BALASORE: Freedom fighters and dignitaries from different parts of the State have demanded the West Bengal Government to withdraw a book, which branded martyr Bagha Jatin as a terrorist. They had gathered here at Chasakhand on Wednesday to observe the 99th death anniversary of Bagha Jatin.
Freedom fighters Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin) and two others - Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose - have been termed as terrorists in Class-VIII history textbook of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (BSE). In the chapter titled ‘Revolutionary Terrorism’, the activities of these freedom fighters have been described as “extremism and terrorism”.
Members of Bhagha Jatin Bikash Parisad, however, cried foul. They said the writers who have described Bagha Jatin, Chaki and Bose as terrorists are anti-nationals.
“They have not only distorted the fact, but tampered with the history of the country’s freedom movement. Stringent action should be initiated against the persons who are responsible for it,” demanded vice-president of the Parisad, Gopinath Senapati.
Bagha Jatin, popularly known as Bengal tiger had born on December 7, 1879 in Koyagram under Kusthia sub-division of undivided Bengal. During freedom struggle, he along with his four trusted adjutants was one day waiting for a huge consignment of arms to arrive at Balasore coast, for an armed rebellion, but that did not happen. Their hideout was raided by the Britishers and Bagha Jatin received bullet injuries. Though was brought to hospital and operated upon, but succumbed on September 10, 1915.
Terming the description on him in the West Bengal text book as an insult, an eminent citizen Santanu Das demanded that the West Bengal Government should immediately withdraw the book from the curriculum and issue a fresh book after deleting the portion. He should be described as a true patriot, he added.