Badal Gupta
Encyclopedia
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n revolutionary who fought against British rule over India.
Early activities
Badal Gupta was born Sudhir Gupta in the village Purba Shimulia (East Shimulia) in the BikrampurBikrampur
Bikrampur pargana is situated 12 miles south of Dhaka, the modern-day capital of Bangladesh. It lies in the Munshiganj District of Bangladesh. It is a historic region in Bengal. The region is famous for its early Buddhist scholarships and in the later period for its cultural influences...
region of Dhaka
Dhaka District
Dhaka District is a district located in central Bangladesh, and is the densest district in the nation. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, rests on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River which flows from the Turag to the south of the district...
, now in Munshiganj District
Munshiganj District
Munshiganj also historically known as Bikrampur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District.-Geography:...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Badal was inspired by Nikunja Sen, a teacher of the Banaripara School of Bikrampur, and as a result, Badal joined the Bengal Volunteers
Bengal Volunteers
Bengal Volunteers was an underground revolutionary group against the British rule of India.The group was functional from its inception in 1928 to the Indian independence.-The beginning:...
.
The battle at Writers' Building
Bengal Volunteers targeted Col NS Simpson, the Inspector General of Prisons, who was infamous for the brutal oppression on the prisoners in the jails. The revolutionaries decided not only to murder him, but also to strike a terror in the British official circles by launching an attack on the Secretariat Building - the Writers' BuildingWriters' Building
The Writers' Building is the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal in India. It is and is located in West Bengal's capital city of Kolkata. The Writers' Building originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company, hence the name...
in the Dalhousie square in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
.
On 8 December 1930, Badal along with Dinesh chandra Gupta
Dinesh Gupta
Dinesh Chandra Gupta or Dinesh Gupta was a Bengali revolutionary who fought against British colonial rule.-Early activities:...
and Benoy
Benoy Basu
Benoy Krishna Basu or Benoy Basu or Benoy Bose was an Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Early life:Basu was born on 11 September 1908, in the village Rohitbhog in the Munshiganj District, now in Bangladesh...
, dressed in European costume, entered the Writers' Building
Writers' Building
The Writers' Building is the secretariat building of the State Government of West Bengal in India. It is and is located in West Bengal's capital city of Kolkata. The Writers' Building originally served as the office for writers of the British East India Company, hence the name...
and shot dead Simpson. Badal Gupta was also influenced by the revolutionary activities of his two paternal uncles Late Dharani Nath Gupta and Nagendra Nath Gupta who were victims of famous Alipore Bomb Case and were imprisoned along with Rishi Aurobindo Ghosh.
British police started firing. What ensued was a brief gunfight between the 3 young revolutionaries and the police. Some other officers like Twynam, Prentice and Nelson suffered injuries during the shooting.
Soon police overpowered them. However, the three did not wish to be arrested. Badal took Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
, while Benoy and Dinesh
Dinesh Gupta
Dinesh Chandra Gupta or Dinesh Gupta was a Bengali revolutionary who fought against British colonial rule.-Early activities:...
shot themselves with their own revolvers. Badal died on the spot.
Significance
The acts of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh inspired further revolutionary activities in BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, in particular and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in general.
After independence, the Dalhousie Square was named B.B.D. Bagh - after the Benoy-Badal-Dinesh trio.