Thursday, April 17, 2014

450. Binod Kanungo ( 1912-1990)


Binod Kanungo is a renowned Oriya author, freedom fighterGandhian, educator, social reformer and celebrated compiler of the Gyana Mandala, which is the greatest encyclopaedia in the Oriya language. He also won theOdisha Sahitya Akademi Award for his travelogue Runa Parishodha (1983). He was also a veteran freedom fighter and notable educationist. He was awarded with India's fourth highest civilian honour "Padmashree". He died on 22 June 1990.

Early life and education

Kanungo was born on 6 June 1912 at village Mallipur (Kishannagar) in Cuttack district of Odisha. He was the only son of Keshub Chandra Kanungo and Peera Dei. He had his primary education at village Naganpur and secondary school education at the famous Ranihat Highschool, Cuttack, of which he was the first ever student. Later he got a scholarship to study at Ravenshaw Collegiate School. However, in 1930, when he was in Class-X, Mahatma Gandhi's call inspired him to leave his studies and join the Indian Freedom Movement.

Career as a journalist and social reformer

Kanungo was appointed by the daily newspaper The Samaja to cover Mahatama Gandhi's Harijan Padayatra from Puri to Bhadrak in 1934. During this period Gandhiji taught, advised and groomed Binod Kanungo in the art of news reporting. Later he worked with the eminent Gandhian Gopabandhu Choudhury and joined The Samaja as an Assistant Editor. He was jailed for his participation in the freedom struggle. In 1952 he fought the first general elections in India and lost.

Work on Jnanmandal

In 1954 he set his sight on compiling the monumental Oriya encyclopediaJnanmandal. The first volume was released on 2 December 1960 byHarekrushna Mahatab, the then Chief Minister of Odisha. He compiled and edited major part of the Jnanmandal at his Barabati Stadium office at Cuttack. He single handedly built the reference centre, which was visited and extolled by a great many dignitaries during his time, including Pranab Mukherjee, who later became President of India. Jnanmandal has been hailed as one of the best edited and most lucid encyclopdia in any of the modern Indian languages. During his lifetime he created the Jnanmandal Foundation which is carrying on his work till today. After his death, the Foundation has created and published different kinds of multi-volume encyclopedias both for young and adult readers. In the meanwhile, two more editions of Jnanmandal has been released. The latest and third edition (10 Vols) has been published this year i.e. 2014. It consists of thousands of topics in popular Oriya comprising all branches of human knowledge and is profusely illustrated.

Notable works

Although Jnanmandal was his magnum opus, he wrote numerous popular books in Oriya including travelogues, biographies, children's books and also more than a hundred books on science and technology. He set up the Jnanmandal Foundation for the propagation of encyclopedic knowledge among common people at affordable cost. He devoted his entire life to the popularization of science and technical knowledge.

Awards and honours

He won Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984 for his semi-autobiographical travelogue Runa Parishodha.[2] He was honoured by the President of India with the coveted Padmashree title.
On 2 May 2013, a statue of Binod Kanungo was installed on the premises of the Odisha State Archives. A museum is being built in Bhubaneswar to display the rare collections and manuscripts of Binod Kanungo

