September
5, 2015
Bagha
Jatin still inspires Bangladesh
By
Saibal Sen
KUSTIA
(BANGLADESH): Across the Benepole border in Bangladesh, at Kaya, several
youngsters waited to felicitate Indujyoti Mukhopadhyay, freedom fighter Bagha
Jatin's youngest grandson. Attending an event to commemorate Bagha Jatin's 100
years of martyrdom were thousands -both young and old -who wanted to greet
"one of their own".
On
September 2, as the convoy headed for Kaya, the attendees craned their necks to
catch a glimpse of Indujyoti. Though three central ministers, who were invited
to the event, were absent, the Bangladeshi citizens more than made up for it
with their enthusiasm.
"For
a moment, even I was worried. The ministers couldn't make it and the weather
was gloomy. But people flocked the grounds in the thousands. It is a sense of
heritage and history, that brought them here. Kustia has always been the land
of greats, from Lalan Fakir to Rabindranath Tagore. Bagha Jatin lives on in the
hearts of the people of Kaya," Mamun said.
"I
am overwhelmed. Bagha Jatin was born here, amidst you. It was his childhood
here, which shaped his future," Indujyoti told the rousing crowd.
Not
too far from Kaya, a young Jyotindranath fought single-handedly with a Royal
Bengal tiger to kill it and earn the nickname Bagha Jatin.
"When
I stepped into Bangladesh, I didn't know that Bagha Jatin continues to evoke
such enthusiasm among normal people. I al ways say it is imperative for the new
generation to understand their own leaders first. In my country, Bagha Jatin's
birth and death anniversaries have become ritualistic. The fervour is
noticeable only in a few cases. But here we are talking about a person who is
considered, by many illustrious freedom fighters, as their mentor and
inspiration. Why shouldn't he find a deserving place in textbooks in not only
Bengal, but in India? Let not his work and deeds die with our generation,"
Indujyoti said.
The
only dampener in the otherwise picture-perfect script was police escorts. The
reason, however, wasn't hard to gauge. Kustia has been the hotbed of religious
fanatics for a while. The otherwise lush green affluent landscape, hemmed
between the Ganga and Padma, is also home to unregulated madrassas, which, some
allege, are the breeding ground for extremists. Fear has stopped the local
administration from naming the road leading to Kaya as Bagha Jatin road or the
college at his birthplace as Bagha Jatin College.
"Their
pro-Pakistan advocacy , their attempts to weaken the secular administration of
Sheikh Hasina and usher in a fanatic BNP rule is well known. They will not let
go of any opportunity to act as a spoiler. And hence the security
arrangements," explained Bangladeshi academic Shahriar Kabir, who, with
fellow academic Muntasir Mamun formed the National Committee for Observing
Bagha Jatin's 100 years of Martyrdom.
Around
the same time, Arindam Mukhopadhyay , the secretary of Kolkata-based Institute
of Social and Cultural Studies, began his research on Bagha Jatin's lineage. He
too is part of the event in Bangladesh. The celebration will culminate in an
elaborate function in Balasore on September 10, the day Bagha Jatin
died.
(The
author had travelled to Bangladesh on an invitation from Shahriar Kabir ,
convenor of National Committee for Observing Bagha Jatin's 100 years of
Martyrdom)
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