13. Ananta Singh (1903-1979)

Ananta Lal Sinha (Bengali: অনন্তলাল সিংহ) (1 December 1903 – 25 January 1979) was an Indian independence movement activist, who participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. Later, he founded a far-left radical communist group, the Revolutionary Communist Council of India.

Sinha was born in Chittagong. His father's name was Golap Sinha. Sinha's ancestors were Punjabi Rajputs who migrated from Agra and settled in Chittagong. He met Surya Sen while he was studying in the Chittagong Municipal School and became his follower. From the very beginning he was preparing bombs, crackers etc for revolutionary work.

Independence movement

Sinha's involvement in the Indian independence movement began with the Non-cooperation movement in 1921.At his initiative the students of his school boycotted the class and became volunteers of congress. Although, he motivated the his schoolmates to join the movement, he personally did not have much faith in the movement. On 14 December 1923, he and Nirmal Sen led the robbery at the treasury office of the Assam Bengal Railway according to the plan made by Surya Sen and clashed with the police after the robbery on 24 December. He fled from the scene after the robbery and reached Calcutta after a short stay atSandwip. He was arrested in Calcutta but released soon. He was again arrested in 1924 for participating in revolutionary activities and imprisoned for four years.

After his release, he founded a gymnasium and recruited many youths for the revolutionary movement led by Surya Sen. On 18 April 1930, he was one of the participants of the Chittagong armoury raid. After the incident, he was able to flee to French territoryChandernagore. But, after hearing the news of the torture faced by his fellow revolutionaries who were already in jail, he surrendered to the police on 28 June 1930 in Calcutta and faced the trial. In the trial, he was sentenced to transporatation for life and sent to theCellular Jail in Port Blair. After, a long hunger strike in the Cellular Jail in 1932, he was brought back to a mainland jail along with a number of his fellow political prisoners due to an initiative undertakan by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. After his final release in 1946, he joined the Communist Party of India.

After Independence

After the Indian independence in 1947, Singh was mostly involved in the film production and dealership of the motor vehicles. In the late 60s, he founded a new far left political group, named the Revolutionary Communist Council of India in Calcutta. The members of this group conducted a number of bank robberies in Calcutta in order to raise funds for buying arms and ammunitions. Finally, along with most of the members of the group, he was arrested from their hideout in a forest near Jaduguda in the present-day Jharkhand state in 1969. He was imprisoned till 1977. He was suffering from cardiac problems during his imprisonment and died within a short period of time after his release.

Works

Sinha's most significant work is his controversial autobiography, Keu Bale Dakat, Keu Bale Biplabi (Some Call Me a Robber, Some Call Me a Revolutionary). His other significant works include: Chattagram Yubabidroha (Youth Revolution in Chittagong) (in two volumes), Agnigarbha Chattagram (Chittagong on Fire), Masterda on Surya Sen, Surya Sener Svapna O Sadhana (Dream and Austerities of Surya Sen) and Ami Sei Meye (I am that Girl).