448. Benoy Bhashan Datta, 449.Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966)

Benoy Bhushan Datta was born in Tripara. He participated in revolutionary work and was arrested in connection with the assassination of District Magistrate , Sinvence of Coomilla. Due to the extreme torture of Police in jail he lost his mental balance and was released. He was then missing since 1944.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
Savarkar, in his eighth year of his life sentence at the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands, writes a letter to his brother.    Malaria and dysentery have caused Savarkar to drop down to 95lb in body weight, relieving him from the rigorous labour.
“I can assure you that the climate of this place is acknowledged as a very unhealthy one and the life in a cellular jail in such a climate as doubly dangerous to the health of even a strongly built man used to hard labour throughout his life –by the medical authorities themselves.”
Savarkar asks his brother if he has heard anything about the order read out in England about the Amnesty of prisoners.
“Some convicts have up to this time been released from this convict colony. But so far as the political prisoners are concerned nothing beyond the vaguest promises was done… An order was read out in the name of the Secretary of state and the Government that so far as the political prisoners were concerned the Government was considering the question of granting some remission to them… being guided by the opinion of the respective provincial Governments …and by the local recommendations of the jail authorities based on the jail conduct of the prisoners. Moreover the personal opinions of the individual prisoner would be carefully weighed before any decision is arrived! Now this language may mean much or what is more likely may mean nothing . ”
Savarkar, in his weakened health, is desperate to get out of prison.Andaman Islands, Cellular Jail

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966) was a multi-faceted person­ality and achieved fame as a poet, scholar, social worker, historian and as one of the earliest revolutionaries. In 1899, at the age of 16, he founded Mitra Mela (Assembly of Friends).
In 1904 this organisation was renamed as the Abhinav Bharat Society (New India Society). In 1906, he went to London on a scholarship and started the Free India Society. On the occa­sion of the 50th anniversary of the Revolt of 1857, he wrote Indian War of Independence in which he called the Revolt as the first war of independence. He was awarded D.Litt. by the Poona University for his work.
In 1910, he was arrested in connection with the Nasik Conspiracy Case and deported to India. He was transported for life but released in 1924. In 1937, he joined the Hindu Mahasabha and was elected its President.
He dedicated the rest of his life in serving the society. Savarkar breathed his last in 1966.


447. Benoy Choudhury (1911-2000)


Benoy Choudhury  was a revolutionary, freedom fighter and politician, belonging to the CPI(M), who played a major role in land reforms in the Indian state of West Bengal, during Left Front govt. regime.
He was born in Shihigram, Burdwan on 14.1. 1911. His father was Girindranath. He and Saroj Mukherjee was born on the same day in adjacent villages.  They were claqssmates. In their student life they were influenced by the revolutionary Fakir Chandra Roy. He passed matriculation from Burdwan Municipal High School and Intermediate in Science. from Serampore College, under the University of Calcutta. He joined the Jugantar group in 1928 and was in jail before he could sit for his B.A. examination.
He and Saroj Mukherjee were in charge of collecting volunteers for Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930-31. Harekrishna Konar of Memory came in contact with them at this time. They were jailed for participating Civil Disobedience movement in 1930.  Again in 1938 he was jailed for his involvement in Birbhum conspiracy case. He joined the Communist Party in 1938.He began working underground, after release, in Burdwan,Birbhum, Bnkura and Hooghly. He, HareKrishna konar, and Niranjan Halder were involved in a dacoity for swadeshi movement. After release he worked among the workers of Coal Mines in Rqnigunge, asansol area. He was arrested in 1939 and jailed for three months. He participated in the Tax for Canal in Burdwan and took leadership in 1945. He participated in flood relief work in Damodar and Ajoy river. He went to underground during WWII.He was expelled from his own district in 1940. He came in forefront after lift of prohibitory order in 1842. He participated in Bombay Conference in 1943 as a delegate from Burdwan.He was arrested during participation in Tebhaga Movement from Raina Thana with Bipin Baran Roy.

He filed his nomination for election from Burdwan constituency in 1951 while still in jail. Benoy Choudhury representing undivided CPI secured 11,439 votes, Uday Chand Mahtab, the erstwhile Maharaja of Burdwan, representingCongress secured 9,477 votes. Thereafter, he went on to win the Burdwan seat in 1957, and then the Burdwan South seat in 1969 and 1971. He won from the Bardhaman North seat in 1987 and 1991. He was minister of different departments.

