Today is the death anniversary of Indian revolutionary Jatindra Nath Das who breathed his last on September 13, 1929, after a 63-day hunger strike to protest the ill-treatment of political prisoners. He started his fast in Lahore Central Jail along with other revolutionary fighters like Shaheed Bhagat Singh, demanding equality in the treatment of Indian political prisoners, with those from Europe.
During the course of his fast, he was reportedly beaten up, and efforts were made by the jail authorities to forcefully feed him. Despite significant damage to his lungs and onset of paralysis, Jatindra Nath insisted on continuing his fast.
According to a report in The Wire, his death led to mass gatherings of people when his mortal remains were taken towards the railway station. Some of the biggest gatherings were in Kanpur, led by Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and by Kamla Nehru in Allahabad. His coffin was received by Subhash Chandra Bose at the Howrah railway station. The estimated number of people to have attended his funeral was over seven lakhs.
Harish Jain, one of the editors of the book series on revolutionary movement “Hanging of Bhagat Singh”, told The Tribune that it was only after Jatindra Nath’s martyrdom and the reaction his death evoked, that the British refused to hand over bodies of any political prisoners to their family. He said, “That is why bodies of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were secretly cremated at midnight on the banks of the Sutlej.”
Das, who went on to become an important voice in the Indian freedom struggle, was first imprisoned in 1925 at Mymensingh Central Jail for his political activities, when he was still a student in Bangabasi College, Calcutta. In June 1929, he was re-arrested and jailed in Lahore for his alleged role in the Lahore Conspiracy Case involving the gunning down of British police officer, John Saunders by Rajguru.
Born on October 27, 1904, Das first joined Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary group in Bengal, and then teamed up with Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his comrades in the Hindustan Republican Socialist Association. At the tender age of 17, he participated in the non-cooperation movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
There is no better time to celebrate the legacy and work of Jatindra Nath Das, as several political prisoners remain incarcerated on trumped-up charges all across the nation, awaiting trial.
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