Cœur de l'Histoire

southasianhistory:

Pritilata Waddedar was an anti-British pro-India revolutionary in East Bengal, (then part of region of Bengal in pre-independence India), presently in Bangladesh. Pritilata was born to a humble family. Her father was a clerk in the Chittagong Municipality. She was an intelligent student at the Khastagir High School of Chittagong and passed the matriculated in first division in the year 1927. She continued her learning in EDEN COLLEGE, Dhaka and in 1929 passed the Intermediate examinations securing the first place amongst the candidates from Dhaka Board. Two years afterward, Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College of Kolkata.
Pritilata had partaken in ‘activities subversive to the state’ since her studies in Eden College. She became an associate of Sree Sangha in the Dipali Sangha led by Lila Nag. In Calcutta she was an associate of the Chhatri Sangha led by Kalayani Das. After graduation she returned to Chittagong and took up the profession of the headmistress of a neighboring English medium secondary school named Nandankanan Aparnacharan School.
In the 1930s, there were a lot of radical groups all over Bengal and Chittagong. Members of these groups thought that India’s liberty could be achieved only through armed struggle. Pritilata believed that time had come for women to take an important responsibility in the armed fight against the British. They needed to surrender their lives if essential, and tackle all risks, dangers and troubles, on similar foothold as their male comrades. She was involved in operations for demolition of the Telephone & Telegraph workplace and the capture of the reserve police line. She took part in the Jalalabad battle, in which her liability was to provide explosives.
In one of the missions in 1930, Pritilata was sent to Alipur Central Jail of Calcutta to meet up Ram Krishna, who was a political captive, sentenced to death and was behind the bars under firm surveillance and in absolute privacy. Pritilata went to Dhalghat to meet her mentor ‘Mastarda’ at his hiding place on 13 June 1932. The location was enclosed by a police throng and there was a fight in which some revolutionaries lost their lives. Mastarda and Pritilata were able to flee. Immediatedly her name was enlisted in the ‘most wanted’police list.
In 1932, Surya Sen designed an assault on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the disreputable sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. He assigned Pritilata to lead an aggressive team that would demonstrate their protest in the Club on 23 September 1932. Members of the team were instructed to take potassium cyanide with them so that in case they were trapped by police they could consume if caught. The attack was victorious but Pritilata, dressed as a man was trapped without a way to escape on that crucial night. She committed suicide by swallowing the cyanide. She was only 21 when she died. Her martyrdom provided an enormous stir and acted as a motivation for revolutionaries in Bengal and India. (via)

Pritilata Waddedar was an anti-British pro-India revolutionary in East Bengal, (then part of region of Bengal in pre-independence India), presently in Bangladesh. Pritilata was born to a humble family. Her father was a clerk in the Chittagong Municipality. She was an intelligent student at the Khastagir High School of Chittagong and passed the matriculated in first division in the year 1927. She continued her learning in EDEN COLLEGE, Dhaka and in 1929 passed the Intermediate examinations securing the first place amongst the candidates from Dhaka Board. Two years afterward, Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College of Kolkata.

Pritilata had partaken in ‘activities subversive to the state’ since her studies in Eden College. She became an associate of Sree Sangha in the Dipali Sangha led by Lila Nag. In Calcutta she was an associate of the Chhatri Sangha led by Kalayani Das. After graduation she returned to Chittagong and took up the profession of the headmistress of a neighboring English medium secondary school named Nandankanan Aparnacharan School.

In the 1930s, there were a lot of radical groups all over Bengal and Chittagong. Members of these groups thought that India’s liberty could be achieved only through armed struggle. Pritilata believed that time had come for women to take an important responsibility in the armed fight against the British. They needed to surrender their lives if essential, and tackle all risks, dangers and troubles, on similar foothold as their male comrades. She was involved in operations for demolition of the Telephone & Telegraph workplace and the capture of the reserve police line. She took part in the Jalalabad battle, in which her liability was to provide explosives.

In one of the missions in 1930, Pritilata was sent to Alipur Central Jail of Calcutta to meet up Ram Krishna, who was a political captive, sentenced to death and was behind the bars under firm surveillance and in absolute privacy. Pritilata went to Dhalghat to meet her mentor ‘Mastarda’ at his hiding place on 13 June 1932. The location was enclosed by a police throng and there was a fight in which some revolutionaries lost their lives. Mastarda and Pritilata were able to flee. Immediatedly her name was enlisted in the ‘most wanted’police list.

In 1932, Surya Sen designed an assault on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the disreputable sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. He assigned Pritilata to lead an aggressive team that would demonstrate their protest in the Club on 23 September 1932. Members of the team were instructed to take potassium cyanide with them so that in case they were trapped by police they could consume if caught. The attack was victorious but Pritilata, dressed as a man was trapped without a way to escape on that crucial night. She committed suicide by swallowing the cyanide. She was only 21 when she died. Her martyrdom provided an enormous stir and acted as a motivation for revolutionaries in Bengal and India. (via)

(via asianhistory)

Source: