Bagha Jatin: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Indian revolutionary independence activist (1879-1915)}}

{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}

| name             = Jatindranath Mukherjee

| birth_name       =  

| birth_date       = {{birth date|1879|12|07|df=yes}}

| birth_place     = [[Kushtia]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] (now Bangladesh)

| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1915|09|10|1879|12|08|df=yes}}

| death_place     = [[Balasore]], Bengal Presidency, British India

| death_cause     = Gunshot wound

| education       = [[University of Calcutta]]

| alma_mater       =  

| occupation       = Indian independence activist

| known_for       = Freedom Struggle

| image           = File:Bagha Jatin.jpg

| caption         =

| nationality     = Indian

| other_names     = Bagha Jatin

| movement         = [[Indian Independence movement]]

| organisation     = [[Jugantar]]

| awards           =  

'''Bagha Jatin''' ({{lang-bn|বাঘা যতীন|Bāghā Jôtīn|Tiger Jatin}} {{IPA-bn|ˈbaɡʰa ˈd͡ʒot̪in|pron}}) or '''Baghajatin''' ({{lang-bn|বাঘাযতীন}}), born '''Jatindranath Mukherjee''' ({{lang-bn|যতীন্দ্রনাথ মুখোপাধ্যায়|Jôtīndrônāth Mukhopāddhāẏ}} {{IPA-bn|ˈd͡ʒot̪ind̪roˌnatʰ ˈmukʰoˌpaddʰaj|pron}}; 7 December 1879 – 10 September 1915), was an [[List of Indian independence activists|Indian independence activist]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/world/remembering-bagha-jatin-14682.html|title=Remembering Bagha Jatin|date=11 September 2013|work=The Statesman}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Thousands-of-visitors-and-a-group-of-freedom-fighters-from-Orissa-andWest-Bengal-on-Friday-visited-Chasakhand-a-sleepy-village-in-OrissasBalasore-district-that-sees-a-flurry-of-activity-every-year-onSeptember-10-the-death-anniversary-of-freedom-fighter-Baghajatin-andhis-four-companions-Baghajatin-popularly-known-as-Bengal-Tiger-fellto-British-bullets-on-Sep-10-1915-after-his-four-man-army-waged-acourageous-battle-at-Chasakhand-He-continues-to-be-an-undying-linkbetween-West-Bengal-and-Orissa-Born-as-Jatindranath-Mukherjee-onDecember-7-1889-in-Koya-village-of-Kushtia-district-of-undividedBengal-the-revolutionary-was-known-to-have-fought-the-British-toothand-nail-Chasakhand-is-perhaps-the-only-memorial-place-which-bindsthe-two-states-as-every-year-tourists-and-freedom-fighters-from-WestBengal-throng-the-spot-to-pay-tribute-to-the-revolutionaries-/articleshow/6530854.cms|title=Thousands of visitors and a group of freedom fighters from Orissa and West Bengal on Friday visited Chasakhand, a sleepy village in Orissa's Balasore district that sees a flurry of activity every year on September 10 - the death anniversary of freedom fighter Baghajatin and his four companions. Baghajatin, popularly known as Bengal Tiger, fell to British bullets on Sep 10, 1915, after his four-man army waged a courageous battle at Chasakhand. He continues to be an undying link between West Bengal and Orissa. Born as Jatindranath Mukherjee on December 7, 1889 in Koya village of Kushtia district of undivided Bengal, the revolutionary was known to have fought the British tooth and nail. Chasakhand is perhaps the only memorial place which binds the two states as every year tourists and freedom fighters from West Bengal throng the spot to pay tribute to the revolutionaries.|website=The Times of India|author=Hemant Rout |date=10 September 2010|access-date=16 July 2019}}</ref>