Land reforms

Benoy Choudhury played a leading role in land reforms in West Bengal. Land reforms can be divided into two phases. In the first phase in 1967-1970,Hare Krishna Konar recovered around a million acres (4,000 km²) of land through existing legal means. In the second phase of land reforms in 1978-1982, Benoy Choudhury accomplished two major tasks. The first task was carried out under Operation Barga when around 1.7 million sharecroppers were formally recorded, assuring them of permanency of land holding and a fair share of the crop. The second task was the distribution of about a million acres (4,000 km²) of land earlier vested amongst 2.4 million poor and landless farm labor. Thus about 4 million people were directly benefited, laying the foundation for victory of the Left Front in subsequent years.

Later life

After retirement from active politics, he lived in a small rented flat inBidhannagar, trying to make a living on the spouse’s pension he received from his dead wife’s account. She had been the headmistress of a school. Benoy Choudhury was well known for his frank talking. On December 17, 1995, when he was the second man in the West Bengal government he remarked, "This is a government of contractors, by contractors and for contractors". After his death, one obituary note read, “A poor man he had nothing to bequeath so he gave his eyes to the eye bank and his body to Calcutta Medical College for research”. 

445. Benoy Kumar Sarkar (1887-1949), 446. Benoy Krishna Basu (1908-1930)



Benoy Kumar Sarkar(sometimes Binoy Kuma
r Sarar) (1887–1949) was anIndian social scientist, professor, and nationalist. He founded several institutes inCalcutta, including: the Bengali Institute of Sociology, Bengali Asia Academy, Bengali Dante Society, and Bengali Institute of American Culture.
Sarkar graduated from the University of Calcutta in 1905 with dual degrees in English and history. The following year he received his master's degree.
In 1925 Sarkar started as a lecturer at the Department of Economics of University of Calcutta. In 1947 he became a professor and head of the department. He died on a trip to the United States for publicising freedom struggle of India. in Washington, DC, in November 1949.
Ancestral House was at Dhaka but he lived in Maldah. He knew six other languages excluding Engklish and Bengali. he joined in Don-Society in his student life.He joined in Swadeshi Movement giving up his scope of going to Foreign even he got Scholarship. He helped the freedom fighters of abroad in different ways. His younger brother Dhiren Sarkar was one among them. 
He wrote more than 100 books.


Benoy Krishna Basu was born on 11 September 1908, in the village Rohitbhog in the Munshiganj District, now in Bangladesh. His father, Rebatimohan Basu was an engineer.
After passing the Matriculation Examination in Dhaka, Benoy enrolled into the Mitford Medical School (now Sir Salimullah Medical College).Under the influence ofHemchandra Ghosh, a revolutionary of Dhaka, Benoy joined the 'Mukti Sangha', a secret society closely connected with the Jugantar Party. He could not complete medical studies due to his association with revolutionary activities.

Revolutionary activities

Basu and his peer revolutionaries joined Bengal Volunteers - a group organised by Subhas Chandra Bose in 1928, at the occasion of Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. Soon Benoy started a local unit of the organisation in Dhaka, named Bengal Volunteers in Dacca. Later, the Bengal Volunteers became a more active revolutionary association and prepared a plan of "Operation Freedom" against the police repression inBengal, especially against the inhuman conduct with the political prisoners in different jails.
In August 1930, the revolutionary group planned to kill Lowman, the Inspector General of Police who was due to present in the Medical School Hospital to see an ailing senior police official undergoing treatment. On 29 August 1930, Benoy casually clad in a traditional Bengali attire, breached the security and fired at close range. Lowman died instantly and Hodson, the Superintendent of police, was grievously injured.
His identity was never a secret. A copy of his photo was taken out of college magazine and pasted all over. A reward of Rs. 10,000/- was announced. But Benoy was far from helping someone receiving it. He was ultimately caught only to die at the Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, after the Battle of the Verandah. In August, there are torrential rains in East Bengal. One such morning two Muslim villagers, with tatters covering their bare bodies were seen wading through knee-deep water. The nearest railway station, Dolaiganj, was their destination. They entered the platform which was swarming with policemen. Benoy's photo was pasted all around. The train from Dhaka to Narayanganj arrived. Every compartment was searched thoroughly. Benoy and his companion got into a third class compartment which was already over-crowded. When the train reached Narayanganj, the police searched not only the train but had instructions to search the boats also. A river had to be crossed before one could reach Kolkata. Benoy came to know of it through his own sources. When the train slowed near a flag station, he began to walk towards the Ghat for a boat. They had to hire one to cross the turbulent Meghna. They changed their address, from Muslim beggars in tatters to one of a Zamindar with a servant. For a while they had to travel by a steamer. The whole episode was like a scene from a film. The name of the companion was Supati Roy. On reaching the city, they avoided Sealdah, the terminus, and got down at Dum Dum, a small way-side station. The journey from there to the slum area of No. 7, Waliullah lane in Central Kolkata, was somewhat uneventful. But a long stay for unknown persons might arouse suspicion. Benoy shifted to a colliery at Katras Garh and from there to a peaceful place in North Kolkata. But he always had the premonition that the police would soon find him out. His fear proved correct when the police chief, Sir Charles Tegart, arrived there with a posse of policemen. By this point, however, Benoy had fled.

