Jatindra Nath Das
Encyclopedia : J : JA : JAT : Jatindra Nath Das
Jatindra Nath Das (also known as Jatin Das) (27 October 1904 - 13 September1929) was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary. The death of Jatin Das in Lahore jail after 63 days of hunger strike shocked the whole of India.
Revolutionary activities
Jatindra Nath Das was born in Kolkata. He joined Anushilan Samiti - a revolutionary outfit in Bengal. Jatindra participated in Gandhi's Non-Cooperation movement in 1921.
In November 1925, while studying for a B.A. at Vidyasagar College in Kolkata, Jatindra Nath was arrested for his political activities and was imprisoned in Mymensingh Central Jail. Protesting against the ill treatment of political prisoners, he went on a hunger strike. After 20 days, when the Jail Superintendent apologised, Jatin gave up the fast. He was contacted by revolutionaries in other parts of India and agreed to participate in bomb-making for Bhagat Singh and comrades.
On 14 June 1929 he was arrested for terrorist activities and was imprisoned in Lahore jail to be tried under the supplementary Lahore Conspiracy Case.
The hunger strike
In the Lahore jail, Jatin Das, along with other prisoners, started a hunger strike demanding jail reforms and rights of prisoners and undertrials. This memorable hunger strike started on 13 July 1929 and lasted 63 days.[Muktadhara article] The jail authority took many measures to feed Jatin, including attempts to feed forcefully.Dr. Premdatta Verma, Punjab University Weekly Bulletin, 19 September, 1964 [link] However, Jatindra did not eat. He died, hunger strike unbroken, on 13 September.Indian Post Article:As his body was carried from Lahore to Kolkata by train, thousands of people rushed to every station to pay their homage to the martyr. A two-mile long procession in Kolkata carried the coffin to the cremation ground.[Gateway for India artcle]
The hunger strike of Jatin Das in prison was one crucial moment in the resistance against illegal detentions, and highlighted cold-hearted brutality of British colonialism. [Durba Ghosh]-Britain’s Global War on Terrorism:containing political violence and insurgency in the interwar years,in Conference:How Empire Mattered: Imperial Structures and Globalization in the Era of British Imperialism ,Berkeley, CA,April 4-5, 2003
Notes
External links
- [Indian post article]
- [The Pioneer article] by Balbir Punj
- [Bhagat Singh's letter to The Home Member, The Government of India]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.