Jatin was born to Sharatshashi and Umeshchandra Mukherjee in Kayagram, a village in the [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]], subdivision of undivided [[Nadia district]], in what is now [[Bangladesh]], on 7 December 1879. He grew up in his ancestral home at Sadhuhati, P.S. Rishkhali [[Jhenaidah District|Jhenaidah]] until his father's death when Jatin was five years old. Well versed in Brahmanic studies, his father liked horses and was respected for the strength of his character. Sharatshashi settled in her parents' home in Kayagram with her son and his elder sister Benodebala (or Vinodebala). A gifted poet, she was affectionate and stern in her method of raising her children. Familiar with the essays by contemporary thought leaders like [[Bankimchandra Chatterjee]] and [[Yogendra Vidyabhushan]], she was aware of the social and political transformations of her times. Her brother Basanta Kumar Chattopadhyay (father of Indian revolutionary and politician [[Haripada Chattopadhyay]]) taught and practised law, and counted among his clients the poet [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. Since the age of 14, Tagore had claimed in meetings organised by his family members equal rights for Indian citizens inside railway carriages and in public places. As Jatin grew older, he gained a reputation for physical bravery and great strength; charitable and cheerful by nature, he was fond of caricature and enacting religious plays, himself playing the roles of god-loving characters like Prahlad, Dhruva, [[Hanuman]], Râja Harish Chandra. He not only encouraged several playwrights to produce patriotic pieces for the urban stage, but also engaged village bards to spread nationalist fervour in the countryside.<ref>''Paribarik Katha'' and ''Durgotsav'', by [[Lalitkumar Chatterjee]], Jatin's uncle and revolutionary colleague, who published also Jatin's biography, ''Biplabi Jatindranath'' in 1947.</ref>  

Fed up with the colonial system of education, Jatin left for Muzaffarpore in 1899, as secretary of barrister [[Pringle Kennedy]], founder{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} and editor of the ''Trihoot Courrier''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Majumdar |first=Bimanbehari |year=1966 |title=Militant Nationalism in India |location=Calcutta |publisher=General Printers & Publishers |page=111 |oclc=8793353 |quote=Mr. Kennedy was ... Editor of the ''Tirhoot-cowríer'' [sic]}}</ref> He was impressed by this historian: through his editorials and from the Congress platform, he showed how urgent it was to have an Indian National Army and to react against the British squandering of Indian budget to safeguard their interests in China and elsewhere.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

Upon returning to his native village Koya in March 1906, Jatin learned about the disturbing presence of a tiger in the vicinity; while scouting in the nearby jungle, he came across a Royal Bengal tiger and fought hand-to-hand with it. Wounded, he managed to strike with a Gorkha dagger (Khukuri) on the tiger's neck, killing it instantly. The famous surgeon of Calcutta, Lt-Colonel [[Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari]], "took upon himself the responsibility for curing the wounded patient whose whole body had been poisoned by the tiger's nails."<ref>[[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], pp. 167–168.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2017}} Impressed by Jatin's exemplary heroism, Dr. Sarbadhikari published an article about Jatin in the English press. The Government of Bengal awarded him a silver shield with the scene of him killing the tiger engraved on it.<ref>Dr Kumar Bagchi's Talks with Prithwindra Mukherjee, preserved at the Nehru Museum, New Delhi.</ref> The title 'Bagha', meaning 'Tiger' in Bengali, became associated with him since then.

