Batukeshwar Dutt
Encyclopedia
Batukeshwar Dutt was an Indian revolutionary
and a freedom fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded a few bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assembly
in New Delhi on 8 April 1929. After they were arrested, tried and imprisoned for life, he and Bhagat Singh initiated a historic hunger strike
protesting against the abusive treatment of Indian political prisoners, and eventually secured some rights for them. He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
.
Batukeshwar Dutt, also known as B.K. Dutt, Battu and Mohan, son of Goshtha Bihari Dutt, was born on 18 November 1910 in the village Oari in Nani Bedwan district, and lived also in Khanda and Mausu in Burdwan district in Bengal. He graduated from P.P.N. High School in Kanpur. He was a close associate of freedom fighters Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. He met Bhagat Singh in Kanpur in 1924. Working for the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
in Kanpur, he learned how to make bombs.
. They gave more power to the British Government and the police against Indian revolutionaries and freedom fighters. The bills were defeated in the Assembly by one vote. However, they were enacted by an ordinance, claiming that the ordinance was in the best interest of the public. To protest against this ordinance, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
decided to explode a few bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly
. Chandrashekhar Azad, the leader of that revolutionary movement, was not in favor of exploding bombs. However, others in the party persuaded Azad to accept Bhagat Singh's plan, and Azad selected Batukeshwar Dutt to accompany Bhagat Singh and throw the bombs in the Assembly.
On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt gained access to the visitors' gallery of the Assembly. At about 11 AM they raised the slogan "Inquilab Zindabad" [Long live the Revolution] and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two bombs onto the floor of certain areas of the Assembly which were vacant and not occupied by anyone. While the bombs were exploding, Bhagat Singh threw leaflets down where members of the Assembly were present. The leaflet included a statement that "It takes a loud sound to make the deaf hear." The bombs, as planned, did not kill or hurt anyone. This part of the plan, claimed by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt during their trial, was substantiated both by British forensic investigators, who confirmed that the bombs were not powerful enough to cause any injury or kill anyone, and by the fact that the bombs were thrown away from the people on the floor.. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt quietly courted arrest after the incident. They were famously defended by M. Asaf Ali
, but were both sentenced to Transportation for Life
on June 12, 1929. by the day
in Andaman which was infamously known as Kala Pani (Black Waters). He also faced trial in the Lahore Conspiracy Case but was found not guilty. He participated in the two historic hunger strikes in the Cellular Jail
during May 1933 and July 1937. Batukeshwar Dutt was repatriated to the mainland in 1937, and was later released from the Bankipur Jail in Patna in 1938.
of Mahatma Gandhi
and was again jailed for four years. After India gained independence, he married Anjali in November 1947. It is sad that independent India did not accord him any recognition, and he spent his remaining life in penury away from political limelight, a forgotten hero. Batukeshwar Dutt outlived all his comrades and died on 20 July 1965 in the AIIMS in Delhi after his long illness. He was cremated in Hussainiwala
near Firozepur in Punjab
where the bodies of his comrades Bhagat Singh, Rajguru
and Sukhdev were also cremated many years ago. He was survived by his only daughter, Mrs. Bharti Bagchi, in Patna where his house was situated in the Jakkanpur area.
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
and a freedom fighter in the early 1900s. He is best known for having exploded a few bombs, along with Bhagat Singh, in the Central Legislative Assembly
Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
in New Delhi on 8 April 1929. After they were arrested, tried and imprisoned for life, he and Bhagat Singh initiated a historic hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
protesting against the abusive treatment of Indian political prisoners, and eventually secured some rights for them. He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was a revolutionary organisation established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others...
.
Batukeshwar Dutt, also known as B.K. Dutt, Battu and Mohan, son of Goshtha Bihari Dutt, was born on 18 November 1910 in the village Oari in Nani Bedwan district, and lived also in Khanda and Mausu in Burdwan district in Bengal. He graduated from P.P.N. High School in Kanpur. He was a close associate of freedom fighters Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. He met Bhagat Singh in Kanpur in 1924. Working for the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was a revolutionary organisation established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others...
in Kanpur, he learned how to make bombs.
Bombs in the Assembly
The British Government introduced the Public Safety Bill & the Trade Dispute Bill in the Central Legislative AssemblyCentral Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
. They gave more power to the British Government and the police against Indian revolutionaries and freedom fighters. The bills were defeated in the Assembly by one vote. However, they were enacted by an ordinance, claiming that the ordinance was in the best interest of the public. To protest against this ordinance, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was a revolutionary organisation established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and others...
decided to explode a few bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly
Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
. Chandrashekhar Azad, the leader of that revolutionary movement, was not in favor of exploding bombs. However, others in the party persuaded Azad to accept Bhagat Singh's plan, and Azad selected Batukeshwar Dutt to accompany Bhagat Singh and throw the bombs in the Assembly.
On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt gained access to the visitors' gallery of the Assembly. At about 11 AM they raised the slogan "Inquilab Zindabad" [Long live the Revolution] and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two bombs onto the floor of certain areas of the Assembly which were vacant and not occupied by anyone. While the bombs were exploding, Bhagat Singh threw leaflets down where members of the Assembly were present. The leaflet included a statement that "It takes a loud sound to make the deaf hear." The bombs, as planned, did not kill or hurt anyone. This part of the plan, claimed by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt during their trial, was substantiated both by British forensic investigators, who confirmed that the bombs were not powerful enough to cause any injury or kill anyone, and by the fact that the bombs were thrown away from the people on the floor.. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt quietly courted arrest after the incident. They were famously defended by M. Asaf Ali
Asaf Ali
Asaf Ali was an Indian independence fighter and noted Indian lawyer. He was the first ambassador from India to the United States. He also worked as the governor of Orissa....
, but were both sentenced to Transportation for Life
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
on June 12, 1929. by the day
Trial
Along with Bhagat Singh, Batukeshwar Dutt was tried in the Central Assembly Bomb Case, and was sentenced in 1929 to life imprisonment by the Sessions Judge of Delhi under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code & Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act. He was deported to the Cellular JailCellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
in Andaman which was infamously known as Kala Pani (Black Waters). He also faced trial in the Lahore Conspiracy Case but was found not guilty. He participated in the two historic hunger strikes in the Cellular Jail
Cellular Jail
The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī , was a colonial prison situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago...
during May 1933 and July 1937. Batukeshwar Dutt was repatriated to the mainland in 1937, and was later released from the Bankipur Jail in Patna in 1938.
Last Days
After his release from prison Batukeshwar Dutt contracted tuberculosis. He nonetheless participated in the Quit India MovementQuit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
and was again jailed for four years. After India gained independence, he married Anjali in November 1947. It is sad that independent India did not accord him any recognition, and he spent his remaining life in penury away from political limelight, a forgotten hero. Batukeshwar Dutt outlived all his comrades and died on 20 July 1965 in the AIIMS in Delhi after his long illness. He was cremated in Hussainiwala
Hussainiwala
Hussainiwala is a village in Ferozepur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the banks of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala...
near Firozepur in Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
where the bodies of his comrades Bhagat Singh, Rajguru
Shivaram Rajguru
Shivaram Hari Rajguru was an Indian revolutionist from Maharashtra and belonged to the Deshastha Brahmin community. Rajguru was born in a place named Khed near Pune. It was later renamed as Rajgurunagar in his honor. He is best known as a colleague of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev in the murder of a...
and Sukhdev were also cremated many years ago. He was survived by his only daughter, Mrs. Bharti Bagchi, in Patna where his house was situated in the Jakkanpur area.