Jatindra Nath Das ( bn, যতীন্দ্রনাথ দাস; 27 October 1904 – 13 September 1929), better known as Jatin Das, was an Indian independence activist and revolutionary who worked to make India independent from the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

and was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He died in the Lahore Central Jail after a 63-day

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

Early life

Das was born in 1904 in family at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He passed the matriculation and intermediate examinations in the First Division. He joined the

Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...

, a revolutionary group in

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 ...

, and also participated in

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

in 1921, aged 17. In November 1925, while studying for a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

at Bangabasi College in Calcutta, Das was arrested for his political activities and was imprisoned at the jail in

Mymensingh Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...

. While interned there, he went on a

to protest the ill-treatment meted out to the political prisoners. After fasting for twenty days, the jail's superintendent apologised and he gave up the fast.

Sachindra Nath Sanyal Sachindra Nath Sanyal (3 April 1890 — 7 February 1942) was an Indian revolutionary and co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Army (HRA, which after 1928 became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association) that was created to carry out ...

taught him how to make bombs. On 14 June 1929, he was again arrested for revolutionary activities and was

imprisoned Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Jail to be tried under the supplementary Lahore Conspiracy Case.

Hunger strike

In Lahore Jail, Das began another

along with other revolutionary fighters, demanding equality for Indian political prisoners with those from Europe. The conditions of Indian inhabitants of the jails was deplorable. The uniforms that Indian prisoners were required to wear in jail with were not washed for several days, and rats and

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a Paraphyly, paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are we ...

es roamed the

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running wate ...

area making the food unsafe to eat. Indian prisoners were not provided with any reading material such as newspapers, nor paper to write on. The condition of the British prisoners in the same jail was strikingly different. Das's hunger strike started on 13 July 1929 and lasted 63 days. The jail authority took measures to forcibly feed him and the other independence activists. Eventually, the jail authority recommended his unconditional release, but the government rejected the suggestion and offered to release him on bail. Das died on 13 September 1929. Durgawati Devi led the funeral procession, which went from

by train. Thousands of people rushed to the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

s to pay homage to Das. A two-mile long procession in Calcutta carried the coffin to the cremation ground. It was

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

, who received the coffin of Das at Howrah railway station and led the funeral procession to the cremation ground. The hunger strike of Das in prison was one crucial moment in the resistance against illegal detentions. Jatin_Das_on_his_death_bed

Jatindra Nath Das 1979 stamp of India bw

After his death, the Viceroy informed London that "Mr. Das of the Conspiracy Case, who was on hunger strike, died this afternoon at 1 p.m. Last night, five of the hunger strikers gave up their hunger strike. So, there are only

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...

and

Batukeshwar Dutt Batukeshwar Dutt (18 November 1910 – 20 July 1965) was an Indian socialist revolutionary and independence fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded two bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assemb ...

who are on strike." Tributes were paid by almost every leader in the country. Mohammad Alam and Gopi Chand Bhargava resigned from the Punjab Legislative Council in protest.

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Neh ...

proposed the adjournment of the Central Assembly as a censure against the inhumanity of the Lahore prisoners. The censure motion was carried by 55 votes against 47.

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

said "Another name has been added to the long and splendid roll of Indian martyrs. Let us bow our heads and pray for strength to act to carry on the struggle, however long it may be and whatever consequences, till the victory is ours ". Bose described Das as the "young

Dadhichi Dadhichi (), also rendered Dadhyanga and Dadhyancha, is a sage in Hinduism. He is best known for his sacrifice in the Puranas, where he gives up his life so that his bones could be used to manufacture the Vajra, the diamond-like celestial thun ...

of India", referring to the well known mythological yogi

who sacrificed his life for the sake of killing a demon. The_Tribune_newspaper,_Jatin_Das_passes_away1929

Popular culture

In the 2002 film ''

The Legend of Bhagat Singh ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language biographical period film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is about Bhagat Singh, a Freedom Fighter who fought for Indian independence along with fellow members of the Hin ...

'', the character of Das was played by Amitabh Bhattacharjee.Amitabh Bhattacharjee
IMDb A 35-minute documentary film titled ''Immortal Martyr Jatin Das'' was released in 2009.

References

External links

''Indian Post'' articleThe Pioneer article
by Balbir Punj {{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Jatindra Nath Anushilan Samiti 1904 births 1929 deaths Revolutionary movement for Indian independence People from Kolkata People who died on hunger strike Indian revolutionaries Vidyasagar College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Indian independence activists from West Bengal Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian people who died in prison custody

Early life

Hunger strike

Popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links