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{{Short description|Indian freedom fighter (1870-1942)}} | {{Short description|Indian freedom fighter (1870-1942)}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date= | {{Use Indian English|date=August 2023}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date= | {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}} | ||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name | | name = Matangini Hazra | ||
| native_name = | | native_name = | ||
| image | | image = "Gandhi Buri" Matangini Hazra.jpg | ||
| caption | | caption = | ||
| birth_date | | birth_name = Matangini Maity | ||
| birth_place = [[Tamluk]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] | | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1870|10|19}} | ||
| death_date | | birth_place = [[Tamluk]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (now [[Tamluk]], [[Purba Medinipur]], [[West Bengal]], India) | ||
| death_place = Tamluk, Bengal Presidency, British India | | movement = [[Salt March|Civil Disobedience movement]]<br />Chowkidari tax bandha movement<br />[[Quit India movement]] | ||
| known_for | | spouse = Trilochan Hazra | ||
| father = Thakurdas Maity | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1942|09|29|1870|10|19}} | |||
| death_place = [[Tamluk]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (now [[Tamluk]], [[Purba Medinipur]], [[West Bengal]], India) | |||
| death_cause = [[Assassination]] | |||
| known_for = Humanitarian <br /> Activist and Martyr in the [[Indian independence movement]] | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Matangini Hazra''' (19 October 1870 – 29 September 1942<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/09/29/46101 |title=মাতঙ্গিনী হাজরা |publisher=Amardeshonline.com |date=2010-09-29 |access-date=2012-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120001023/http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/09/29/46101 |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the [[Indian independence movement]] | '''Matangini Hazra''' (19 October 1870 – 29 September 1942<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/09/29/46101 |title=মাতঙ্গিনী হাজরা |publisher=Amardeshonline.com |date=2010-09-29 |access-date=2012-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120001023/http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/09/29/46101 |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the [[Indian independence movement]]. She was leading one of the five batches of volunteers (of the ''Vidyut Bahini''), constituted by the ''Samar Parisad'' (War Council), at [[Tamluk]] to capture the Tamluk Police Station on 29 September 1942, when she was shot dead by the [[British Raj|British Indian]] police in front of the police station, becoming the first "Quit India" movement martyr in [[Midnapore district|Midnapore]]. She was a staunch [[Gandhism|Gandhian]] and was fondly called ''Gandhi buri'', [[Bengali language|Bengali]] for "''old lady Gandhi''".<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book | ||
|last=Amin | |last=Amin | ||
|first=Sonia | |first=Sonia | ||
| Line 25: | Line 30: | ||
|edition=Second | |edition=Second | ||
|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] | |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Simlandy |first1=Sagar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NyE3EAAAQBAJ |title=History of India & Abroad |last2=Mandal |first2=Ganesh Kr |date=2021-07-07 |publisher=BFC Publications |isbn=978-93-90880-20-1 |pages=169 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
[[File:Stamp of India - 2002 - Colnect 158283 - Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar - Matangini Hazra.jpeg|thumb|Matangini Hazra on a stamp of India celebrating 60 years of [[Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar]]]] | |||
==Early life | ==Early life== | ||
Not much is known of her early life apart from that she was born in | Not much is known of her early life apart from that she was born in a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[Mahishya]] family of village Hogla, near [[Tamluk]] on 19 October, 1870,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947) vol. 4 |publisher=Indian Council of Historical Research |year=2018 |location=New Delhi |pages=254 |language=English}}</ref> and that because she was the daughter of a poor peasant, she did not receive a formal education.<ref name="Freedom">{{cite book | ||
| last = Maity | | last = Maity | ||
| first = Sachindra | | first = Sachindra | ||
| Line 36: | Line 43: | ||
| location = Calcutta | | location = Calcutta | ||
| pages = 112–113 | | pages = 112–113 | ||
}}</ref> She was married early(at the age of 12) and became widowed at the age of eighteen without bearing any offspring.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> | }}</ref> She was married early (at the age of 12) and her husband name Trilochan Hazra and she became widowed at the age of eighteen without bearing any offspring. Her father-in-law's village was Alinan, of Tamluk thana.<ref name="Banglapedia"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Majumdar |first=Maya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5aYvBs7iGIC |title=Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality Through Women Empowerment |date=2005 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-548-6 |pages=231 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
== Participation in the freedom movement == | |||
