Sukanta Bhattacharya (; 15 August 1926 – 13 May 1947) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet. He was called "Young Nazrul" and ''Kishore Bidrohi Kobi'' (), a reference to

Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam (24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengalis, Bengali poet, short story writer, journalist, lyricist and musician. He is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul produced a List of works by Kazi Nazrul Islam, large body of ...

, for his similar rebellious stance against the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and the social elites through the work of poetry.

Poetic style and influence

As a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

poet, he wielded his pen against fascist aggression, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Ban ...

, communal riots etc. His poems, which describe the sufferings of the common people and their

struggle for existence The concept of the struggle for existence (or struggle for life) concerns the competition or battle for resources needed to live. It can refer to human society, or to organisms in nature. The concept is ancient, and the term ''struggle for existe ...

, look forward to an exploitation-free society. His works are deeply marked and influenced by his

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

experience. His poetry books include: * ''Chharpatra'' (1948) * ''Ghum Nei'' (1950) * ''Purbabhas'' (1950) * ''Abhijan'' (1953) * ''Mithe-Kadha'' (1951) * ''Hartal'' (1962) * ''Giti Guccha'' (1965) An excerpt from his poem ''Durmor'' signifies his love and passion towards his country: সাবাস বাংলাদেশ! এ পৃথিবী অবাক তাকিয়ে রয় জ্বলে পুড়ে মরে ছারখার তবু মাথা নোয়াবার নয়। Meaning in English: "Bravo Bangladesh! The world is amazed! fired, burned, died and destroyed, but never gave up!"

Death and legacy

He died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, three months before 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 ...

. He was a paternal uncle of

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (1 March 1944 – 8 August 2024) was an Indian communist politician and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011. In a pol ...

, former

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

Collections

* His complete writings were anthologised in ''Sukanta Samagra'' (Complete Works of Sukanta) (1967), published by the ''Saraswat Library'', Kolkata was edited by Subhash Mukhopadhyay. This includes all the printed texts, some lesser known writings, his plays and stories, which include ''Khudha'' (Hunger), ''Durboddho'' (Incomprehensible), ''Bhadralok'' (Gentleman) and ''Daradi Kishorer Svapna'' (Dream of a Compassionate Adolescent), an article, ''Chhanda O Abritti'' and also a selection of letters. It was published posthumously from both the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and the

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. * ''Patra Guchha'' (Letters).

Citations

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Sukanta Bhattacharya
at The Archive of Fine Arts
Sukanta Bhattacharya's PRARTHI translated by Osman Gani

Works of Sukanta Bhattacharya

Sukanta Bhattacharya Poem List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Sukanta 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali-language poets 1926 births 1947 deaths Writers from Kolkata 20th-century Indian poets Bengali male poets 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in India