A History of 20th Century Bengal: the Land of Tigers and Doyels:
Section I - The Struggle for Independence
Chapter one: A brief history of C.R. Das: 1869 -1921
Section I - The Struggle for Independence
Chapter one: A brief history of C.R. Das: 1869 -1921
Photograph of Deshbandhu, following his release from prison in 1923.
Every Bengali child today grows up learning about the famous Deshbandhu (Friend of the nation), Chittaranjan Das, also abbreviated to C.R. Das. They learn the standard story, the one often produced by any nation when describing it's hero, or founder, or leader, in the case of The People's Republic of Bengal, Das would become all three. Like any great national hero, Das was smart, selfless, brave, an opponent of tyranny and a man of the people, loved by all and as his title states, a true friend of the Bengali nation. Despite the idyllic, almost fairy tale-esque description of Chittaranjan Das, much of it is true. He was a true freedom fighter, opposed to British rule and a firm believer in native self-rule (Swaraj in Sanskrit), a charismatic figure who summoned up the courage of the people of Bengal, and in fact India as a whole, and earnt the affections of communities regardless of ethnicity, caste or religion. However, to believe that Das was a political behemoth who single handedly reignited the flame of Bengali nationalism, unshackled the caged giant and gave a rebirth to the exploited and depressed lands of Bengal is not quite true, an over simplified generalisation which turns the rich palette of the Bengal independence movement into a bland portrait of black and white, it might suffice for school children we wish to induce a sense of patriotism in, but not for those who seek the true historical accuracy of this beautifully chaotic period of our nations history.
Every Bengali child today grows up learning about the famous Deshbandhu (Friend of the nation), Chittaranjan Das, also abbreviated to C.R. Das. They learn the standard story, the one often produced by any nation when describing it's hero, or founder, or leader, in the case of The People's Republic of Bengal, Das would become all three. Like any great national hero, Das was smart, selfless, brave, an opponent of tyranny and a man of the people, loved by all and as his title states, a true friend of the Bengali nation. Despite the idyllic, almost fairy tale-esque description of Chittaranjan Das, much of it is true. He was a true freedom fighter, opposed to British rule and a firm believer in native self-rule (Swaraj in Sanskrit), a charismatic figure who summoned up the courage of the people of Bengal, and in fact India as a whole, and earnt the affections of communities regardless of ethnicity, caste or religion. However, to believe that Das was a political behemoth who single handedly reignited the flame of Bengali nationalism, unshackled the caged giant and gave a rebirth to the exploited and depressed lands of Bengal is not quite true, an over simplified generalisation which turns the rich palette of the Bengal independence movement into a bland portrait of black and white, it might suffice for school children we wish to induce a sense of patriotism in, but not for those who seek the true historical accuracy of this beautifully chaotic period of our nations history.
To truly understand the Bengal Independence Movement and Das's role in it, we must look at Das's background and his past, and how it effected the man he would become. C.R Das was born in the Bikrampur region of modern day Dhaka, in 1869, the generation following the failed Indian Mutiny of 1857, in which the fall out would negatively effect the Bengali people, due to both Bengali Muslims and Hindus alike rebelled as sepoys against the alleged offensive behaviour of the British East India company, and as such as the Bengalis, along with other ethnicities that mutinied such as the Biharis and Marathis, would be almost entirely banned from military service until the first world war. However, where Bengalis (and other non 'martial races' such as the Gujuratis) would lose their right to rebel with arms, but instead they would rebel with their words, their politics, and finally their ideologies, a much more dangerous form of rebellion. Of course, Das was born into the prime position to be at the centre of all of this, he was born to a well known Brahmin family from the affluent region of Bikrampur, to a family already in high status within Bhodra Lok* society, his uncle having been the leader of the famous Brahmo Samaj for a period of time. Chittaranjan's was to prove no exception to the family's tradition of being part of the Bengal renaissance (although it would be fairer to call it the Bengali Brahmin renaissance). His cousin Satish Ranjan Das would become another major member of the Brahmo Samaj, as well as the founder of the Bikram school of Bikrampur, one of the most influential and prestigious boy's public schools in all of Bengal, many national figures having been educated in the institution. His other cousin, Sarala Roy, a pioneer amongst subcontinental feminists, would help found the All-Bengal Womens Association, a pressure group to support the rights of women (although this will be spoken of again in much more detail). Of course, of the three Chittaranjan would have the biggest impact on history.
