Purnendu Dastidar ( bn, পূর্ণেন্দু দস্তিদার; 20 June 1909 – 9 May 1971) was a

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

i politician, writer and lawyer. A key leader of the Communist Party of East Pakistan, Dastidar was jailed for over two decades.

Student years and revolutionary struggle

Dastidar was born in Dalghat village,

Chittagong District Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...

. He was the son of Chandra Kumar Dastidar, an officer of the Chittagong Law Court. He passed his I.sc. exam from Chittagong College in 1927. He went on to study at the Jadavpur Engineering and Technology College. He was a member of the Chittagong

Jugantar Jugantar or Yugantar ( bn, যুগান্তর ''Jugantor''; lit. ''New Era'' or ''Transition of an Epoch'') was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence. This association, like Anushi ...

Party, and took part in guerrilla actions against British targets together with Surya Sen, Kalpana Dutta and

Pritilata Waddedar Pritilata Waddedar (5 May 1911 – 24 September 1932) was an Indian revolutionary nationalist from the Indian subcontinent who was influential in the Indian independence movement. After completing her education in Chittagong and Dhaka, she att ...

. In 1931, during his student years in Calcutta, he was imprisoned. The British authorities charged him with being an associate of guerrilla leader Surya Sen. He was able to complete his B.A. and B.L. degrees whilst in jail. He was released from jail in 1938, but remained interned in his home village until 1941. From 1941 onward he began practising law.

Community work

In Chittagong Dastidar founded the 'Babies Hospital', offering health care to poor children. During the years of war and famine 1942–1945, he organised relief efforts in Chittagong. He was also the organiser of relief efforts in 1947 following the sinking of S.S. Mallard near

Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; bn, কক্সবাজার, Kôksbajar; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and district headquarters in Southeastern Bangladesh. It is located south of the city of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the na ...

Jailed legislator

Dastidar became a member of the

Communist Party of Pakistan The Communist Party of Pakistan ( abbr. CPP; ur, کمیونسٹ پارٹی آف پاکستان) is a communist party in Pakistan. History Founding The CPP was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March 1948 ...

in 1948. He was arrested again, and jailed for seven years. In 1954, whilst in jail, he was elected to the

East Pakistan Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

from a minority reserved seat in Chittagong. He defeated Binod Bihari Dutta of the Congress party. Dastidar was released in 1956. In the Legislative Assembly he tabled a resolution calling for the construction of a memorial tower in honour of the Chittagong rebellion of 18 April 1930, which was passed by the assembly.

NAP leader

Dastidar organised student, labour and peasants groups in Chittagong. In 1957 Dastidar became a member of the

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...

(NAP). Following the declaration of Martial Law in 1958, Dastidar was once again jailed. He was released in 1962. Upon his release from jail he became the president of the Chittagong City branch of NAP. Along with other communist leaders, Dastidar was jailed at the time of the September 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. He was released in 1969, in connection with the ongoing mass protests which forced

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

to release all political prisoners. After being released he was active in the NAP of Wali Khan. He contested the Chittagong-11 in the provincial assembly elections of 1970, but lost to an

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

candidate.

1971 Liberation War

As the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

broke out in 1971 Dastidar left for India to join the struggle, but died of exhaustion en route.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dastidar, Purnendu 1909 births 1971 deaths Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus