VACUUM IN BENGAL: Looking Back On The Renaissance
By BK BHATTACHARYYA
Nineteenth century Bengal produced a great galaxy of persons who distinguished themselves in various fields. They were harbingers of a Bengal renaissance. Some of them were reformers and brought radical changes in social life and outlook. Some contributed significantly to the spread of nationalism.
The earliest exponent of Indian nationalism was Raj Narayan Basu (1826-1899). Three other exponents who were the pioneers in this respect were Surendra Nath Banerjea (1848-1925), Bipin Chandra Pal (1858-1932) and Aurobnindo Ghose (1872-1950). Simultaneously, the contributions of the Bengal leaders towards the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885 and their nurturing of the nascent organisation were commendable.
Congress presidents
Twelve Bengalis became presidents of the Congress out of 44 during the period from 1885 to 1947. The moderate Congress presidents were W C Bonnerjee (1844-1906), Surendra Nath Banerjea (1848-1925), Ananda Mohan Bose (1847-1906), Ramesh Chandra Dutt (1848-1909), Lal Mohan Ghose (1849-1909), Rash Behari Ghose (1845-1921), Bhupendra Nath Bose (1859-1924), Satyendra Prassanna Sinha (1863-1927) and Ambica Charan Majumdar (1851-1922).
These leaders were outstanding in stature and scholarship and exemplary in character and integrity. They contributed to the growth of self-government in the country. Gradually the moderates were eclipsed from political scene and lost the leadership of the Congress by 1920-1921 when Gandhiji (1869-1948) became its supremo. In the Gandhi era, the three outstanding Bengalis adorning the Congress presidency were Chittaranjan Das (1850-1925), Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) and Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-?).
Bose was the last president from Bengal. It was nation’s misfortune that he was not allowed to function as the elected president of Tripuri Congress (March 1939) and was ousted by right-wing leaders. Had he not been ousted, probably he would not have left the country in January 1941 and would have prevented the country’s partition. He was only 48 years 7 months on 18 August 1945 — the day of his reported death in a plane crash or disappearance from Taihoku.
The death of CR Das in the summer of 1925 at the age of 55 was the greatest blow to Bengal in particular and the country in general. What was unique about Deshbandhu was that he “was in active politics for barely six years, and yet he established himself in the heart of the Indian people as one of their greatest leaders ... He brought to the Indian national struggle a poet’s passion and a lawyer’s analytical mind”. The Statesman characterised the death of CR Das in its editorial on 17 June 1925 as “A Sunset” and inter alia compared him with “Napoleon — a character with whom he had much in common”. (page 372, The Statesman: An Anthology, Kolkata 1975). Yes, Das’s death was not only a sunset in Bengal but a catastrophe as well. At the time of his death, he left a band of devoted, dedicated and trusted lieutenants.
National interest
The most notable among them were JM Sen Gupta (1885-1933), Sarat Chandra Bose (1889-1950), Birendra Nath Sasmal (1881-1934), Nirmal Chandra Chandra (1888-1953), Subhas Chandra Bose, Kiran Shankar Roy (1891-1949), Dr BC Roy (1882-1962) and Tulsi Goswami (1898-1957).
In education and scholarship, in intellect and integrity and in suffering and sacrifices, these leaders were unique like their mentor CR Das. They never indulged in promoting their own interests. National interest was always uppermost in their thoughts and actions in sharp contrast to present-day politicians.
After Deshbandhu’s death, Bengal received a terrible shock over the death of JM Sen Gupta in 1933 at the age of 48 years. At the time he had been acclaimed as an all-India leader. Sarat Bose was, however, there and dominated the Bengal political scene for a number of years along with his brother Subhas Chandra. He died when he was 61 in 1950. His death was sudden, awful and a heavy blow to Bengal’s politics. He was the leader of the opposition in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1946 and a minister in the interim government for a very brief period in that year. He resigned from the Congress in 1948 and later founded a new political party — the Socialist Republican Party. Many believed that, had he not died in 1950, he would have brought a new dimension and direction to West Bengal’s politics and the disruptive forces would not have gained upper hand subsequently.
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953) was the last of Bengal’s titans. He died at the age of 52 under mysterious circumstances while in detention in Kashmir. His death was the last nail on Bengal’s coffin. The loss came within three years of Sarat Bose’s demise. By the time Mookerjee died, he was one of the top-ranking leaders of the country. Even many Congress leaders in private discussions thought of him as an alternative to Pandit Nehru.
Dr BC Roy, by virtue of his stature, kept the Congress house in order in West Bengal. PC Sen (1897-1990) somehow retained it till the Congress suffered reverses in the 1967 elections. The most promising person in the BC Roy cabinet was Kumar Bimal Chandra Sinha. He died at the age of 44 (1917-1961). Had he not died he should have been the worthy successor of Dr BC Roy and could have shaped West Bengal’s destiny otherwise.
Congress decline
The Congress declined with the death of Dr Roy and there was a distinct vacuum in West Bengal’s political leadership. Its decline in various fields also started manifesting itself side by side. Taking advantage of the situation, the CPI-M-led Left Front captured power in West Bengal in 1977. What are the achievements during its uninterrupted rule exceeding a quarter of a century? They have brought chaos, confusion and indiscipline in different walks of West Bengal’s life.
They have destroyed national institutions like Presidency College, Calcutta University, Calcutta Medical College, Visva-Bharati, the National Library, Asiatic Society and Bangiya Sahitya Parishad. They have brought industrial ruin, have destroyed the Calcutta Police — once a prestigious organisation and considered India’s Scotland Yard. They have destroyed the administration and derailed the state and, above all, killed the soul of Bengal which the British government failed to do during their 200-year rule of this country.
Bengal was once heard with attention and respect in other parts of the country. It lost its primacy several years ago. Was that due to the vacuum in Bengal’s political leadership caused by the untimely death of some of its prominent leaders? Or was it part of Bengal’s political life which altered the course of its history?
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