The path of Law would be chosen by C.R. Das, specifically that of a barrister, a natural choice for a man of much charisma and argumentative talent. As a boy from a well off background, following his graduation from Calcutta Presidency College, he was allowed to study in London, England, a similar course of action that coincidently also occurred in the lives of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Das's contemporaries in the subcontinental struggle for independence. For about a decade he would make a living as a successful barrister, renowned for his reliability and made quite a name for himself in the various Indian circles, however, the event which trajected the mild mannered and inconspicuous Bengali Barrister into the annuls of politics and the greater Independence movement, would happen in 1909. The event being the Alipore Bomb Case. The case was against the infamous group known as the Anushilan Samiti, a radical Indian/Bengali nationalist group made of many Hindu Bhodra Lok young men, agitated by the 1905 partition of Bengal. by the early 20th century, this radical group had began plotting attacks against the British in India and symbols of British authority, in 1908, led by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chakri, the group would target and attempt to kill Presidency Magistrate Douglas Kingsford, along with his wife, in Muzaffapur district, although the magistrate survived the attack, the bomb would kill several British citizens, including a magistrates daughter. Many young Bengali nationalists belonging to this strand of society were accused of being part of the plot, with several being executed, such as Barindra Ghosh, and many others sent to life in imprisonment. One exception however, would be Aurobindo Ghose, another upper class Bengali Hindu youth who spent time in England studying, whilst having some radical leanings and sympathies towards the Anushilan Samiti, Ghose was not an active member of the group, nor involved in the bomb plot, yet was arrested all the same and put on trial. With the state of British repression against all forms of Indian disobedience, very few Indian barristers were willing to take up the case of these alleged terrorists. However, C.R. Das would not be bullied by such oppressive measures, and took it upon himself to defend Aurobindo Ghose, free of charge. After almost a year of back in forth in the case, the British controlled court eventually relented to Das's arguments and evidence and Ghose was acquitted, one of the few cases of true justice being upheld amongst a sea of miscarriages of justice in the name of British safety.
Das's standing up to the British and successful defence in the case earnt him national acclaim, making him a hero throughout the subcontinent. However, this would not be the end of the barrister's struggle against the British. Soon after, he joined and rose in the ranks of the Indian National Congress, which at the time was the premier political body for native Indians to voice their opinions, and held a wide array of factions and opinions, those who wished for a united centralised Indian state, those who represented regional and other sectarian interests, those who supported the slow removal of British and those who believed in are radical solution, all intersections met in the early Indian National Congress. Of course, unfortunately this is a far cry from what the INC became and what it is today, but even the ripest of fruits can turn rotten under certain conditions, as this chronicle will show several times over. Contrary to popular belief, or perhaps how the media in Bengal likes to portray, C.R. Das was not always a firm believer in Bengali secessionism, (although there is some evidence to support a view that he always held a certain pride of being a Bengali over being an Indian). In fact, much like the grand majority of influential politicians of the time, he believed in a united subcontinent, and he would not be alone in this, other historical icons such as Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Gopinoth Bordoloi would similarly also hold such views at this time period, to the irony of the scholars of today. At this period, a united Indian subcontinent was more than just a mere fantasy of certain Pan-Bharatist philosophers, or more insidiously, the ambitions of the foreign policy makers of the Hindustan establishment, it was the common prediction of the majority of the Indian intellectuals, and was the working aim of the grand majority of the subcontinent's politicians, even the early Muslim League did not consider separatism a serious plausibility. Of course, it must be noted again somewhat ironically, Bengalis would hold an pivotal part in the formations of both the Indian national Congress and the Muslim League, with the Indian National congress being partially inspired by the Indian National Association, a forerunner to the congress founded by Sir Surendranath Banerjea, whilst the All India Muslim League would form in Dhaka, in the aftermath of the 1905 partition of Bengal, with a great deal of its creation owed to Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka.
