Badal Gupta (1912-1930) was a Bengali Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary.
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Early activities
Badal Gupta was born Sudhir Gupta in the village Purba Shimulia (West Shimulia) in the Bikrampur region of Dhaka, now in Munshiganj District, Bangladesh [1]. Badal was greatly inspired towards patriotism by Nikunja Sen, a teacher of the Banaripara School of Bikrampur. Badal joined the Bengal Volunteers (BV) as a member.
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' Building in the Dalhousie square in Kolkata. On 8 December 1930, Badal along with Dinesh chandra Gupta and Benoy, dressed in European costume, entered the Writers' Building 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, while Benoy and Dinesh shot themselves with their own revolvers. Badal died on the spot.
Significance
The martyrdom and self-sacrifice of Benoy, Badal and Dinesh inspired further revolutionary activities in Bengal, in particular and India, in general. After independence, the Dalhousie Square was named B.B.D. Bagh - after the Benoy-Badal-Dinesh trio.
References
- ^ Article on Badal Gupta, by Sambaru Chandra Mohanta, Banglapedia
Bibliography
- Hemendranath Dasgupta, Bharater Biplab Kahini, II & III, Calcutta, 1948;
- RC Mazumder, History of the Freedom Movement in India, III, Calcutta 1963;
- Ganganarayan Chandra, Abismaraniya, Calcutta, 1966.
