All Six Main leaders of the Chittagong Uprising - Surjya Sen, Ambika Chakrabarti , Nirmal Chandra Sen, Ananta Singh , Lokenath Bal and Ganesh Ghosh, were participants in the Congress-led Civil Disobedience movement launched in 1919.
Chittagong Martyrs were bitterly disappointed by Mahatma Gandhi's decision to call off the Non-cooperation movement in 1922 in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident. It was as members of the District Congress Committee and other mass fronts of the Congress that they planned and trained for the armed attack on the Chittagong armoury, police headquarters and European club on April 18, 1930, an attack they hoped would yield them a sufficiently large quantity of arms and ammunition. They hoped it would be the prelude to a general uprising. They built up an 'army' amongst teenage and school going recruits who were given physical training in physical training clubs, and secret training in arms under cover - a parallel activity which the district administration did not get wise to.
Surjya Sen
Surjya Sen, the Chief architect of the uprising was a teacher by profession. His nickname Masterda means ‘teacher brother’.
He was a Bengali freedom fighter, activist and the chief architect of the anti-British freedom movement in Chittagong. By 1923 he spread the revolutionary organisation in different parts of Chittagong. Aware of the limited equipment and other resources of the freedom fighters, he was convinced of the need for secret Guerrilla warfare against the colonial government. One of his early successful undertakings was a broad day robbery at the treasury office of the Assam-Bengal Railway at Chittagong on December 23, 1923. He was arrested in February 1933 and was hanged on January 12, 1934.
Pritilata Waddedar
In 1932, Surjya assigned the Bengali revolutionary to lead a team of 12 men for an attack on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. The team was instructed to carry cyanide in case they were caught. The raid was successful but Pritilata, who was dressed as a man was trapped and committed suicide.
Kalpana Datta
In 1931 Surjya entrusted her with Pritilata Waddedar to attack the European Club in Chittagong. A week before the attack, she was arrested during the reconnaissance of the area. She went underground after release on bail. On February 17, 1933, the police encircled their hiding place and Surjya Sen was arrested, but Kalpana was able to escape.
Anant Singh
He was one of the major participants in the looting of the Chittagong Armoury. He was in school when he impressed Surjya Sen with his courage, valour, wit, intellect and devotion toward his cause.
Nirmal Sen
One of Surjya’s closest friends, Nirmal was a passionate revolutionary who had already been sent to jail once prior to the Chittagong attack.
Lokenath Bal
Sophisticated and suave, he was often mistaken for an Englishman and that is what he used to his advantage on the fateful night of April 18, as he infiltrated the British Cantonment posing as a British officer.
Ambika Chakroborty
The most senior and experienced of the group, Ambika was responsible for finance and procurement.
Ganesh Ghosh
This Bengali revolutionary and politician participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. After the trial, he was deported to the Cellular Jail in Port Blair in 1932. After independence, he became a leader of the Communist Party of India.
22 April 1930
Martyrs of Chittagong Armoury Raid
1. Hari Gopal Baul
2. Tripura Sen
3. Nirmal Lala
4. Bidhu Bhushan Bhattacharya
5. Naresh Ray
6. Sasanka Dutta
7. Madhu Sudan Dutta
8. Pulin Bikash Ghosh
9. Jiten Das Gupta
10. Prabhas Baul.
In 2010, a Hindi movie, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey was made on the Chittagong uprising. It was directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, staring Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. It was a period thriller, based on the book Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34 by Manini Chatterjee.
Chittagong Martyrs were bitterly disappointed by Mahatma Gandhi's decision to call off the Non-cooperation movement in 1922 in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident. It was as members of the District Congress Committee and other mass fronts of the Congress that they planned and trained for the armed attack on the Chittagong armoury, police headquarters and European club on April 18, 1930, an attack they hoped would yield them a sufficiently large quantity of arms and ammunition. They hoped it would be the prelude to a general uprising. They built up an 'army' amongst teenage and school going recruits who were given physical training in physical training clubs, and secret training in arms under cover - a parallel activity which the district administration did not get wise to.
Surjya Sen
Surjya Sen, the Chief architect of the uprising was a teacher by profession. His nickname Masterda means ‘teacher brother’.
He was a Bengali freedom fighter, activist and the chief architect of the anti-British freedom movement in Chittagong. By 1923 he spread the revolutionary organisation in different parts of Chittagong. Aware of the limited equipment and other resources of the freedom fighters, he was convinced of the need for secret Guerrilla warfare against the colonial government. One of his early successful undertakings was a broad day robbery at the treasury office of the Assam-Bengal Railway at Chittagong on December 23, 1923. He was arrested in February 1933 and was hanged on January 12, 1934.
Pritilata Waddedar
In 1932, Surjya assigned the Bengali revolutionary to lead a team of 12 men for an attack on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. The team was instructed to carry cyanide in case they were caught. The raid was successful but Pritilata, who was dressed as a man was trapped and committed suicide.
Kalpana Datta
In 1931 Surjya entrusted her with Pritilata Waddedar to attack the European Club in Chittagong. A week before the attack, she was arrested during the reconnaissance of the area. She went underground after release on bail. On February 17, 1933, the police encircled their hiding place and Surjya Sen was arrested, but Kalpana was able to escape.
Anant Singh
He was one of the major participants in the looting of the Chittagong Armoury. He was in school when he impressed Surjya Sen with his courage, valour, wit, intellect and devotion toward his cause.
Nirmal Sen
One of Surjya’s closest friends, Nirmal was a passionate revolutionary who had already been sent to jail once prior to the Chittagong attack.
Lokenath Bal
Sophisticated and suave, he was often mistaken for an Englishman and that is what he used to his advantage on the fateful night of April 18, as he infiltrated the British Cantonment posing as a British officer.
Ambika Chakroborty
The most senior and experienced of the group, Ambika was responsible for finance and procurement.
Ganesh Ghosh
This Bengali revolutionary and politician participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. After the trial, he was deported to the Cellular Jail in Port Blair in 1932. After independence, he became a leader of the Communist Party of India.
22 April 1930
Martyrs of Chittagong Armoury Raid
1. Hari Gopal Baul
2. Tripura Sen
3. Nirmal Lala
4. Bidhu Bhushan Bhattacharya
5. Naresh Ray
6. Sasanka Dutta
7. Madhu Sudan Dutta
8. Pulin Bikash Ghosh
9. Jiten Das Gupta
10. Prabhas Baul.
In 2010, a Hindi movie, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey was made on the Chittagong uprising. It was directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, staring Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. It was a period thriller, based on the book Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34 by Manini Chatterjee.