Born: 5th May 1911
Died: 23rd Sep 1932
The young revolutionary freedom fighter Smt Pritilata Waddedar was born on 5 May 1911, to Jagabandhu Waddedar and Pratibhamayi Devi, at Dhalghat village, presently Bangladesh.
She did her schooling in Chittagong and was a meritorious student. Inspired by the valiant freedom fighter Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, after finishing school, she took admission at Eden College and stood first in her intermediate exams.
Later, she went to Calcutta and completed her graduation in psychology from Bethune College.
After completing her studies, she returned to Chittagong and start working as the headmistress of a local school. Pritilata met another revolutionary leader Shri Surya Sen in June 1932 and was excited to join the revolutionaries.
Though some of the revolutionary fighters objected to women being on board, Pritilata was permitted to join the group because it was believed that women could be more useful in transporting weapons as they would not be suspected as much as their male partners. Pritilata met Biswas on several occasions while he was imprisoned and those meetings led a great impact on the young lady.
Being a part of Sen’s group, Pritilata was a part of several raids and attacks on British powers in India.
Pahartali European Club was a British-exclusive club that attracted the attention of the revolutionaries, the club reportedly had a board that says, “Dogs and Indians not allowed.”
Sen decided to attack this club and destroy it while Pritilata was appointed as the leader of this attack. All the group members were provided potassium cyanide and asked to consume it if caught.
Pritilata led the gang and was dressed as a Punjabi man.
As soon as the attack commenced, they barged into the club where about 40 people were present at that time. There the British officers started shooting back and Pritilata got injured by a bullet. Pritilata swallowed the cyanide pill as she was sure about her getting caught by the Britsih. A 21 years old lady sacrificed herself for the cause of the nation. The next day her body was recovered and identified by the police.
Smt Pritilata is remembered as an inspirational woman who showed no fear in the face of misfortune. Despite her great sacrifice, her name is rarely recognized by an average school student in India. However, there are schools and places named after her in India and Bangladesh.
