“The Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch, hereby solemnly declares its intention to stand against the age-long repression by the British people and their Government which they have followed as a cruel policy to keep the three hundred millions of Indian people subjugated for unlimited time and to eradicate the slightest trace of nationalism and national originality amongst them.”
-Pamphlet issued by Indian Republican Army under the leadership of Masterda Surya Sen
Pritilata Waddedar is one of those names that have remained etched in the minds of every person on this subcontinent who aspire for a truly democratic society. She is widely known as the first woman martyr of the Indian struggle for freedom in the 20th century. Today, rising wealth inequality surpasses the British period, atrocities are increasing against women and minorities with a deliberate erasure of the radical and secular aspects of the freedom movement by this neoliberal Hindutva regime, that idolises traitors like Savarkar, Golwalkar, and others. It becomes imperative to uphold the life and ideals of icons like Pritilata. The martyrdoms of Pritilata, Masterda, Nirmal Sen and others from Chittagong’s Indian Republican Army, continue to inspire student-youth, especially young women, to fight against all forms of injustice.
Pritilata was born on 13th May, 1911 in a financially struggling family of Chittagong. She was the second child of her parents. Not welcomed at birth, her parents were rather hoping for a male child. If only they could know, the lasting impact Pritilata was going to leave with her life. Despite that, her parents worked hard to give all the children a good education.
Pritilata, being a bright student, passed her Matriculation examination securing 1st division in 1927. She continued her study in Eden College, Dhaka and in 1929 passed the intermediate examination. Later, she graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College, Kolkata. Pritilata had involved herself in ‘activities subversive to the state’ since she was a student at Dhaka. By that time different semi-legal, feeder organisations for instilling nationalist ideals into women had developed in Bengal. Pritilata became a part of those. By then Masterda Surya Sen and his Indian Republican Army (IRA) had almost become a legend in the Chittagong area. Pritilata was eager to join the revolutionaries, she insisted on Purnendu Dastidar- a member of the IRA, to include her in the Army as a member. With agreement from Masterda, Pritilata was inducted into the Army. Masterda’s revolutionary vision led to the Chittagong armoury raid of 18th April, 1930 and later the battle of Jalalabad hills. Railway lines, telegraph wires, and other connections with the British centres to Chittagong were severed by them. Throughout these acts, the Army comprising teens and youth showed remarkable resilience and courage. Terror was struck in the hearts of the British exploiters!
In the early days of the rise of ‘terrorist’ groups like Anushilan Samiti, Jugantor dol etc., the role of women was usually passive. They were mostly involved in providing shelters, carrying messages, concealing banned books etc. Inspired by the militant activities taken up by the IRA, Pritilata insisted on Masterda to be given a chance to involve herself in direct action. He eventually agreed to Pritilata leading a team of seven comrades for an attack on the ‘Pahartali European club’ that was the white rulers’ centre for drinking and making
merry. The club exhibited a sign prohibiting dogs and Indians entry inside. This attack was meant as a retribution for the British opening fire on unarmed civilians at Jallianwala Bagh on 13th April, 1919, killing hundreds.
Under the leadership of Pritilata the team assembled near the Club on 24th September, 1932 late in the night. For the attack, Pritilata dressed herself as a Punjabi youth since there were some Punjabi quarters close to the club. She carried a revolver with a shortened nozzle. The others were armed with revolvers, rifles, and swords. She was accompanied by Kalikinkar Dey, Prafulla Roy, Shanti Chakrabarty, Mahendra Chowdhury, Sushil Dey, and Panna Sen. The Europeans were completely taken by surprise at this guerilla ambush. The revolutionaries blocked all doors and windows and showered bullets on the Europeans, wounding many of them. The whole place was filled with pamphlets of the IRA. Some guards and armed officers opened fire on the firehearts but before the British security forces could launch a proper counter-attack, the team fled the scene. Pritilata was unfortunately wounded by a bullet. She immediately consumed cyanide poison. Kali-da emptied his own capsule as well in her mouth to ensure death before capture to keep a promise he had made to her before the attack. The Indian freedom struggle thus got its first woman martyr.
Pritilata was discovered in the early morning hours behind the club under a tree. A note was discovered on her that said, “Long Live The Revolution. I solemnly declare – I belong to the Chittagong Branch of the ‘Indian Republican Army’ whose lofty ideal is to liberate my mother-country from the yoke of the tyrannical exploiting and imperialistic British Government and to establish a Federated Indian Republic instead…I feel proud to have been a part of an Army that has carried out the 18th April, 1930 raids, the successful battle of Jalalabad, and later the battles of Samirpur, Feni, Chandannagar, Chandpur, Dhaka, Comilla, and Dhalghat…I earnestly hope that my sisters will no more think themselves weaker and will get themselves ready to face all dangers and difficulties and join the revolutionary movement in their thousands.” The fire of her commitment to the cause of the revolution kept on burning bright long after her death. Two years later Surya Sen was captured by the British, thanks to a local informer. He was severely tortured and hanged. His last remains were thrown into the sea to avoid an outburst of public anger. Revolutionaries like Pritilata, Masterda and others will continue to be living proof that, ‘…it is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas.’