Matangini Hazra became actively interested in the Indian independence movement as a [[Gandhian]].<ref name="Freedom" /> A notable feature of the freedom struggle in Midnapore was the participation of women.<ref name="Local">{{cite book | |||
| last = Chakrabarty | | last = Chakrabarty | ||
| first = Bidyut | | first = Bidyut | ||
| Line 46: | Line 54: | ||
| location = New Delhi | | location = New Delhi | ||
| pages = | | pages = | ||
}}</ref> In 1930, she took part in the [[Salt March|Civil Disobedience movement]] and was arrested for breaking the [[Salt Satyagraha|Salt Act]]. She was promptly released, but | }}</ref> In 1930, she took part in the [[Salt March|Civil Disobedience movement]] and was arrested for breaking the [[Salt Satyagraha|Salt Act]]. She was promptly released, but then participated in the 'Chowkidari Tax Bandha' (abolition of chowkidari tax) movement and while marching towards the court building chanting slogan to protest against the illegal constitution of a court by the governor to punish those who participated in the movement, Matangini was arrested again. She was sentenced to six months imprisonment and sent to Baharampur jail. Again, she was incarcerated for six months at [[Baharampur]].<ref name="Banglapedia" /> After being released, she became an active member of the [[Indian National Congress]] and took to spinning her own ''[[Khadi]]''. In 1933, she attended the subdivisional Congress conference at [[Serampore]] and was injured in the ensuing [[baton charge]] by the police.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> | ||
== Social work == | |||
In 1930s, despite her meagre physical state, Hazra went back to her social work immediately after her release from prison to help untouchables.<ref name=":0" /> Always engaged in humanitarian causes, she worked among affected men, women and children when smallpox in epidemic form broke out in the region.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> | |||
==Involvement in the Quit India Movement== | ==Involvement in the Quit India Movement== | ||
As part of the [[Quit India Movement]], members of the Congress planned to take over the various police stations of Medinipore district and other government offices.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> This was to be a step in overthrowing the British government in the district and establishing an independent Indian state. Hazra, who was 72 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station.<ref name="Freedom"/><ref name="Local"/> When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under [[Unlawful assembly|Section 144]] of the [[Indian Penal Code]] by the [[Crown colony|Crown police]].<ref name="Freedom"/> As she stepped forward, Hazra was shot once.<ref name="Freedom"/> Apparently, she had stepped forward and appealed to the police not to open fire at the crowd. | As part of the [[Quit India Movement]], members of the Congress planned to take over the various police stations of Medinipore district and other government offices.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> This was to be a step in overthrowing the British government in the district and establishing an independent Indian state. Hazra, who was 72 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station.<ref name="Freedom"/><ref name="Local"/> When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under [[Unlawful assembly|Section 144]] of the [[Indian Penal Code]] by the [[Crown colony|Crown police]].<ref name="Freedom"/> As she stepped forward, Hazra was shot once.<ref name="Freedom"/> Apparently, she had stepped forward and appealed to the police not to open fire at the crowd. | ||
The ''Biplabi'' newspaper of the parallel [[Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar|Tamluk National Government]] commented: | |||
The ''Biplabi'' newspaper of the parallel Tamluk National Government commented: | |||
{{blockquote|Matangini led one procession from the north of the criminal court building; even after the firing commenced, she continued to advance with the tri-colour flag, leaving all the volunteers behind. The police shot her three times. She continued marching despite wounds to the forehead and both hands.<ref name="Local"/> | {{blockquote|Matangini led one procession from the north of the criminal court building; even after the firing commenced, she continued to advance with the tri-colour flag, leaving all the volunteers behind. The police shot her three times. She continued marching despite wounds to the forehead and both hands.<ref name="Local"/> | ||
}} | }} | ||
As she was repeatedly shot, she kept chanting ''[[Vande Mataram]]'', "hail to the Motherland". She died with the flag | As she was repeatedly shot, she kept chanting ''[[Vande Mataram]]'', "hail to the Motherland". She died with the tricolour flag held high and still flying.<ref name="Banglapedia"/><ref name="Freedom"/><ref name="Local2">{{cite book | ||
| last = Chakrabarty | | last = Chakrabarty | ||
| first = Bidyut | | first = Bidyut | ||
| Line 63: | Line 73: | ||
| location = New Delhi | | location = New Delhi | ||
| page = 167 | | page = 167 | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hallegua |first=Madhur Zakir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VJpfDwAAQBAJ |title=100 Desi Stories Series |date=2018-05-28 |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |isbn=978-93-86867-14-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vashishth |first=Himankshi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFtuEAAAQBAJ |title=Mist of the Forbidden Forest |date=2022-05-06 |publisher=True Dreamster |pages=71 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
