“Master Da”

“Master Da”

Born:  22nd March 1894
Died: 12 January 1934

Shri Surya Sen, who was a prominent Bengali freedom fighter, chief architect of the anti-British movement, and an Independence activist who was born on 22nd March 1894 at Noapara, in Chittagong. His father’s name was Ramaniranjan Sen who was a teacher. While Sen was pursuing his Bachelor’s in Arts at Berhampore College (now Krishnath College), Murshidabad. He came to know about the Indian freedom movement from one of his teachers. Sen became inspired by the revolutionary ideas and decided to join the ‘Anushilan Samiti (a revolutionary organization). In 1918, completing his studies he returned to Chittagong and started his career as a Mathematics teacher at the National school, Nandankanan after this he popularly came to known as “Master Da”.

He was elected as president of the Indian National Congress (Chittagong branch) as Indian National Congress was the leading political party at that time. Sen was an Indian revolutionary who was authoritative in the Independence Movement against British rule in India and leads a group of revolutionaries for the Chittagong armory raid, which was planned on 18th April 1930. The main motive of the raid was to destroy the arms and the communication system like telephones, railway, telegraph, etc, so as to make Chittagong free from British Rule. After the raid, they hoisted the National Flag on the premises and escaped. A few days later a large group of British troops attacked the revolutionary group in which approximately 12 revolutionaries died, many were arrested and some of them escaped including Sen. They all went to a nearby village hide there and kept moving from one place to another. During all this Sen also worked as a farmer, a priest, a house worker, labour, etc to avoid capture by the British. One day a man Netra Sen, at whose house Sen was hidden, informed the Britishers about his hiding place, soon the police came and arrested Sen on 16th April 1933. Netra Sen was killed by one of the revolutionaries before he could get any reward from the British. Sen was sentenced to a long period of imprisonment. During that time he was immensely tortured by the jailer. His teeth were hammered and his nails were plucked so that he could not say “Vande Mataram” on his death.

 

Surya Sen was a brilliant and inspirational organizer, who was fond of saying “Humanism is a special virtue of the revolutionary.” He laid a nationwide non-cooperation movement as a revolutionary leader.

 

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