The last battle

The next target was Col NS Simpson,The Inspector General of Prisons, who was infamous for the brutal oppression on the prisoners in the jails. The revolutionaries decided not only to murder him, but also to strike a terror in the British official circles by launching an attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' Building in the Dalhousie square in Kolkata.
On 8 December 1930, Benoy along with Dinesh Gupta and Badal Gupta, dressed in European costume, entered the Writers' Building and shot dead Simpson.
British police started firing.What ensued was a brief gunfight between the 3 young revolutionaries and the police.Some other officers like Twynam, Prentice and Nelson suffered injuries during the shooting.
Soon police overpowered them.However, the three did not wish to be arrested.Badal took Potassium cyanide, while Benoy and Dinesh shot themselves with their own revolvers.Benoy was taken to the hospital where he died on 13 December 1930.

Significance

The martyrdom and self-sacrifice of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh inspired further revolutionary activities in Bengal in particular and India in general.
After Indian independence, the Dalhousie square was named B.B.D. Bagh - after the Benoy-Badal-Dinesh trio.
Benoy Krishna Basu
বিনয় কৃষ্ণ বসু
Born11 September 1908
Rohitbhog , BikrampurBengal PresidencyBritish India
(now in Bangladesh)
Died13 December 1930 (aged 22)
CalcuttaBengal Presidency,British India
(now in India)
NationalityBritish subject
Other namesBenoy Basu, Benoy Bose
EthnicityBengali
Alma materMitford Medical School (now Sir Salimullah Medical College)
Known forWriters' Building attack