[[File:Kolkata Matangini Hazra.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Statue of Hazra on the Maidan at Kolkata]] | [[File:Kolkata Matangini Hazra.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Statue of Hazra on the Maidan at Kolkata]] | ||
The parallel Tamluk | The parallel Tamluk Government ([[Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar]]) incited open rebellion by praising her "martyrdom for her country" and was able to function for two more years, until it was disbanded in 1944, at [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]]'s request.<ref name="Local2"/> | ||
India earned Independence in 1947 and numerous schools, colonies, and streets were named after | India earned Independence in 1947 and numerous schools, colonies, and streets, including the long stretch of Hazra Road in [[Kolkata]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-03-08 |title=Matangini Hazra: Flag in hand, the 73-year-old walked into a barrage of bullets |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/matangini-hazra-flag-in-hand-the-73-year-old-walked-into-a-barrage-of-bullets-6304808/ |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> were named after Hazra. The first statue of a woman put up in Kolkata in independent India was Hazra's in 1977.<ref name="statue">{{cite web | ||
| last =catchcal.com | | last =catchcal.com | ||
| year = 2006 | | year = 2006 | ||
| url = http://www.catchcal.com/kaleidoscope/at_first_calcutta/f.asp | | url = http://www.catchcal.com/kaleidoscope/at_first_calcutta/f.asp | ||
| Line 85: | Line 94: | ||
|access-date=2006-09-29 | |access-date=2006-09-29 | ||
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031054728/http://www.hdaindia.com/tourism.htm | |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031054728/http://www.hdaindia.com/tourism.htm | ||
|archive-date=31 October | |archive-date=31 October 2006 | ||
|url-status=dead | |url-status=dead | ||
}}</ref> | }}</ref> | ||
In 2002, as part of a series of [[postage stamp]]s commemorating sixty years of the Quit India Movement and the formation of the Tamluk National Government, the Department of | |||
In 2002, as part of a series of [[postage stamp]]s commemorating sixty years of the [[Quit India Movement]] and the formation of the Tamluk National Government, the [[India Post|Department of Post]] of India issued a five [[rupee]] postage stamp with Matangini Hazra's portrait. In 2015, the [[Shahid Matangini Hazra Government College for Women]] was established in Tamluk, [[Purba Medinipur]].<ref name=":0" /> | |||
== See also == | |||
*[[Sahid Matangini (community development block)]] | |||
*[[Sahid Matangini railway station]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 99: | Line 112: | ||
[[Category:1870 births]] | [[Category:1870 births]] | ||
[[Category:1942 deaths]] | [[Category:1942 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]] | |||
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]] | |||
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]] | [[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]] | ||
[[Category:People from Purba Medinipur district]] | [[Category:People from Purba Medinipur district]] | ||
[[Category:Activists from West Bengal]] | [[Category:Activists from West Bengal]] | ||
[[Category:Women from West Bengal]] | [[Category:Women from West Bengal]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]] | [[Category:19th-century Indian women]] | ||
[[Category:19th-century Indian military personnel]] | |||
[[Category:19th-century Indian people]] | [[Category:19th-century Indian people]] | ||
[[Category:20th-century Indian women]] | [[Category:20th-century Indian women]] | ||
| Line 111: | Line 125: | ||
[[Category:Women Indian independence activists]] | [[Category:Women Indian independence activists]] | ||
[[Category:Revolutionaries from West Bengal]] | [[Category:Revolutionaries from West Bengal]] | ||
[[Category:People from Tamluk]] | |||
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Bengal]] | |||
[[Category:Civil disobedience in India]] | |||
Latest revision as of 14:37, 17 December 2025
Matangini Hazra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Matangini Maity 19 October 1870 |
| Died | 29 September 1942 (aged 71) |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Known for | Humanitarian Activist and Martyr in the Indian independence movement |
| Movement | Civil Disobedience movement Chowkidari tax bandha movement Quit India movement |
| Spouse(s) | Trilochan Hazra |
| Parent(s) |
|
Matangini Hazra (19 October 1870 – 29 September 1942[1]) was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement. She was leading one of the five batches of volunteers (of the Vidyut Bahini), constituted by the Samar Parisad (War Council), at Tamluk to capture the Tamluk Police Station on 29 September 1942, when she was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the police station, becoming the first "Quit India" movement martyr in Midnapore. She was a staunch Gandhian and was fondly called Gandhi buri, Bengali for "old lady Gandhi".[2][3]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Not much is known of her early life apart from that she was born in a Bengali Mahishya family of village Hogla, near Tamluk on 19 October, 1870,[4] and that because she was the daughter of a poor peasant, she did not receive a formal education.[5] She was married early (at the age of 12) and her husband name Trilochan Hazra and she became widowed at the age of eighteen without bearing any offspring. Her father-in-law's village was Alinan, of Tamluk thana.[2][6]
