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Kamala Bhattacharya was an Indian student who was martyred in the
Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...
in
Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...
in 1961.


Early life

Kamala was born to Ramraman Bhattacharya and Suprabasini Devi, the fifth of seven children in the year 1945 in the erstwhile Sylhet district in
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
. In their family they were three sons and four daughters. She was the third of the four daughters, having a younger sister and a younger brother. Their family had to struggle through many hardships after she lost her father early in her childhood. During the
Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
, the district of Sylhet was acceded to Pakistan on the basis of Sylhet referendum. In the 1950 East Pakistan genocide, hundreds of Hindus were killed in
Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...
and they migrated to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in large numbers. Kamala's mother too migrated to
Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...
in the
Cachar district Cachar district is an administrative districts of Assam, district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao district, Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar ...
in the year 1950. Kamala's family used to stay in a rented accommodation in Silchar Public School Road. Her eldest sister Benu took up a nursing job and went to
Simaluguri Simaluguri (IPA: ˌʃɪmɑːlʊˈgʊərɪ or ˌsɪmɑːlʊˈgʊərɪ) is a town area in Sivasagar district in the state of Assam, India.The Dikhow River flows near it. Transportation The primary railway station of Sivasagar district is Simalugu ...
for training. Kamala's elder sister Pratibha was a school teacher. Her family was economically dependent on her earning for their livelihood. In her childhood, Kamala attended the Chhotelal Seth Institute in Silchar. She did not have the financial stability to buy the school text books. She had once asked her eldest sister Benu to buy her a dictionary for her, which her sister could not afford. She used to borrow books from her classmates and copy the text and read them. In 1961, Kamala appeared for the matriculation exams. She was determined to complete her graduation and had planned to learn typewriting before the matriculation results were declared.


Martyrdom

The very next day after the matriculation exams, a picketing was being organized in Silchar railway station demanding Bengali as the medium of education. On the morning of May 19, after taking a bath, Kamala wore the saree of her elder sister Pratibha and prepared to go to picketing. Her elder sister warned her of possible dangers. In the meanwhile, a group of 20-22 girls came to their house to take her. They alleviated her mother's concerns and took Kamala along with them. Kamala's mother gave her a piece of cloth to defend herself from tear gas. Kamala's younger sister Mangala, younger brother Bakul and her nephew Bappa too accompanied the group. Later during the day, Kamala's mother herself went to the railway station to enquire about their whereabouts. Bakul and Bappa had once been arrested by the police and then released. Kamala washed her mother's feet of the dust, gave her a sharbat and then sent her back home. The rail blockade programme had passed off peacefully in the morning. In the afternoon, the
Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a paramilitary force of India responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India and in Jammu & Kashmir in lines of Rashtriya Rifles. Its primary duty involves guard ...
had begun to arrive at the railway station. At around 2-35 P.M. the paramilitary police started beating the protesters with rifle butts and batons without any provocation from them. Kamala's younger sister hit by the police, fell to the ground and began crying to Kamala for help. The police had opened fire on the protesters by then. As Kamala rushed to the rescue of her younger sister, a bullet pierced through her eye and hit her head. Kamala was taken to hospital along with other wounded and bullet hit protesters. She died in the hospital. Unconscious Mangala was also admitted to hospital, where she regained her consciousness after one month. She became mentally unstable for the rest of her life.


Memorial

In 2011, Gopa Dutta Aich unveiled a bronze bust of Kamala Bhattacharya in the premises of the Chhotelal Seth Institute under the aegis of Shahid Kamala Bhattacharya Murti Sthapan Committee.


See also

*
Sachindra Chandra Pal Sachindra Chandra Pal (1942 - 19 May 1961) was an Indian student who took part in the Bengali Language Movement in Silchar. He was killed on 19 May 1961. Sachindra Paul Road in Silchar is named in his memory. Early life Sachindra Chandra Pal wa ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Kamala 1945 births 1961 deaths People from Sylhet People from Cachar district Martyrs Bengali Hindus Bengali Language Movement of Assam activists