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Sukumar Bandhopadhyay
সুকুমার বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
Born25 June 1913
Kuldiha, Kanksa,Durgapur subdivision of Bardhaman district, Bengal, British India
Died15 November 1938
Ballavpur, Raniganj, Bardhaman district, Bengal, British India
Cause of deathdeliberate murder by lorry
Alma materBurdwan Raj College
Known forparticaption in Swadeshi movement & involvement with the Ballavpur Paper Mill strike
SpouseKanak Prabha Devi
Parents
  • Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (father)
  • Suneela Devi (mother)
RelativesSunil Bandhopadhyay (brother)

Sukumar Bandhopadhyay also known as Sukumar Bannerjee (Bengali: সুকুমার বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়) (25 June 1913 – 15 November 1938) was an Indian revolutionary, student leader, and trade unionist from Bardhaman district of Bengal. Influenced by the Swadeshi movement in his youth, he became active in the Civil disobedience and student movements of the 1930s.[1][2] Later drawn to communist ideals, he worked with the Communist Party of India and led significant labour activism. He played a key role in organising the 1938 strike at the Ballavpur Paper Mill in Raniganj. Sukumar was martyred while protesting for workers’ rights, becoming one of Bengal’s earliest labour movement martyrs and a lasting symbol of sacrifice and resistance.[3][4][5][6]

Early life & education

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Sukumar was born on 25th June 1913 in Kuldiha village under the Kanksa police station in the Durgapur subdivision of Bardhaman district in West Bengal. His father, Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, and mother, Suneela Devi, belonged to a middle-class family. He was a meritorious student at Bandra High School in Gopalpur, Paschim Bardhaman and became involved in the Swadeshi movement during his school years.

After matriculating, he moved to Calcutta for higher studies but was unable to continue due to financial constraints. He briefly worked at a jute mill in Ghusuri with trade unionist Dharmavir Singh. On the advice of political mentors, he returned to Bardhaman and enrolled at Burdwan Raj College, where he became active in the All-Bengal Students’ Federation and student-led political activities.[7][8]

Political activism

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Sukumar’s political engagement intensified in the early 1930s. In 1931, he gained attention for his organizing work during a student conference in Bardhaman. According to contemporaries such as Benoy Choudhury and Saroj Mukherjee, he emerged as a dedicated student activist and was involved in mobilizing youth in areas like Rajbandh, Andal, Raniganj, and Asansol during the Civil Disobedience Movement.[9][10][11]

By the mid-1930s, Sukumar gravitated towards communist ideology and began working with labour unions under the guidance of the Communist Party of India. He was known for participating in both urban industrial actions and rural peasant movements.[12][13][14][15]

Sukumar was involved in rural activism, working towards the upliftment of poor peasants and organizing resistance against the exploitation and harassment by feudal landlords and zamindars of Bengal. He opposed prevalent superstitions and social practices that he believed hindered progress in rural communities. These experiences contributed to his decision to align with the Communist Party of India.[16][17]

Sukumar was married to Kanak Prabha Devi. Despite his deep involvement in labour organizing and political activism, he maintained ties with his family.[18][19]

Role in the 1938 labour movement and death

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In 1938, Sukumar played a key role in the labour strike at the Ballavpur Paper Mill near Raniganj, in the Bardhaman district of Bengal. The strike was organized in response to mass layoffs and unfavorable working conditions, and nearly all of the 1,400 workers joined the protest. The movement was led by a group of trade union leaders including Nityananda Chowdhury, Benoy Choudhury, and Sukumar, who was associated with the Communist Party of India.[20][21][22]

During the course of the strike, the management attempted to break the protest by bringing in strike-breakers, reportedly with the support of the British colonial police. On 15 November 1938, when a lorry carrying hired goons attempted to enter the mill premises, workers attempted to block its entry. Sukumar, who was participating in the picketing, lay down in front of the vehicle in a symbolic act of resistance. He was fatally run over, allegedly by the British manager driving the lorry.[23][24]

Sukumar's death made a significant impact on the labour and leftist movements in Bengal. Contemporary accounts recall that he had been deeply committed to the workers’ cause in the days leading up to the strike. According to oral histories, on the eve of intensified picketing, he sang songs—reportedly including "Rangiye Diye Jao"[25] and "Ogo Sundar"[26], both by Rabindranath Tagore—to uplift the morale of the workers. These recollections became part of the popular memory surrounding his final days, highlighting the emotional and cultural elements of the movement alongside its political dimension.[27]

Contemporary reminiscences

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Sukumar Bannerjee’s role in student and labour movements was noted by several prominent contemporaries.[28][29][30] Comrade Saroj Mukherjee recalled:

“Sukumar was an excellent student at Bandra School in Gopalpur. He stepped forward to join the Swadeshi Movement. In 1930, when the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement began, young Sukumar took charge of the Rajbandh area in Durgapur. Together, we travelled to schools in Andal, Raniganj, and Asansol, holding meetings, recruiting student activists, and mobilising volunteers.”