Participation in the freedom movement[edit | edit source]
Matangini Hazra became actively interested in the Indian independence movement as a Gandhian.[5] A notable feature of the freedom struggle in Midnapore was the participation of women.[7] In 1930, she took part in the Civil Disobedience movement and was arrested for breaking the Salt Act. She was promptly released, but then participated in the 'Chowkidari Tax Bandha' (abolition of chowkidari tax) movement and while marching towards the court building chanting slogan to protest against the illegal constitution of a court by the governor to punish those who participated in the movement, Matangini was arrested again. She was sentenced to six months imprisonment and sent to Baharampur jail. Again, she was incarcerated for six months at Baharampur.[2] After being released, she became an active member of the Indian National Congress and took to spinning her own Khadi. In 1933, she attended the subdivisional Congress conference at Serampore and was injured in the ensuing baton charge by the police.[2]
Social work[edit | edit source]
In 1930s, despite her meagre physical state, Hazra went back to her social work immediately after her release from prison to help untouchables.[8] Always engaged in humanitarian causes, she worked among affected men, women and children when smallpox in epidemic form broke out in the region.[2]
Involvement in the Quit India Movement[edit | edit source]
As part of the Quit India Movement, members of the Congress planned to take over the various police stations of Medinipore district and other government offices.[2] This was to be a step in overthrowing the British government in the district and establishing an independent Indian state. Hazra, who was 72 years at the time, led a procession of six thousand supporters, mostly women volunteers, with the purpose of taking over the Tamluk police station.[5][7] When the procession reached the outskirts of the town, they were ordered to disband under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code by the Crown police.[5] As she stepped forward, Hazra was shot once.[5] Apparently, she had stepped forward and appealed to the police not to open fire at the crowd. The Biplabi newspaper of the parallel Tamluk National Government commented:
Matangini led one procession from the north of the criminal court building; even after the firing commenced, she continued to advance with the tri-colour flag, leaving all the volunteers behind. The police shot her three times. She continued marching despite wounds to the forehead and both hands.[7]
As she was repeatedly shot, she kept chanting Vande Mataram, "hail to the Motherland". She died with the tricolour flag held high and still flying.[2][5][9][10][11]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
The parallel Tamluk Government (Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar) incited open rebellion by praising her "martyrdom for her country" and was able to function for two more years, until it was disbanded in 1944, at Gandhi's request.[9]
India earned Independence in 1947 and numerous schools, colonies, and streets, including the long stretch of Hazra Road in Kolkata,[8] were named after Hazra. The first statue of a woman put up in Kolkata in independent India was Hazra's in 1977.[12] A statue now stands at the spot where she was killed in Tamluk.[13]
In 2002, as part of a series of postage stamps commemorating sixty years of the Quit India Movement and the formation of the Tamluk National Government, the Department of Post of India issued a five rupee postage stamp with Matangini Hazra's portrait. In 2015, the Shahid Matangini Hazra Government College for Women was established in Tamluk, Purba Medinipur.[8]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "মাতঙ্গিনী হাজরা". Amardeshonline.com. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Amin, Sonia (2012). "Hazra, Matangini". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ↑ Simlandy, Sagar; Mandal, Ganesh Kr (7 July 2021). History of India & Abroad. BFC Publications. p. 169. ISBN 978-93-90880-20-1.
- ↑ Dictionary of Martyrs: India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947) vol. 4. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research. 2018. p. 254.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Maity, Sachindra (1975). Freedom Movement in Midnapore. Calcutta: Firma, K.L. pp. 112–113.
- ↑ Majumdar, Maya (2005). Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality Through Women Empowerment. Sarup & Sons. p. 231. ISBN 978-81-7625-548-6.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chakrabarty, Bidyut (1997). Local Politics and Indian Nationalism: Midnapur (1919-1944). New Delhi: Manohar.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Matangini Hazra: Flag in hand, the 73-year-old walked into a barrage of bullets". The Indian Express. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chakrabarty, Bidyut (1997). Local Politics and Indian Nationalism: Midnapur (1919-1944). New Delhi: Manohar. p. 167.
- ↑ Hallegua, Madhur Zakir (28 May 2018). 100 Desi Stories Series. Jaico Publishing House. ISBN 978-93-86867-14-8.
- ↑ Vashishth, Himankshi (6 May 2022). Mist of the Forbidden Forest. True Dreamster. p. 71.
- ↑ catchcal.com (2006). "At first in Kolkata". Retrieved 29 September 2006.
- ↑ Haldia Development Authority (2006). "Haldia Development Authority". Archived from the original on 31 October 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2006.