Duly appreciated for his professional competence, in 1907 Jatin was "sent to Darjeeling on some special work," for a period of three years. "From early youth he had the reputation of a local Sandow and he soon attracted attention in Darjeeling in cases in which (...) he tried to measure the strength with Europeans. In 1908 he was leader of one of several gangs that had sprung up in Darjeeling, whose object was the spreading of dissatisfaction, and with his associates he started a branch of the [[Anushilan Samiti]], called the [[Bandhab Samiti]]."<ref>Report by W. Sealy, "Connections with the Revolutionary organisation in Bihar and Odisha, 1906–16", quoted in [[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], pp. 165–166.</ref> In April 1908, in [[Siliguri]] railway station, Jatin got involved in a fight with a group of English military officers headed by Captain Murphy and Lt Somerville, leading to legal proceedings, widely covered by the press.<ref>''Notes'' by Bhavabhûshan. Also, ''The Statesman'', 28 January 1910.</ref> On observing the gleeful animosity created by the news of a few Englishmen thrashed single-handed by an Indian, Wheeler advised the officers to withdraw the case. Warned by the Magistrate to behave properly in the future, Jatin regretted that he would not refrain from taking similar action in self-defence or in the vindication of the rights of his countrymen.<ref>[[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], p. 166.</ref> One day, in a pleasant mood, Wheeler asked Jatin : "With how many can you fight all alone ?" The prompt reply was: "Not a single one, if it is a question of honest people; otherwise, as many as you can imagine!"<ref name="Devi">Handwritten ''Notes'' by Benodebala Devi, preserved at the Nehru Museum, New Delhi.</ref> In 1908 Jatin was not one of over thirty revolutionaries accused in the [[Alipore Bomb Case]] following the incident at [[Muzaffarpur]]. Hence, during the Alipore trial, Jatin took over the leadership of the secret society to be known as the [[Jugantar]] Party, and revitalises the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over [[Bengal]], [[Bihar]], [[Odisha]] and several places in [[Uttar Pradesh|U.P.]].<ref>[[#Ray|Ray]], p.&nbsp;3.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2017}} Through Justice Sarada Charan Mitra, Jatin leases from Sir Daniel Hamilton lands in the Sundarbans to shelter revolutionaries not yet arrested. Atul Krishna Ghosh & Jatindranath Mukherjee founded PATHURIAGHATA BYAM SAMITY which was an important centre of armed revolution of Indian national movement.They are engaged in night schools for adults, homeopathic dispensaries, workshops to encourage small scale cottage industries, experiments in agriculture. Since 1906, with the help of Sir Daniel, Jatin had been sending meritorious students abroad for higher studies as well as for learning military craft.<ref>[[#Guha|Guha]], p.&nbsp;161: "Workers of the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti started the Bengal Youngmen's Zamindari Co-operative Society ... The idea was to place revolutionary young men in the rural agricultural sector ... Organising small-scale cottage industries and swadeshi stores also engaged the attention of some of these workers."</ref><ref>[[#Biplabi|Biplabi]], pp. 282–283.</ref>

Jatin Mukherjee was not involved in the Alipore Bomb case. Jatin was acquitted in February 1911 and released. Immediately, he suspended armed revolution. This lull proved Jatin's full command of violence as an antidote, contrary to the [[Chauri Chaura incident|Chauri Chaura fiasco]] after him. During the German Crown Prince's visit to Calcutta, Jatin met him and received a promise about arms supply.<ref name=t625>[[#Samanta|Samanta]], Vol. II, "Nixon Report", p. 625.</ref> Having lost his government job&nbsp;– and home interned, he managed to leave Calcutta, to start a contract business constructing the [[Jessore District|Jessore]]–[[Jhenaidah District|Jhenaidah]] railway line. This provided him with a valid pretext and an ample scope to move about on horse-back or on the bicycle to consolidate not only the district units in Bengal, but also to revitalise those in other provinces. Jatin with his family set out on a [[pilgrimage]], and at [[Haridwar]] visited his Guru, [[Bholananda Giri]]. Jatin went on to [[Brindavan]] where he met Swami Niralamba (who had been [[Jatindra Nath Banerjee]], the renowned revolutionary, before leading a [[sanyasi]]'s life); he had continued preaching in North India Sri Aurobindo's doctrine of a revolution.

Niralamba gave Jatin complementary information about, and links to, the units set up by him in Uttar Pradesh and the [[Punjab region|Punjab]]. An important part of revolutionary activities in these regions were led by [[Rasbehari Bose]] and his associate [[Lala Hardayal]]. On returning from his pilgrimage, Jatin started reorganising [[Jugantar]] accordingly. During the [[Damodar River|Damodar]] flood in 1913, mainly in the districts of [[Burdwan]] and [[Midnapore]], relief work brought together leaders of various groups:{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Jatin "never asserted his leadership, but the party members in the different districts acclaimed him as their leader."<ref name="First Spark, p.163"/>

Drawn by Jatin's relief work during the flood, [[Rasbehari Bose]] left Benares to join him: the contact with Jatin added a new impulse to Bose's revolutionary zeal: in Jatin, he discovered "a real leader of men"<ref>[[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], pp. 119, 177.</ref> At the close of 1913, Bose met Jatin to discuss the possibilities of an All-India armed rising of 1857 type. Impressed by Jatin's "fiery energy and personality", Bose renewed negotiation with the native officers posted at the [[Fort William, India|Fort William]] of Calcutta, the nerve centre of the various regiments of the colonial Army, before returning to Benares "to organise the scattered forces."<ref>[[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], p. 177.</ref><ref>Amarendra Chatterjee's letter dated 4 August 1954 in [[#Biplabi|Biplabi]], p.535.</ref>

