Jagat Joity Das (April 26, 1949 – November 16, 1971) was a martyr of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was posthumously awarded the

Bir Bikrom Bir Bikrom ( bn, বীর বিক্রম, lit=Valiant hero, translit=) is the third highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Like the other gallantry awards, this was introduced immediately after the Bangladeshi Liberation War. Bir Bikrom was ...

, the third highest award for gallantry, for his role in the freedom movement of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Early life and education

Das was born in Jalsukha village Ajmiriganj,

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succ ...

in 1959. His father was Jitendra Das. Jagot Joity joined into movement against the Ayub Khan junta while still in school. In 1968, he passed his examinations and entered Sunamganj College, where he was an active member of the Menon Group student union. In 1969, Das went to

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where he entered

Nampong Nampong is a census town in the Changlang District in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located close to the Pangsau Pass, being the last town on the Indian side, at an elevation of 308 metres. Nampong is one of the 60 constitue ...

College and learned about guerrilla warfare.

Bangladesh war of liberation

He received training in

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

and joined the guerrilla group of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

afterwards, which operated primarily in the Sunamganj Netrokona Habiganj river,or '''Haor, area. His group was known to the local people as Das Party. According to Abdul Kaium, one fellow commander of Das, the name of "Das party" was officially approved by the Bangladesh Liberation Army. Das operated a number of guerrilla missions, such as the Paharpur operation, the Baniachong police station attack, and the Badalpur operation, driving out the Pakistani military from the region. Given the Pakistani Army's use of waterways as supply routes, the Das and other members of the group launched an assault on he Pakistani forces on October 16, 1971, cutting the military's supply lines. A bounty was subsequently placed on Das' head.

Death

On November 16, 1971, the Das party was attacked by the Pakistani army and was forced into retreat. Das got cornered and was shot dead in the assault. Pakistan army and local Rajakars retrieved his dead body near the bank of a river and hanged his lifeless body with an electric pillar of the local Ajmiriganj bazar.

Memoirs

In 1972, he was awarded with the Bir Bikrom, the highest gallantry award by

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বেতার; ), or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After t ...

as the first civilian freedom fighter. However, the Bangladeshi government did not award him the medal until two decades later. Communist activist and novelist Anjali Lahiri wrote a novel named ''Jagatjoity'', which was published in 2003 in Dhaka. Notable theater personality of Bangladesh, Smt. Ruma Modok, also staged a drama in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Jagat Joity 1949 births 1971 deaths Recipients of the Bir Bikrom People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War People from Ajmiriganj Upazila Mukti Bahini personnel