443. Bidhubhshan Basu (1875-1972), 444. Bidhubhushan Bhattacharya( ?-1930)

Basu, Bidhubhushan (1875-1972)  journalist, writer and social worker, was born on 27 May 1875 in the village of Kanthal in bagerhat. He lost his parents at an early age and was brought up by relatives. He taught at a number of schools, including Shivpur School, Kolkata, where the famous linguist, suniti kumar chatterji and the Indologist, sushil kumar de were his students.
Bidhubhushan started his literary career with contributing to a magazine, Sakha O Sathi. His first novel, Laksmi Meye (1897), was written on family and social problems. Among his other novels written on similar themes are Laksmi Ma (1898), Laksmi Bau (1898) and Sati Laksmi (1899), which were translated into Hindi and Gujrati. His other novels are Charuchandra (1900), Amrte Garal,Subhadra (1912), Papistha (1914), Kamini-Kanchan (1925), Dipalir Baji (1926), Godhan, Prakhara (1928), Kuler Kali (1928), Nastoddhar, Biser Batas (1928), Jyathai Ma (1928), Pautranta(1958), Parinam (1961), etc. He also wrote a collection of stories, Banomala (1914), which he dedicated to rabindranath tagore. He edited the monthly magazines Sanjibani and Pallichitra. Bidhubhushan was associated with the swadeshi movement and wrote a number of plays on nationalist themes. Dada (1922) was one such play, as were the plays Mirkashim and Raktayajna, which were banned by the British Government. His other plays on nationalist themes areBrahmacharini (1925), Bhagini Bidroha, Bimata, Baper Bhita, Sudarshan, Duibigha Jami andKalapahad. His story ‘Shikar’ invited the wrath of the government, which resulted in his being imprisoned for four years. Bidhubhushan was again imprisoned in 1930 for taking part in the Anti-Law Movement. He was also accused of libel by a zamindar, whom he had satirised in the poem Vote Ranga.
Bidhubhushan was also a philanthropist and founded schools, started a post office, and had ponds excavated in his native village. He became completely blind in later life. He died on 31 January 1972.  [Sushanta Sarker]
Bidhubhushan Bhattacharya was born in Brahmanbaria, coomilla. He participated Chittagong Armoury Raid on 18.4.1930.He was one who fought with the army from Jalalabad hill. But he died due to bullets entered in his head and leg.

442. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy (1882-1962)


Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, second Chief Minister of West Bengal, in whose memory Doctor's Day is celebrated in India on July 1, is cherished as a great physician even today. Born on July 1, 1882, and died the same date in 1962 aged 80, he left an indelible mark by his contributions and proved Robert Owen wrong! He was the embodiment of the following statement:
“A doctor, like anyone else who has to deal with human beings, each of them unique, cannot be a scientist; he is either, like the surgeon, a craftsman, or, like the physician and the psychologist, an artist. This means that in order to be a good doctor a man must also have a good character, that is to say, whatever weaknesses and foibles he may have, he must love his fellow human beings in the concrete and desire their good before his own.” — Auden, W. H.
Dr. B.C. Roy was one of the foremost national leaders of the 20th century. A legendary physician, distinguished political leader, philanthropist, educationist and social worker, he was one of the longest serving Chief Ministers and is rightly hailed as the Maker of Modern West Bengal.
A many-splendoured personality, he had a wide range of interests and he created a large number of institutions. He had a great vision, political and administrative acumen, and concern for the common people. He tried to solve crucial problems in the nation's life, especially during the 15 years that he served as Chief Minister. Dr. Roy, a bachelor, not only excelled as a physician, he was an educationist, amicable reformer, leisure warrior (he joined Mahatma Gandhi's Civil Disobedience movement), and a celebrity of the Indian National Congress.
After completing his FRCS and MRCP, Dr. Roy served as Professor of Medicine, Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University. He was instrumental in starting the Indian Medical Association in 1928 and making it the largest professional organisation in the country. He served the association in various capacities including as national president for two terms. The Medical Council of India was his creation and he was its first president in 1939, a position he held till 1945. He played a key role in establishing the Indian Institute of Mental Health, the Infectious Disease Hospital and the first-ever postgraduate medical college in Kolkata.
In spite of his hectic political duties — he was an MLA, Mayor and Chief Minister — Dr. Roy devoted one hour everyday for the cause of poor patients and the profession. He gifted his house to the people of Bengal in 1961.
Referring to the work of physicians, Dr. Elmer Hess, a former president of the American Medical Association, once wrote: “There is no greater reward in our profession than the knowledge that God has entrusted us with the physical care of His people. The Almighty has reserved for Himself the power to create life, but He has assigned to a few of us the responsibility of keeping in good repair the bodies in which this life is sustained.”
Voltaire, the French writer, said: “Men who are occupied in the restoration of health to other men, by the joint exertion of skill and humanity, are above all the great of the earth. They even partake of divinity, since to preserve and renew is almost as noble as to create.”
Bidhan Chandra Roy,M.R.C.P.F.R.C.S. (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as an Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter. Bidhan Roy is often considered the great architect of West Bengal, who founded five eminent cities, Durgapur,KalyaniBidhannagar,AshokenagarHabra. He was an alumnus of the Medical College Calcutta of the University of Calcutta. He is one of the few people who completed both F.R.C.S. and M.R.C.P. simultaneously within only two years and three months.
Personal Details
Bidhan Chandra Roy was born on July 1, 1882, at B. M. Das road, Bankipore in PatnaBihar. His father Prakash Chandra was an Excise Inspector. Bidhan was the youngest of five children and was greatly influenced by the simplicity, discipline and piety of his parents. His parents inculcated in him the idea of service by taking care of people other than relatives with affection and understanding. Bidhan's mother died when he was 14. His father played the role of both father and mother to his five children. He promised never to compel them to do anything but to just guide them on their path. All five children were required to do the household chores themselves. This was very helpful for Bidhan in his college days. Bidhan did his I.A. from Presidency College, Calcutta and B.A. from Patna College with Honors in Mathematics. He applied for admission to the Bengal Engineering College, and the Calcutta Medical College. He was accepted to both institutions but opted to go to medical school. Bidhan left for Calcutta in June 1901. While at medical school Bidhan came upon an inscription which read, "Whatever thy hands findeth to do, do it with thy might." Bidhan was deeply impressed by these words and they became a source of inspiration for him throughout his life.
Bidhan's term in medical school was fraught with hardships. His father retired as a Deputy Collector after the first year and could no longer send Bidhan any money. Bidhan fended for himself by getting a scholarship and living frugally, saving on books by borrowing notes and relying on books in the library.
The partition of Bengal was announced while Bidhan was in college. Opposition to the partition was being organized by nationalist leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai, Prajit Sengupta, Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. Bidhan resisted the immense pull of the movement. He controlled his emotions and concentrated on his studies realizing that he could better serve his nation by qualifying in his profession first.
Career as a Physician;