Shortly after when World War I broke out, in September 1914, an International Pro-India Committee was formed at [[Zürich]].  Very soon it merges into a bigger body, to form the [[Berlin Committee]], or the [[Indian Independence Committee]], led by [[Virendranath Chattopadhyaya]] alias Chatto: it gained the support of the German government and had as members prominent Indian revolutionaries abroad, including leaders of the [[Ghadar Party]]. Militants of the [[Ghadar Party]] started leaving for India, to join the proposed uprising inside India during World War I, with the help of arms, ammunition, and funds promised by the German government. Advised by Berlin, Ambassador Bernstorff in Washington arranged with Von Papen, his military attaché, to send cargo consignments from California to the coast of the Bay of Bengal, via Far East.<ref>"England's Indian Trouble" in the ''[[Berliner Tageblatt]]'', 6 March 1914.</ref>

On reaching Odisha, in April 1915, Jatin sent one of his close associates, [[Naren Bhattacharya]] (future [[M. N. Roy]]) to [[Jakarta|Batavia]], following instructions from [[Virendranath Chattopadhyaya|Chatto]], to make a deal with the German authorities concerning financial aid and the supply of arms. Through the German Consul, Naren met Theodore, brother of [[Karl Helfferich]], who assured him that a cargo of arms and ammunition was already on its way, "to assist the Indians in a revolution."<ref>[[#Mukherjee|Mukherjee]], p. 186.</ref>

The network of [[Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak]] revolutionaries and emigrants also had a role in the uncovering of Jatin's plans and some of the earlier plots.<ref name=voska>{{Citation

  | first1 = E. V.

  | first2 = W.

  | pages = 98, 108, 120, 122–123

  | pages = [https://archive.org/details/makingofstate0000masa/page/50 50, 221, 242]

  | url = https://archive.org/details/makingofstate0000masa/page/50

Jatin was kept informed and was requested to leave his hiding place, but his insistence on taking [[Nirendranath Dasgupta]] and Jatish with him delayed his departure by a few hours, by which time a large force of police, headed by top European officers from Calcutta and Balasore, reinforced by the army unit from Chandbali in [[Bhadrak]] State, had reached the neighborhood. Jatin and his companions walked through the forests and hills of Mayurbhanj, and after two days reached Balasore Railway Station.

The police had announced a reward for the capture of five fleeings "bandits", so the local villagers were also in pursuit. With occasional skirmishes, the revolutionaries, running through jungles and marshy land in torrential rain, finally took up position on 9 September 1915 in an improvised trench in the undergrowth on a hillock at [[Chashakhand]] in Balasore. Chittapriya and his companions asked Jatin to leave and go to safety while they guarded the rear. Jatin, however, refused to leave them.

The contingent of Government forces approached them in a pincers movement. A gunfight ensued, lasting seventy-five minutes, between the five revolutionaries armed with [[Mauser]] pistols and a large number of police and army armed with modern rifles. It ended with an unrecorded number of casualties on the Government side; on the revolutionary side, Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri died, Jatin and Jatish were seriously wounded, and Manoranjan, Sengupta and Niren were captured after their ammunition ran out.  Jatindranath Mukherjee died in Balasore hospital on 10 September 1915.

In 1925, [[Gandhi]] told [[Charles Tegart]] that Jatin, generally referred to as "Bagha Jatin" (translated as Tiger Jatin), was "a divine personality".{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} Tegart himself is purported to have told his colleagues that if Jatin were an Englishman, then the English people would have built his statue next to Nelson's at [[Trafalgar Square]].{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} In a 1926 note to J.E. Francis of the India Office, he described Bengali revolutionaries as "the most selfless political workers in India".<ref>''The Statesman'', Calcutta, 28 April 2009</ref>{{full citation needed|date=September 2017}}

*{{cite book|ref=Mukherjee|author=Mukherjee, Uma|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.149269|title=Two Great Indian Revolutionaries|publisher=K. L. Mukhopadhyay |year=1966}}