Thus of course, it would not be in the nature of Deshbandhu, arguably one of the greatest men our nation has and will ever produce, to merely be a cog in the Congress's machine, he instead would quickly rise to prominence as one of its most well known and respected members. In fact, several times, he would be elected president of the congress. As president of the INC he would hold the same core values he carried on with in later life, namely securalism, (a policy of appeasement between the Hindu and Muslim factions of the congress), an emphasis on social reform, specifically within the Hindu community such as supporting widow remarriage, the ending of caste discrimination, etc (many people attribute this to his upbringing and family ties to the Brahmo Samaj), and most importantly the concept of Swaraj, self rule in other words, Das was under no illusion that the British were anything more than capitalistic overlords whose truest aim was to exploit India of its wealth, as president he remained firm that the future of India belonged to the people of the Indian subcontinent. These principles would make Das a very popular figure, and not just within the congress, but amongst the common people as well, it could even be argued that Das's popularity in Calcutta began to rival even that of Rabindranath Tagore, the Bengali poet who had gained international recognition as a Nobel prize winner for literature, and of course would become our very own National Poet in later years. As Deshbandhu gained recognition and influence, so he would inspire the next generation of Bengali intelligentsia that enrolled in the politics of the INC. These would include the likes of Serat Chandra Bose, his younger brother Subhash Chandra Bose and Husayn Shaheed Suhrawardy, all of whom would follow him in his schism from the Congress after his disillusionment.
At this point of reading, the story of Chittaranjan Das seems somewhat typical, even if overachieving, of the Indian intellectual of the early 20th century. He hailed from a good, upper caste family, even better when considering he was from a Bengali Brahmin family already heavily involved in the Bengal Renaissance. Law would be his profession, a common choice for for a graduate of Presidency college such as Das, and through one way or another he ended up involved in the political movement of the independence struggle. Again, not an uncommon story. However, this is not just anyone who is being discussed, it is C.R. Das, Deshbandhu to over 100 million people. From the outset his bravery could be seen, taking on the Alipore bomb case when others would have faltered, his leadership quality in taking the role of president of the congress, and his intelligence, in his successful and popular policies. Still, even then, the story still predicts an ending as one of the many leaders of an independence movement of a united subcontinent, overshadowed by the likes of Gandhi, or perhaps Jinnah or any other number of great Indian politicians of this time period. But as we know today, this is not how Das's story would end, nor would it for any of the names aforementioned. Many historians point the most pivotal event in this discourse to be the famous, or infamous, non - cooperation movement, the brainchild of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, at the time of the movement a young, ambitious idealist who oozed of charisma and promised a bright future and capturing the imagination of many of the Congress party, Das included, who would originally stand by Gandhi's plan. Of course, the movement, at first a commendable and noble sentiment, soon quickly turned sour, and the effects of it and it's failure would ripple onto India for decades to come, especially in the struggle for independence. Das would be no exception, in fact the fallout of the non-cooperation movement would launch the man into the trajectory of the events in which he would be most remembered for, that which his legacy was built upon. In fact, the entire independence would be changed by Gandhi's non-cooperation movement, it's successes and failures. But, more of that will be explained in the next chapter, a deeper analysis of the events of the non-cooperation movement.
*Literally meaning "Respectable People" in Bengali, refers to the native upper class of Calcutta that developed and gained affluence under British rule, mostly Hindu, Brahmin intellectuals.
. general premise that changes from OTL is that Chittaranjan Das, who was quite an influential member of the Indian National Congress and in the independence movement in general, changes his outlook from Indian Nationalism to a more specific Bengali Nationalism, and the outcome of his change in ideology. The literal POD, which changes Das's outlook, is in the latest update, in OTL the Non-Cooperation Movement in India was something of a mixed bag which ultimately failed in its goal of forcing Brtain to give India self-rule, and quietly dies out after the Chauri Chaura incident. In this TL, a worst case scenario of sorts breaks out with Indians fighting back against the British government, the start of Communal riots etc, causing the arrest of some of the most important figures in the Indian independence movement. This monumental failure of the Non-Cooperation will result in disillusionment with the Indian National Congress, a worsening of relations between the Hindu and Muslim communities, the emergence of newer, more popular ideologies (including Bengali Nationalism). The Indian subcontinent will be a very different looking place from our own, I can tell you that.
