30 Years a Prisoner

A man who toiled away 30 years in jail just because he dared to aspire for freedom. Such was his might that the Britishers had to use all their strength just to get a hold of him. He's none other than Trailokyanath Chakravarty and this day marks his death anniversary.

A man whom freedom eluded forever; Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Indian Independence struggle was one of many hues. People from almost all walks of life and all parts of the country participated with zeal and eagerness. Religion, language, caste, class all were subsumed under the banner of nationalism. Nationalistic fervour reigned supreme over all other considerations.

One such man who devoted himself to the cause of the country was Trailokyanath Chakravarty. Born in the Mymensingh district of what is currently Bangladesh, he never even got to complete his primary education.

As a young boy of just 17 years old, Chakravarthy left behind everything as he devoted more and more of his time to revolutionary activities. In 1906, he was elected the leader of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.

A consequence of his rebellion was that on the account of seditious activities, he was sailed off to prison due to which he had to drop out of school.

Upon being released, he continued to prick the British with his participation in anti-colonial activities. In 1912, Trailokyanath came under the scanner yet again- this time for the grave crime of murdering someone. Due to lack of corroborative evidence, he was left off the hook but he couldn't evade prison for much longer.

In 1913, the Britishers discovered a systematic plan to incite the natives in the troops to agitate against the British and slaughter whichever one of them came in their way. The documents were discovered by the colonial police in Barisal and the blame was pinned on the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti, which was headed by Trailokyanath Chakravarty and Pratul Chandra Ganguli.

For two years, Chakravarthy remained on the run and absconded. When the British were finally able to catch him, he was shipped off to Andaman's dreaded Kaala Pani.

Upon his return to Calcutta at the end of his sentence, he took over the National School but yet again in 1927, Trailokyanath got arrested and was imprisoned in Mandalaya in Burma till 1928. He was in and out of the prison several times- from 1930 to 1938, then again from 1942 to 1946.

When independence was attained, he decided to live in East Pakistan so that he could support the minorities. Chakravarthy's luck didn't change here either; the colonial relic of sedition was used against him repeatedly by the East Pakistani government.

After spending the dusk of his life in exile at his village home, Chakravarty died of a dilapidated heart at his friend and close associate, Surender Mohan Ghose's humble abode. He died just a year before East Pakistan attained liberation and cocooned into Bangladesh; a euphemism for how he never really got to taste independence. Trailokyanath Chakravarty gave up his freedom for the freedom of everyone else.