2 weeks ago

Netaji's grand-nephews recall Bengal's role in Quit India Movement

Netaji's grand-nephews recall Bengal's role in Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement: Netaji’s grand-nephews recall Bengal’s role in 1942 mass uprising · telegraphindia.com

Many years ago, in 1942, huge crowds of people across India rose up and asked the British rulers to leave the country.

Mahatma Gandhi gave the famous call to 'Do or Die,' and the next morning he and other top leaders were arrested.

After that, students, young people and workers kept the protest going with rallies, class boycotts and secret underground networks.

On August 9, the Netaji Research Bureau held a special event in Calcutta to remember this great uprising.

Two of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand-nephews, Sugata and Sumantra Bose, spoke at the event.

They told the audience how important Bengal was in the movement and how areas like Medinipur were centres of resistance.

They also said that brave people set up their own small governments, such as the Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar, and that women like Matangini Hazra played a big role.

They remembered how Sisir Bose led a student march in Calcutta and was badly hurt when the British police attacked the crowd.

The speakers were sad that the anniversary was 'almost invisible in Bengal,' and they said people should pay more attention to this history.

They also explained that the movement brought together the thinking of Gandhi and Netaji, who had wanted such an uprising years earlier.

Key facts

Event
Quit India Movement of 1942
Commemoration
August 9, 84th anniversary
Host and venue
Netaji Research Bureau at Netaji Bhawan, Calcutta
Gandhi's call
'Do or Die,' August 8, 1942, at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee
Epicentres
Medinipur (Midnapore) in Bengal; parts of Bihar, eastern UP, Odisha and Satara in Bombay province
Parallel government
Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar, headed by Satish Chandra Samanta
Notable figures
Matangini Hazra; Sisir Bose, injured in a police assault on a student procession in Calcutta
Also marked
Nagasaki Day, with homage to victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings

Quotes

Sumantra Bose

Political scientist and grand-nephew of Netaji

“"Since at least 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose had been calling for a mass agitation against the British Raj. Gandhi, at the time, was reluctant to do so… It was not until 1942 that he decided to launch the Quit India movement. So, one can say it was a belated convergence of the thinking of Gandhi and Bose,"”
telegraphindia.com
“"The Quit India movement turned out to be the biggest civilian uprising in India since the great rebellion of 1857. It was led and orchestrated by middle-ranking leaders. It began as an urban movement spearheaded by students, youth and workers,"”
telegraphindia.com

Sources

Related news