Immediately after graduation, B.C. Roy joined the Provincial Health Service. He exhibited immense dedication and hard work. He was prepared to prescribe medicine to patients and even serve as a nurse when necessary. In his free time he practiced privately, charging a fee of Rs. 2 only.
Bidhan sailed for England with only Rs. 1,200 in February 1909 intending to enroll himself at St Bartholomew's Hospital to further his education. The Dean, reluctant to accept a student from Asia, rejected Bidhan's application. Dr. Roy did not lose heart. Again and again he submitted his application until finally the Dean, after 30 admission requests, accepted Bidhan to the college. Within two years and three months, Bidhan completed his M.R.C.P. and F.R.C.S. and returned home from England in 1911. On his return he taught at the Calcutta Medical College, then the Campbell Medical School and finally at the Carmichael Medical College
Dr. Roy believed that swaraj would remain a dream unless the people were healthy and strong in mind and body. He made contributions to the organization of medical education. He established the Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamala Nehru Hospital, Victoria Institution, andChittaranjan Cancer Hospital. The Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children was opened in 1926. The women were unwilling to come to the hospital initially but thanks to Dr. Roy and his teams hard work, the Seva Sadan was embraced by women of all classes and communities. He opened a center for training women in nursing and social work.
Career as a Political Leader
Dr. Roy was both Gandhiji's friend and doctor. When Gandhiji was undergoing a fast in Parnakutivin, Poona in 1933 during the Quit India Movement, Dr. Roy attended to him. Gandhiji refused to take medicine on the grounds that it was not made in India. Gandhiji asked Dr. Roy, "Why should I take your treatment? Do you treat four hundred million of my countrymen free?" Dr. Roy replied, "No Gandhiji, I could not treat all patients free. But I came... not to treat Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but to treat "him" who to me represents the four hundred million people of my country." Gandhiji relented and took the medicine.
Dr. Roy entered politics in 1925. He ran for elections from the BarrackporeConstituency as an Independent candidate for the Bengal Legislative Council and defeated the "Grand Old Man of Bengal," Surendranath Banerjee. Even though an independent he voted with the Swaraj Party (the Parliamentary wing of the Congress). As early as 1925, Dr. Roy tabled a resolution recommending a study of the causes of pollution in Hoogly and suggested measures to prevent pollution in the future.
Dr. Roy was elected to the All India Congress Committee in 1928. He kept himself away from rivalry and conflicts and made a deep impression on the leaders. Dr. Roy efficiently conducted the Civil Disobedience in Bengal in 1929 and prompted Pandit Motilal Nehru to nominate him Member of the Working Committee (CWC) in 1930. The CWC was declared an unlawful assembly and Dr. Roy along with other members of the committee were arrested on August 26, 1930 and detained at Central Alipore Jail.
During the Dandi March in 1931, many members of the Calcutta Corporation were imprisoned. Congress requested Dr. Roy to remain out of prison and discharge the duties of the Corporation. He served as the Alderman of the Corporation from 1930–31 and Mayor in 1933. Under him, the Corporation made leaps in the expansion of free education, free medical aid, better roads, improved lighting, and water supply. He was responsible for setting up a framework for dispensing grant-in-aid to hospitals and charitable dispensaries..
The Congress Party proposed Dr. Roy's name for Chief Minister of Bengal. Dr. Roy wanted to devote himself to his profession. On Gandhiji's advice, however, Dr. Roy accepted the position and took office on January 23, 1948. Bengal at the time that had been torn by communal violence, shortage of food, unemployment and a large flow of refugees in the wake of the creation of East Pakistan. Dr. Roy brought unity and discipline amongst the party ranks. He then systematically and calmly began to work on the immense task in front of him. Within three years law and order was returned to Bengal without compromising the dignity and status of his administration. He told the people.
We have the ability and if, with faith in our future, we exert ourselves with determination, nothing, I am sure, no obstacles, however formidable or insurmountable they may appear at present, can stop our progress... (if) all work unitedly, keeping our vision clear and with a firm grasp of our problems.

