love between Lord
Krishna and Radha). Along with Arvinda Ghosh, he founded the famous
journal Bande Mataram. He was also the editor in chief of the
journal Forward, a mouthpiece of the Swaraj party.
Das was
moved by Gandhiji's call for non-violent resistance to the British
Government. The Indian Reforms Act, also known as the Montford
Reforms were passed in 1919 in Britain. The reforms were aimed at
achieving a responsible government in India. Das moved a resolution
declaring the reforms "inadequate, unsatisfactory and
disappointing." He appealed to the Government to make a
conscientious effort for setting up a more responsible government in
India. The Congress accepted Das's resolution with a few amendments.
A sub-committee recommended a boycott of educational institutions,
law courts and legislative councils. Das believed that most
effective way to gain freedom was to fight the British from without
and within. He favored the boycott of the schools and courts but
opposed the boycott of legislative councils.
Das
declared that he would give up his practice to set an example for
his people. Das played an important role in the boycott of the
arrival of Prince of Wales in Calcutta on November 17, 1920. When
the Prince stepped into the city he found it deserted. Das did his
best to keep the boycott complete and peaceful. He organized the
Congress Volunteers Corps for effectively implementing Congress
programs. He enrolled one crore volunteers to raise Rs 1 crore for
the Tilak Swaraj Memorial Fund. The volunteers were involved in
picketing Government offices, shops selling foreign goods, liquor
shops. They were also involved in selling khaddar. This led to an
unprecedented mass awakening.
The
fallout of the boycott of colleges resulted in many students with no
educational institution to go to. Das setup the Bengal National
College to fulfill the demands of the students. In December 1921 Das
was arrested. Getting into the police car Das told the crowd, "Men
and women of India. This is my message to you. Victory is in sight
if you are prepared to win it through suffering." Conches were blown
and flowers showered on Deshbandhu (literally: friend of the nation)
as he was fondly called for the sacrifices he made for the freedom
struggle, as the police car started. Deshbandhu was first imprisoned
in the Presidency Jail and was moved to the Central Jail where many
of his followers were imprisoned. Das was released the following
year.
Deshbandhu, along with Motilal Nehru, founded the Swaraj Party in
1923 for maintaining of continued participation in legislative
councils. The party was soon recognized as the parliamentary wing of
the Congress. In Bengal many of the candidates fielded by the Swaraj
Party were elected to office. The Governor invited Deshbandhu to
form a government but he declined. The party came to be a powerful
opposition in the Bengal Legislative Council and inflicted defeats
on three ministries.
The
Calcutta Municipal Act of 1923 was a major landmark in the history
of local self-government in India. The Swarajists were elected to
the Calcutta Corporation in a majority in 1924. Deshbandhu was
elected mayor and Subash Chandra Bose was appointed Chief Executive
Officer. Greater efficiency was brought to the administration and
many welfare projects were implemented. After giving up his legal
practice Deshbandhu went from one of the richest men in Calcutta to
one of the poorest. His liabilities amounted to one lakh rupees. The
only asset he had was his huge building in Calcutta which he wanted
to gift to the nation. Deshbandhu set up a fund, which was later
made the Deshbandhu Memorial Fund through Gandhiji's intervention to
clear his liabilities, build a temple, establish an orphanage and
provide education to the masses. establish an orphanage and provide
education to the masses. The total amount collected by the fund
amounted to eight lakh rupees. Deshbandhu's home was converted to a
hospital for women and is called Chittranjan Seva Sadan.
The
struggle with the Government became more intense on account of the
legalization of the oppressive Bengal Ordinance which authorized
arrest of individuals suspected of terrorism without probable cause.
Das had returned with a high fever from the Belgaum Congress session
of 1925. When he heard that the ordinance was to be legalized on
January 7, 1925, Deshbandhu declared from his sickbed, "The Black
Bill is coming up for discussion. I must attend at any cost and
oppose it." He was taken to the Council on a stretcher attended by
two doctors. The bill was defeated. On June 16, 1925, Deshbandhu's
condition worsened. He died while resting in Darjeeling. On
Deshbandhu's death, Subash Chandra Bose said, "The death of
Deshbandhu... was for India a national calamity... ."
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