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Ganesh Ghosh
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Born: June 22, 1900 Died: October 16, 1994 Those who are not Bengalees would not know the high esteem in which the Chittagong Armory Raid of 1930 is held in the popular psyche. True, Bengal produced a disproportionate number of freedom fighters willing to sacrifice everything and willing to take any risk to try to unshackle the mother India from the clutch of the colonial english power. But even in this crowd of brave freedom fighters, the Chittagong Armory Raid and those who participated in it were something of a different character to have their own special place. Perhaps it was the audacity of the whole project, or its stunning success, or perhaps the lingering sadness due to the swift execution (by hanging) of the leader Master-da. Ganesh Ghosh was one of the high-ranking memebrs of the team that participated in the Chittagong Armory Raid. Ganesh Ghosh was born in Binodpur (Jessore, Bangladesh). He was the "Field Marshall" of Chittagong (Chattagram) Young Revolutionaries. He came in contact with Mastar-da (Surya Sen) through his friend Ananta Sing while studying in the Municipal High School of Chittagong, which was his father's workplace. During the 1921 Non-Cooperation Movement (Started by Mahatma Gandhi) he and Sing actively participated in organizines strikes in schools and colleges, in Chittagong Burma Oil Company, in Steamer Company etc. In 1922 he was admitted in Bengal Technical Institution (Jadavpur University). In 1923, while still at Jadavpur, he was arrested due to suspicion of involvement in a bomb-making case, but he was released due to lack of evidence. Nevertheless he was arrested again in 1924 and was imprisoned for 4 years in the "Bharat Rakhsha Rule" (Indian Protection Rule?). In 1928 he accompanied Mastar-da in joining Calcutta Congress. In 1929 Mastar-da was elected the Secretory of Chittagong District Congress Committee: He chose five members to form the "Revolutionary Committee". Those five were: Master-da himself, Ambika Chakrabarty, Nirmal Sen, Ananta Singh, and Ganesh Ghosh. The committee was named "Indian Republican Army", Chittagong Branch. The members of this Indian Republican Army conducted raids in several armories in Chittagong on April 18, 1930. Subsequently they declared a "Temporary Independent Revolutionary Government" for two days. Following the raid, the police were in hot pursuit of all the members. Ghosh and three others were separated from the rest of their friends and started their journey towards Calcutta on April 22. In the Pheni train station they were surrounded by the police but they managed to escape using their arms. After they reached Calcutta the leaderds of Jugantar provided safe haven to them in Chandannagar (a small town close to Calcutta --a Dutch colony, where english laws were not applicable). In 1930 Ganesh Ghosh was captured and imprisoned. In 1932 he was sentenced to jail in the Andaman Islands. On being released from jail in 1946 (in jail for 12 years!) he joined the communist party. Even in the Independent India he was imprisoned for four years (1948-1952). (Perhaps because when a membership in the communist party was illegal?) In 1964 the communist party was split and he joined the Communist Party (Marxist). Ganesh Ghosh was elected three times (1952, 1957, 1962) from the Belgachia center. |