A BARE BOY BUT A BRAVE ONE -- GOPINATH SAHA -- DID HE THEN DIE IN VAIN ?

A BARE BOY BUT A BRAVE ONE -- GOPINATH SAHA -- DID HE THEN DIE IN VAIN ?

These martyrs struck fear into British hearts. Unfortunately, their sporadic efforts, never organised en masse, failed to uproot British imperialism from India. But what it did give was manhood to a subject race, if even fractionally, at a time when Gandhian politics was gathering mass momentum but was, by denunciation of revolutionary terrorism, reducing India's manhood in revolutionary resistance, and Tagorean soft culture, internationalism and reservations about 'the cult of violence' which revolutionary terrorism in pursuit of political freedom was being dubbed as, were creating self-doubts in the hearts of Indians as to the viability and virtue of revolutionary terrorism or attempted armed revolution of sorts. These were dampening effects and hindered virile action against the colonists who were dehumanising us with their diabolical rule. Vivekananda had shown the way and Aurobindo Ghosh and his men followed in keeping with that virile spirit. But Aurobindo quit midstream to seek the safe haven of French Pondicherry to terribly weaken the revolutionary movement for freedom. The Ghadar Revolution failing, Rash Behari Bose fleeing to Japan, Bagha Jatin and his men liquidated at Balasore with their Hindu-German attempted armed revolution being betrayed overseas, and post World War I British repression becoming unbearable with Charles Tegart in Bengal wreaking havoc among revolutionaries, Gopinath Saha took to shooting down Ernest Day, mistaking him to be the notorious Tegart. Saha was apprehended and hanged. But these Bengal lads, forgotten by the fashionables of the day, did light up once the torch of, if not freedom in the ultimate sense, but at least that of manhood which neither Gandhi nor Tagore or moderates of their ilk thought highly of. Regrettable it is that barring superficial mention at times by people in power and abusive hurling by the conditioned commoner at the votaries of non-violence, no serious attempts are made to create awareness among the polity about these martyrs. Social media have reduced this ignorance to a degree but a country busy singing and dancing and standing in front of the mirror with narcissist mentality has scarce the time or occasion to ponder their sacrifices for the motherland. 

Written by Sugata Bose