Surya Sen was an Indian independence fighter from Bengal. He led the raid on the Chittagong armoury in 1930, which was a protest against British colonial rule in India. He was a true revolutionary at heart, and he was the leader of the movement against the British in Chittagong, Bengal. He helped start a nationwide movement against working with the government that spread to all parts of the country. When he was in college, one of his teachers told him about the Indian freedom movement. He had always been independent and had high hopes for the world. The idea of revolution took root in his heart, and he joined the group Anushilan Samity, which was fighting for change. He also joined the Indian National Congress, which at the time was the most important political party. After he finished school, he became a teacher and quickly gained a lot of respect in this field. He kept fighting for freedom and got more involved. In 1930, he led a group of revolutionaries to steal weapons from the Chittagong armory that belonged to the police and auxiliary forces. Even though the group had made detailed plans to cut Chittagong off from the rest of British India, they were not able to carry out all of their plans. The British eventually caught Surya Sen, tortured him, and then killed him.
Early years and childhood
On March 22, 1894, in Chittagong, Bengal Presidency, British India, Suryakumar Sen was born to Ramaniranjan Sen and Shashibala. His dad was a teacher, and they were in the lower middle class.
He grew up to be a young man with high hopes and a strong sense of self. He went to Behrampore College and got his B.A. One of his teachers told him about the ideas of the Indian freedom movement when he was a student there. He agreed right away with the ideas of the revolutionaries and joined a group of revolutionaries called Anushilan Samity.
A Later Life
Surya Sen became a teacher at the National school, Nandankanan, when he was done with school. During this time, he also got more involved in the fight for Indian independence and joined the Indian National Congress, which was the largest political party in India at the time. In 1918, he was chosen to be president of the Chittagong branch of the Indian National Congress.
As a teacher, people liked him right away. In addition to his regular job as a teacher, he used to talk to his students about how the freedom struggle was important to them. He joined forces with people like Nirmal Sen and Ambika Chakraborty to form a group of revolutionaries.
By the beginning of the 1920s, he had spread revolutionary ideas to many parts of the Chittagong district. He was sure that they needed a secret Guerilla because they were facing so many problems, like not having enough tools and other resources.
He thought that violence was the only way to change the independence movement, so he planned to raid the police and auxiliary forces’ weapons in Chittagong, Bengal province, British India. He worked with Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Naresh Roy, Sasanka Datta, Ardhendu Dastidar, and others who wanted to change things to plan this raid.
He suggested that the team take over the two main armories in Chittagong, destroy the telegraph and telephone office, and then kill members of the “European Club,” which were government or military officials who worked to keep the British Raj in India in place. As part of the complicated plan, the rail and communication lines between Chittagong and Calcutta were also cut.
The plan took place on April 18, 1930. The police armory was taken by a group of revolutionaries led by Ganesh Ghosh. The Auxiliary Forces armory was taken by ten men led by Lokenath Bal.
About 65 people took part in the raid, but the revolutionaries couldn’t find any ammunition. However, they were able to cut telephone and telegraph wires and stop the trains from moving.
On Good Friday, April 18, 1930, though, most Europeans were at home. When they heard about the attack, they sent out the troops and raised the alarm. Surya Sen took a military salute, raised the National Flag, and called for a Provisional Revolutionary Government as the revolutionaries gathered outside the police armory.
After the raid, the rebels hid in the Jalalabad hills, which are near Chittagong. On April 22, 1930, several thousand troops surrounded them, and a bloody gunfight followed. More than 80 soldiers and 12 revolutionaries died.
Surya Sen sent the remaining revolutionaries in small groups to villages close by. During the next few days, some of them were caught or killed, while others were able to escape to Calcutta. Sen himself was always hiding and moving from place to place. During this time, he worked, among other things, as a farmer, a milkman, and a priest. In the meantime, the other revolutionaries who had gotten away were able to fix their broken group.
Netra Sen, a member of the group, turned on Surya Sen and told the British police where he was hiding. This was a big blow to the movement. On February 16, 1933, Surya Sen was picked up by the police. In retaliation, one of the revolutionaries killed Netra Sen because it made him angry.
Works of note
The Chittagong Armoury Raid, also called the Chittagong uprising in 1930, was led by Surya Sen. He was in charge of a group of armed rebels who wanted India to be free, and they were able to take the police armory and the the Auxiliary Forces armory. The group was also able to take over the headquarters of the European club. This event gave a lot of other people who wanted to change the government’s ideas.
Personal History and Legacies
After Sen was arrested, Tarakeshwar Dastidar, another revolutionary, made a plan to get Sen out of the Chittagong Jail. But the police found out about the plan and stopped it by arresting everyone who was part of it.
On January 12, 1934, the British hanged both Surya Sen and Tarekeshwar Dastidar. Before he was killed, he was cruelly tortured.
Many movies have been made about the life of this brave rebel. These include the Bengali movies “Chattagram Astragar Lunthan” (1949), “Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey” (2010), and “Chittagong” (2012).
Estimated Net worth
Surya is one of the wealthiest War Heroes and is on the list of the most well-known War Heroes. Based on what we know and what Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider say, Surya Sen has a net worth of about $15 million.