The nation honored Dr. Roy with the Bharat Ratna on February 4, 1961. On July 1, 1962, after treating his morning patients and discharging affairs of the State, he took a copy of the "Brahmo Geet" and sang a piece from it. 11 hours later Dr. Roy died on his 80th birthday at midday past three. He gifted his house for running a nursing home named after his mother, Aghorkamini Devi. The B.C. Roy National Award was instituted in 1976 for work in the area of medicine, politics, science, philosophy, literature and arts. The Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Library and Reading Room for Children in the Children's Book Trust, New Delhi, was opened in 1967. Today, his private papers are part of the Archives at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, at Teen Murti House, Delhi.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

441.Vithalbhai Patel (1873-1933)


Born On: September 27, 1873
Born In: Nadiad, Gujarat
Died On: October 22, 1933
Career: Freedom Fighter, Legislator
Nationality: Indian

Mahatma Gandhi was the soul of the Indian political movement. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was its strength and Vithalbhai Patel was its character. Although Vithalbhai is a lesser known politician in the Indian freedom struggle than his brother Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, popularly known as the "Iron Man of India", he, nevertheless, surely holds a great role and an eminent position in the entire freedom movement. By entering into politics much before his renowned brother, Vithalbhai established the Swaraj Party that aimed at forming self-government and achieving freedom for the Indian people from the British Raj. He strongly opposed Mahatma Gandhi's decision to abandon the Non-Cooperation Movement with the occurrence of the Chauri Chaura tragedy.

Early Life
Vithalbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born as the third of the five Patel brothers in Nadiad district in the Indian state of Gujarat. He was four years elder to Vallabhbhai Patel, a prominent Indian freedom fighter. Being raised and brought up in Karamsad, he attained self education at Nadiad and Bombay. To earn his education and living, he worked as a pleader, or junior lawyer, at Godhra and Borsad. He was married off to a girl from Diwaliba village at a very young age. Following his footsteps, his younger brother Vallabhbhai Patel also educated himself and worked as a pleader. Since both were ambitious, they dreamt to study in England. To fulfill his dream, Vallabhbhai Patel had accumulated enough money and ordered for his passport and ticket to England. However, the parcel delivered by the postman was addressed to "Mr. V.J. Patel, Pleader".

