Pritilata Waddedar (5 May 1911 – 24 September 1932)
was a
Bengali revolutionary nationalist who was influential in the
independence movement
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...
.
After completing her education in
Chattogram
Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
(formerly Chittagong) and
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
(formerly Dacca), she attended
Bethune College
Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879.
...
in
Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
(formerly Calcutta). She graduated in
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
with distinction and became a school teacher. She is praised as "Bengal's first woman martyr".
Pritilata joined a revolutionary group headed by
Surya Sen. She is known for leading fifteen revolutionaries in the 1932 armed attack on the Pahartali European Club, during which one person was killed and eleven injured. The revolutionaries torched the club and were later caught by the
colonial police. Pritilata committed suicide by
cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
. Her suicide was preplanned. She had a suicide note or a letter with her, where she had penned down the objectives of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch. In the letter, along with the names of Masterda Surya Sen and Nirmal Sen, she had also mentioned about her experience of meeting Ramkrishna Biswas a number of times in the Alipore Central Jail. Ramkrishna Biswas was waiting his execution by hanging by the British and Pritilata used to meet him in the alias of his cousin sister.
Early life

Pritilata was born in a middle-class
Bengali Baidya Brahmin family on 5 May 1911
in Dhalghat village in Patiya ''upazila'' of
Chittagong
Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
(now in Bangladesh). ''Waddedar'' was a title conferred to an ancestor of the family who originally had the surname
Dasgupta. Her father Jagabandhu Waddedar was a clerk in the Chittagong Municipality.
Her mother Pratibhamayi Devi was a housewife.
The couple had six children – Madhusduan, Pritilata, Kanaklata, Shantilata, Ashalata and Santosh. Pritilata was nicknamed Rani.
Jagabandhu tried to arrange the best possible education for their children.
He got Pritilata admitted in
Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School of Chattogram. Pritilata was a meritorious student. A teacher in the school, whom students affectionately used to call ''Usha Di'', used stories of
Rani Lakshmibai to inspire nationalism in her students.
Kalpana Datta, a classmate of Pritilata, writes in the biography ''Chittagong Armoury Raiders''– "We had no clear idea in our school days about our future. Then the Rani of Jhansi fired our imagination with her example. Sometimes we used to think of ourselves as fearless...". Arts and literature were Pritilata's favourite subjects. She passed out of Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School in 1928 and in 1929, got admitted to the
Eden College,
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. In the Intermediate examinations, she stood first among all students who appeared in that year's examination from the Dhaka Board.
As a student in Eden College, she participated in various social activities. She joined the group ''Sree Sangha'', headed by Leela Nag, under the banner ''Deepali Sangha'' (''Dipali Sangha)''.
In Calcutta
To pursue higher education, Pritilata went to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and got admitted to the Bethune College
Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879.
...
. Two years later, she graduated in philosophy from the college with a distinction. However, her degree was withheld by the Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
administration. In 2012, she (and Bina Das) were conferred their certificates of merit posthumously.
As a school teacher
After completing her education in Calcutta, Pritilata returned to Chittagong. In Chittagong, she took up the job of headmistress at a local English medium secondary school called Nandankanan Aparnacharan School.
Revolutionary activities
Joining Surya Sen's revolutionary group
Pritilata decided to join the Indian independence movement. Surjo Sen had heard about her and wanted her to join their revolutionary group. On 13 June 1932, Pritilata met Surjo Sen and Nirmal Sen in their Dhalghat camp. A contemporary revolutionary, Binod Bihari Chowdhury, objected that they did not allow women to join their group. However, Pritalata was allowed to join the group because the revolutionaries reasoned that women transporting weapons would not attract as much suspicious as men.
Inspiration from Ramkrishna Biswas
Surjo Sen and his revolutionary group decided to kill Mr. Craig, Inspector General of Chittagong. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were assigned for this task. But they mistakenly killed SP of Chandpur and Tarini Mukherjee instead of Craig. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were arrested on 2 December 1930. After the trial Biswas was ordered to be hanged until death and Chakravarty to be exile
Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d to Cellular Jail.
The family and friends lacked the amount of money required to travel from Chittagong to Alipore Jail of Calcutta. Since at that time Pritilata was staying in Kolkata, she was asked to go to Alipore Jail and meet Ramkrishna Biswas.
Activities in Surya Sen's group
Along with the revolutionary group of Surya Sen, Pritilata took part in many raids like attacks on the Telephone & Telegraph offices and the capture of the reserve police line. In the Jalalabad battle, she took the responsibility to supply explosives to the revolutionaries.
Pahartali European Club attack (1932)
In 1932, Surjo Sen planned to attack the Pahartali European Club which had a signboard that read "Dogs and Indians not allowed". Surjo Sen decided to appoint a woman leader for this mission. Kalpana Datta was arrested seven days before the event. Because of this, Pritilata was assigned the leadership of the attack. Pritilata went to Kotowali Sea Side for arms training and made the plan of their attack there.
They decided to attack the club on 24 September 1932. The members of the group were given potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. It is a colorless salt, similar in appearance to sugar, that is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include ...
and were told to swallow it if they were caught.[
On the day of the attack, Pritilata dressed herself as a Punjabi male. Her associates Kalishankar Dey, Bireshwar Roy, Prafulla Das, Shanti Chakraborty wore '']dhoti
The dhoti is an ankle-length breechcloth, wrapped around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers. The dhoti is a garment of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular p ...
