Call to preserve memories of Pritilata
Year-long programmes to observe 100th birth anniversary
The 99th birth anniversary of Pritilata Waddedar was observed in the port city on Wednesday with a call for imbuing the new generation with the patriotic spirit and saving society from moral degradation and discrimination. Pritilata, a revolutionary from Chittagong, was the first woman to sacrifice her life in anti-British movement in the Indian subcontinent. Different organisations, including Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD), chalked out elaborate year-long programme marking the 100th year of Pritilata's birth with a call to preserve the historical sites bearing memories of movement and supreme sacrifice of this great lady. Pritilata was born in a very ordinary family of Dhalghat, a village under Patiya upazila some 20km to the south-east off the city, on May 5 in 1911. She passed the matriculation examination in the first division from Dr Khastagir Government Girls' School in Chittagong and intermediate from Eden College in Dhaka securing the fifth place in Dhaka Board. Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College of Kolkata. She was the headmistress of Nandan Kanol Aparna Charan School in Chittagong. An anti-British movement activist from her student life Pritilata joined Mastarda Surya Sen's armed resistance movement in early 1930. In 1932, Surya Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European Club, a place of amusement with a notorious sign “Native and dogs are not allowed” hanging from its main gate. Surya Sen assigned her to lead the attack on the club on September 23 in 1932. The raid was successful but Pritilata, who was dressed as a man, got trapped just in front of the present Pahartali Railway School, a few yards off the club. She opted to commit suicide taking potassium cyanide instantly instead of surrender to the British Colonial forces. A monument with sculpture of Pritilita has been set up at Birkanya Pritilita Prathomik Bidyalaya, a primary school, at Dhalghat on February 22 in 2005. But, the exact spot where Pritilata lay motionless after committing suicide remained untraced and the European Club, which is now being used as the office of Divisional Engineer 1 of Bangladesh Railway, had been unknown for the visitors till early nineties. Pahartali Railway School Ex-students Forum with the help of the then headmaster of the school and local youths traced the spot of Pritilata's suicide after a five-year of endeavour since 1991, said Mohin Uddin, a local youth and leader of BSD Chittagong district unit. With the cooperation of the then divisional engineer the forum members erected a memorial stone at the suicide spot and put up a memorial plaque on a side-wall of the then European Club, said Mohin, also convener of Pritilata Memorial Library Committee. But, the memorial stone and the plaque gathered dust for around one and a half decades and became illegible before railway authority put up iron grills around the spot and put brash and paints on plaque in December last year, he said. Divisional Railway Manager Ibrahim Khalil and Divisional Engineer 1 Mofizur Rahman came forward with helping hands in this regard, Mohin added. History conscious people are visiting the suicide spot and club at Pahartali every year to pay homage to Pritilata. A 12-member delegation of All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) led by General Secretary Sourav Mukherjee and a two-member delegation of All Nepal Independent Students Unions comprising President Lekhnath Neupane and International Affairs Member Gopal Krishna visited the spot and club on April 4. Sara Flounders, a secretariat member of Workers World Party, and Michael Gamer of Internal Action Centre of the USA and a four-member delegation of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) led by General Secretary Provash Gosh also visited Pahartali on January 5. But, the present state of these historical sites caused disappointment among the visitors since memorial plaques written in Bangla hardly provide them with required information about the movement and sacrifice of Pritilata. As such, BSD and its front organisations, including Samajtantrik Mahila Forum, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front and Shishu Kishore Mela have launched a year-long programme demanding proper conservation and maintenance of memories of Pritilata. The demands include erection of a sculpture of Pritilata at the spot of her suicide, declaration of European Club (now the office of railway divisional engineer 1) as a museum to preserve memories of Pritilata and other revolutionary personalities of anti-British movement in Chittagong, naming the road stretching from Tigerpass intersection to Pahartali police outpost after Pritilata and inclusion of the life-story and movement of Pritilata, Begum Rokeya and revolutionists, intellectuals and academicians who embraced martyrdoms since anti-British movement to Liberation War of 1971, said Samajtantrik Mahila Forum Convener Syeda Parveen Akter. “During the year long programme we would organise discussions, human chains and collect signatures in support of our demands,” she said. “Preservation of the historic sites and life story and movement of the revolutionists is essential to help the new generation save themselves from moral degradation and gender discrimination,” she added.
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