Though the parcel was meant for Vallabhbhai Patel, but Vithalbhai insisted on traveling on his passport and tickets on the pretext of preventing social criticism of an elder brother following the lead of the younger one. Left with no option and considering it to be his fate, Vallabhbhai let his elder brother travel to England. Additionally, he even paid for his stay during the entire study course. Vithalbhai studied at the Middle Temple Inn in London and completed the 36-month course in just 30, thereby appearing as the topper of his class. He came back to India in 1913 and started working as a barrister in courts of Bombay and Ahmedabad. While his professional life was moving on smoothly, he met with a personal crises in 1915 when his wife died, leaving him a widower for the rest of his life.

Political Career
Much before Vallabhbhai Patel could enter politics, Vithalbhai got into the political world and became a prominent name in the Indian independence movement. He managed to win a seat in Bombay Legislative Council with the help of a band of supporters. Though the body did not have any real functions, Vithalbhai tried working hard for one year but failed to achieve anything for national independence, self-government, or public welfare. After the incident of Chauri Chaura and the end of Non-cooperation Movement in 1922, Vithalbhai left Congress and established his own party called Swaraj Party, along with Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru.

The basic aim of the party was to enter the councils and abolish the government run by the British. However, the party could get success in dividing the Congress and later itself as well. He became popular amongst the masses through his oratorical and witty speeches. Thereafter, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1923 and later in 1925, became the Assembly's president. Despite not completely in sync with Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and practices, Vithalbhai joined Congress and began his struggle for India's independence. He did not receive major support from any specific region, but still managed to get popular and influence people with this fiery and powerful speeches and articles published in the newspapers.

Later Years
In 1929, several supporters of the Government of India made attempts to remove Vithalbhai from the presidentship of Imperial Legislative Assembly, or Central Legislative Assembly, but were stopped by the Viceroy Lord Irwin who was trying to win the support of many important nationalists. On failing to do so, Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 resulting in Vithalbhai resigning from his the Central Legislative Assembly on the pretext of support the movement. He declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) and re-entered Congress. For this, he was even imprisoned but was released in 1931 due to his declining health. For the same, he traveled to Europe to get himself medically treated. With the end of Salt Satyagraha, Vithalbhai yet again stood against Gandhi and joined Subhas Chandra Bose. Both met in Vienna in 1933 when Bose was released from Bhowali Sanitorium and set to Vienna for treatment, while Vithalbhai also went to Vienna to get himself treated. Sharing similar political views and desire for India's freedom, both got closer to each other and traveled extensively throughout Europe gathering funds and political support.

Death
While touring Europe, Bose started showing improvement in his health, but Vithalbhai started declining further. On finding his immense support for the political work, Vithalbhai handed over the residual part of his property amounting to Rs. 1, 20,000 to Bose considering that the latter had no private means to earn nor would he receive a single penny from Congress. Vithalbhai passed away on October 22, 1933 in Geneva, Switzerland. His body was brought back to India and cremated in Bombay on November 10. He was 60 years old.

Timeline
1873: Born in Nadiad, Gujarat
1913: Completed higher studies from Middle Temple Inn, London and returned to India
1915: Wife died
1922: Left Congress and formed the Swaraj Party
1923: Elected to Central Legislative Assembly
1925: Became president of the Assembly
1930: Resigned from presidentship, declared Purna Swaraj, and imprisoned
1931: Released from prison and went to Europe for medical treatment
1933: Met Subhas Chandra Bose in Vienna
1933: Died in Geneva, Switzerland on October 22, aged 6