'' and shirt. Mahendra Chowdhury, Sushil Dey and Panna Sen wore ''lungi
The lungi is a clothing similar to the sarong that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The lungi, which usually multicoloured, is a men's skirt usually tied around the lower waist below the navel. It can be worn as casual wear and night wear. ...
'' and shirt.
They reached the club at around 10:45 PM and launched their attack. There were around 40 people inside the club then. The revolutionaries divided themselves into three separate groups for the attack; the building was set alight before they started shooting into it. In the club, a few police officers who had revolvers started shooting. Pritilata incurred a single bullet wound. According to the police report, in this attack, one woman with a surname of Sullivan died and four men and seven women were injured.
Death
An injured Pritilata was trapped by the colonial police. She swallowed cyanide to avoid getting arrested. The next day, the police found her body and identified her. On searching her dead body, the police found a few leaflets, photograph of Ramkrishna Biswas, bullets, whistle and the draft of their plan of attack. During the post-mortem
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death ...
it was found that the bullet injury was not very serious and that cyanide poisoning was the cause of her death.
The chief secretary of Bengal sent a report to British authorities in London. In the report it was written that Pritilata:
Influence
Bangladeshi writer Selina Hossain
Selina Hossain (born 14 June 1947) is a Bangladeshi novelist. Her major works include ''Hangor Nodi Grenade'' (1976) and ''Poka Makorer Ghor Boshoti'' (1996). She earned all major national awards – Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1980, Ekushey ...
calls Pritilata an ideal for every woman. A trust named ''Birkannya Pritilata Trust'' (''Brave lady Pritilata Trust'') has been founded in her memory. Pritilata's birthday is celebrated by the trust in different places of Bangladesh and India every year. The trust considers her to be "a beacon of light for women". The last end of Sahid Abdus Sabur Road to Mukunda Ram Hat of Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong has been named as Pritilata Waddedar Road. In 2012, a bronze sculpture of Pritilata Waddedar was erected in front of the Pahartali Railway School, adjacent to the historical European Club.
Waddedar's great-grandniece is British journalist and activist, Ash Sarkar.
Legacy
* Pritilata Waddedar Mahavidyalaya, a degree college at Panikhali in Nadia district
Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north.
Nadia district is highly influe ...
.
* Pritilata Shaheed Minar
* Pritilata Hall, University of Chittagong
The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...
* Pritilata Hall, Jahangirnagar University
Jahangirnagar University (, abbreviated as JU; initially started as Jahangirnagar Muslim University; ) is a fully residential public university, public research university located in Savar Upazila, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in ...
* Pritilata Waddedar Primary School, Chittagong
* Pritilata Chhatrinivas, a girl's hostel of Kalyani Government Engineering College, Nadia, West Bengal
* Khantura Pritilata Shiksha Niketan (Boys' (H.S.), Girls' (H.S.) and Primary section), three schools, Gobardanga, West Bengal, India
* Pritilata Waddedar hall of residence (girls hostel) in National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, West Bengal, India
In popular media
* 2010 Bollywood movie '' Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey'' was based on Chittagong Uprising where Vishakha Singh played the character of Pritilata.
* In 2012, the Hindi film Chittagong
Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
was released based on the uprising. Vega Tamotia played the role of Waddedar.
* In 2018, Kiran Sonia Sawar delivered a monologue Waddedar in 'Pritilata', a short film in the BBC series " Snatches: Moment's From Women's Lives" to mark the hundredth anniversary of women's suffrage and as part of the 'Hear Her' season. The film was written by Tanika Gupta
Tanika Gupta (born 1 December 1963) is a British playwright. Apart from her work for the theatre, she has also written scripts for television, film and radio plays.
Early life
Tanika Gupta was born in London to immigrant parents from Kolkata ...
* A Bangladeshi film is in production starring Pori Moni .
Gallery
File:Pritilata.jpg, Statue at Maidan, Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
File:Bust of Pritilata Waddedar.JPG, Bust of Pritilata
File:Pritilata Shohid Minar.jpg, Pritilata Shohid Minar
File:Pritilata Hall at University of Chittagong (04).jpg, Pritilata Hall, University of Chittagong
The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...
File:Pritilata-hallju.jpg, Pritilata Hall, Jahangirnagar University
Jahangirnagar University (, abbreviated as JU; initially started as Jahangirnagar Muslim University; ) is a fully residential public university, public research university located in Savar Upazila, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in ...
See also
* Khudiram Bose
* Jatindra Nath Das
* Basanta Kumar Biswas
* Myth of "No dogs or Chinese allowed" plaque in Shanghai
* ''No dogs or Muslims'' poster in Algeria
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waddedar, Pritilata
1911 births
1932 suicides
1932 deaths
Indian independence activists from Bengal
20th-century Indian women
20th-century Indian people
Bengali activists
Bethune College alumni
Revolutionaries from British India
People from Patiya Upazila
People from Kolkata
Suicides by cyanide poisoning
University of Calcutta alumni
Suicides in India
Eden Mohila College alumni
Surya Sen
Bengali Hindus
Female revolutionaries