Bishnu Chattopadhyay
Bishnu Chattopadhyay | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 1910 |
| Died | 11 April 1971 (aged 60–61) |
| Nationality | Bangladesh |
| Movement | Tebhaga movement |
Bishnu Chattopadhyay popularly known as Bistu Thakur (April 1910 – 11 April 1971) was a Bangladeshi politician who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war. He was an Indian independence activist and leader of the peasant movement. He provided leadership to the Tebhaga movement that developed in the 1940s in undivided Bengal.
Early life
[edit]Chattopadhyay was born into a wealthy family of Khulna District in British India. His father was Radhacharan Chattopadhyay. While studying at Naihati village school, he left home and attracted with Sannyas life. After a few days he returned home and joined in revolutionary politics. His brother Narayan Chattopadhyay and sister Bhanu Devi were also connected with the secret anti-British activities under the disguise of the Jessore Khulna Youth Society.[1]
Career
[edit]While working in Khalispur Swaraj Ashram, Chattopadhyay was first arrested in 1929 in connection with a case of political dacoity. But released without having evidence. He participated in the civil disobedience movement and was detained under the Bengal Criminal Case Act on 2 May 1930. In the next three years of imprisonment, he became influenced in Marxism by the communist leaders like Bhabani Sen, Pramatha Bhaumik and Abdur Rezzak Khan. Soon after his release, he became a member of the Communist Party of India and started work as a peasant organiser.[1][2]
Chattopadhyay constructed the Shovana Dam over the Shakhabahi River and Nabeki Dam, organising thousands of farmers in front of the goons of landlords and police forces. In 1940, under his leadership, 21 thousand acres of land were distributed to the landless people. Chattopadhyay became a heroic figure of the peasant uprising in Dumuria, Batiaghata area and Khulna District. His name itself became a myth to the common people. He was popularly known as Bishtu Thakur. He organised peasants conference in 1939 and 1944 covering two districts. In the Maubhag area, a regional peasant conference was also organised by him in 1946. Before and after the partition of Bengal (1947) he remained under preventive detention and was tortured for 24 years of his life.[3] One of his fellow inmates in Khulna jail was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who later became president of Bangladesh.[4]
Chattopadhyay was a man of versatile talents. He made night school for the peasants and an adult education center, Lokshikkha Sansad, under Visva-Bharati University. He had experience with agricultural science and veterinary treatments.[3] In 1969 he also published a collection of his articles named Mehanati Manush.[5][6][7]
Death
[edit]On 11 April 1971, he was brutally murdered by the Rajakar and Muslim League agents at the time of the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Sengupta, Subodh Chandra; Basu, Anjali, eds. (1988) [First published 1976]. বিষ্ণু চট্টোপাধ্যায় [Bishnu Chattopadhyay]. Saṃsada bāṅāli caritābhidhāna সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান [Parliament Bengali Biographical Dictionary] (in Bengali). Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Kolkata: Sahitya Samsad. pp. 357–358.
- ^ Amitava Chandra (1992). Abivakto Banglay Communist Andolon (in Bengali). Kolkata: Pustak Bipani. pp. 115, 117. ISBN 81-85471-08-8.
- ^ a b c Pinaki Biswas (2014). Seishab Shahidera (in Bengali). Kolkata: Atirikto Publication. pp. 53–55. ISBN 978-81-928741-0-4.
- ^ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2012). The Unfinished Memoirs. Penguin UK. p. 184. ISBN 978-81-8475-703-3. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ Sarkar, Jatin. Banglar Lok Sangskriti (in Bengali). Atmajaa Publishers.
- ^ "Selected Bibliography" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ Sutapa Chatterjee Sarkar (2010). The Sundarbans: Folk Deities, Monsters and Mortals. Berghahn Books. p. 198. ISBN 9788187358350. Retrieved 7 December 2017.