Unsung Hero of India's Freedom Struggle Series: Bimalpratibha Debi Cuttack, Odisha

Hello friends! Welcome to GreyMatters Podcast.

Freedom, a golden word. The mere utterance of which gives a pleasant feeling. our country has paid a lot to get this freedom. This year we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of independence. On this auspicious occasion, we must talk about some such heroes of the country who could not land on the pages of history. 

Yes of course, we are talking about the unsung heroes of our country and the hero of today’s podcast is Mrs. Bimalpratibha Devi. So stay tuned and let's know about her in this podcast today.

Bimalpratibha Debi

Cuttack, Odisha

Born in Cuttack, Bimalpratibha Debi(1901-1978) spent most of her eventful life in Bengal. She had her initiation into nationalism from her father, Surendranath Mukhopadhyay of the Prabartak Sangha. She was married to Dr. Charuchandra Bandyopadhyay a conservative aristocrat, who did not like political activities for women.

But, from 1918 onwards she regularly took part in political activities, joined the non-violent movement as a member of the Nari Karmamandir of Urmila Debi. In 1927, she became the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Naujwaan Sabha, of which Bhagat Singh was the all India president. She took part in the salt satyagraha as a congress worker.

In June 1930, she was imprisoned for six months for leading a procession in Calcutta in violation of the prohibitory order. A fearless lady, she collected funds for Chattagram revolutionaries by selling their photo albums in Calcutta; also met some of them while attending the Tripura Youth Conference in 1931. All these led to her arrest on the charges of her alleged link with the Manicktala Dacoity Case (1931). She was released by the court but police took her immediately into remand and lodged in different jails of Bengal for six years without trial.

After the Tripuri Congress, she ended her long association with the party. In 1941, she was arrested again for incriminating papers and was imprisoned in the Presidency Jail till 1945. Having lost her son and husband, she lived a sordid last life.

 Here we were listening about Bimalpratibha devi. And this was a small contribution from GreyMatters Communications on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Independence.

Happy Independence Day!