India Post releases Special Cover on freedom fighter Bina Das on Philately Day

India Post releases Special Cover on freedom fighter Bina Das on Philately Day

Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 13 OCT: Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication has brought out a Special Cover on freedom fighter Bina Das for her contribution in India’s freedom movement.

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A Special Cover on Bina Das was released by Niraj Kumar, Post Master General, Kolkata Region, in a ceremony held at Krishnagar Head Post Office today.

Special Covers on “Unsung Heroes of Undivided Bengal”, the revolutionaries of freedom struggle, being released during “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the 75th year of Independence that is being celebrated across the country this year.

West Bengal Circle of Department of Posts also celebrated ‘Philately Day’ on 13 October and issued a Special Cover on the freedom fighter Bina Das.

In the ceremony, Bina Das’ relative Jay Bhattacharya also attended virtually and spoke about her contribution in the freedom struggle. Tushar Kanti Chowdhury, AD, Kolkata Region, Arup Kumar Seal, SPO, Nadia North Division and litterateur Tamal Bandopadhyay also attended the programme.

There is a long list of prominent revolutionaries from the land who contributed their names to India’s history with pride, but there were some who sacrificed their lives for the country while being abandoned from a suitable honour.

The date came 24 August, 1911 when Bengal gave birth to a woman who was as bold as brass and as fierce as fire. The krantikari Bina Das was a name that implicitly vowed to give back the identity of India as a free nation and with her actions, she proved her determination. Due to the fact that both her parents Beni Madhab Das and Sarala Devi were also prominent revolutionaries and were indirectly involved in the freedom fight as social workers, educators, and advocates of the Brahmo Samaj; her passion for revolution surely ran deep.

As she grew up, she joined Chhatri Sangha, a woman-led, semi-revolutionary group developed in Calcutta. Throughout this journey, she devoted herself to eliminate Britishers from the country with every word she said and action she did.

As part of her group, Das organized their first student protest against the Simon Commission in 1928. After several denials and threats, the administration finally bowed to pressure and the English principal resigned.

As a student, Das attended St. John’s Diocesan High School after which she attended Bethune College. On 6 February, 1932, in the convocation hall of Calcutta university, she attempted to assassinate Stanley Jackson, the then Governor of Bengal. Even though she realised the seriousness of her actions, she continued to fire at least five shots at Jackson. Interestingly, even being locked up in prison, her name appeared on numerous front pages of newspapers until the story reached abroad.

During many interrogations following her arrest, she firmly accepted her act while keeping other people involved at a distance, as she admitted — “I confess that I fired at the Governor on the last Convocation day at the Senate House. I hold myself entirely responsible for it. My object was to die and if I had to die, I wanted to do it nobly, fighting against this despotic system… I fired at the Governor impelled by my love for my country which is being repressed.”

She actively participated in the ‘Quit India’ movement. She was a member of the Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly from 1946 to 1947 and of the West Bengal State Legislative Assembly from 1947 to 1951. For her contributions to social work, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1960. The University of Calcutta awarded her a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors for Batch 1931, almost 81 years after Das’ death.

Some reports say she died in complete anonymity as her body was recovered from Rishikesh in a very poor state in December, 1986. So terrible was that the authorities had a hard time to identify it. Moreover, even time fabricated her role in bringing independence to India.

Tags: #IndiaPost #SpecialCover #BinaDas #PhilatelyDay #Krishnagar

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