During the pre-independence era, students influenced by communist ideology often extended their activism beyond academic institutions, taking part in peasant movements in rural Bengal and labour struggles in urban centres. Bandyopadhyay's life and work represent a notable example of this intersection between youth-led activism and broader class-based movements. His contribution to the 1938 labour agitation in Bengal is frequently cited as a significant episode in India's labour history. Comrade Muzaffar Ahmad, a founding member of the Communist Party of India, offered a personal account of his first meeting with Sukumar Bannerjee[31]:

“I first met Sukumar in late 1936 on the third floor of 41 Zakaria Street, Room 25, in Kolkata. I learned he wanted to work in a labour organisation run by the Communist Party. Sukumar was young, shy, and polite, with a gentle demeanour. Seeing such a delicate-looking boy, I doubted whether he could endure the harsh life of a Communist Party trade unionist. After speaking with him, I felt apprehensive, but later realised my concerns were entirely unfounded. His work revealed his true character.”

These reflections highlight both Sukumar’s early promise as a student leader and his eventual emergence as a committed figure in Bengal’s communist and labour movements.[32][33][34]

Legacy

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Although Sukumar Bannerjee was associated with the Communist Party of India, his activism was primarily focused on advocating for the rights of poor peasants, industrial workers, and marginalised communities. His contributions to the labour movement and his death during the Ballavpur Paper Mill strike led to his recognition as a local martyr in Bengal's anti-colonial and workers’ struggles.[35][36][37]

He is remembered as the only martyr from the Bardhaman district during the 20th century in the context of organized labour movements. To honour his memory, annual blood donation camps are organized in Durgapur and Bardhaman, reflecting continued local recognition of his commitment to social justice and sacrifice.[38][39]

Several institutions and public landmarks in West Bengal have been named after him. These include:

  • Sahid Sukumar Bannerjee Sarani, a road in Bidhannagar, Durgapur.
  • Sahid Sukumar Banerjee Memorial School, formerly known as Kuldiha Junior High School.
  • A market complex and a library bearing his name.

These tributes reflect the ongoing local reverence for his contributions to the workers' movement and his legacy as a symbol of sacrifice for the cause of the common people.[40]

Historical parallels

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Sukumar Bandyopadhyay's death during the Ballavpur Paper Mill strike in 1938 bears similarity to the earlier martyrdom of Babu Genu Said, a mill worker in Bombay who was killed in 1930 during protests against British trade practices. Like Sukumar, Babu Genu was crushed under a truck—reportedly under British orders—while attempting to block the transport of foreign goods during a boycott campaign.[41][42]

Both individuals are remembered as symbols of working-class resistance and anti-colonial struggle in their respective regions. Their deaths highlighted the brutal measures used to suppress labor and nationalist movements under British rule, and both have been commemorated for their ultimate sacrifice in defense of workers’ rights and national dignity.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dli.scoerat.13316amisubhashbalchhi".
  2. ^ "Abishmaraniya Vol. 2". 1966.
  3. ^ "Biplabi Kanailal" (1st ed.). 1946.
  4. ^ Majumdar, Satyendranarayan (1971). Aamar Biplab-jigyasa Parbo.1 (1927-1985).
  5. ^ "Revolutionaries of Bengal". 1923.
  6. ^ The bomb in Bengal : The rise of revolutionary terrorism in India, 1900-1910. 1993. ISBN 978-0-19-563350-4.
  7. ^ Bose, Subhas Chandra (1952). The Indian Struggle (1935–1942). Calcutta: M. L. Chakravarti.
  8. ^ Bose, Subhas Chandra (1959). Fundamental Questions of Indian Revolution. Kolkata: Netaji Research Bureau.
  9. ^ Dey, Biswanath Ed (1959). Subhas Smriti.
  10. ^ N.A (1960). Crossroads Being the Works of Subhas Chandra Bose 1938-1940. Kolkata: S. N. Guha.
  11. ^ Anurupa Debi (1933). Biplabi.
  12. ^ "Ichapur Barta Edited by Biplab Ghosh". 22 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Pharasi Biplab". 1955.
  14. ^ Weinberg, Gerhard L. (2011), A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2nd Edition, p. xx, ISBN 978-0-521-61826-7
  15. ^ Kumaraswamy, P. R. (2010), Squaring the Circle: Mahatma Gandhi and the Jewish National Home, Digital version, Routledge, p. 153, ISBN 9781000097856
  16. ^ "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Radharaman Chowdhury, Kolkata. 1957.
  17. ^ Bose, Subhas Chandra. Subhas-rachanavali Vol. 2.
  18. ^ dli.scoerat.13938therollofhonour.
  19. ^ Ghosh, Kali Charan (1960). The Roll of Honour. Calcutta: Vidya Bharati.
  20. ^ Kanungo, Hemchandra (1929). Banglay Biplab Prachesta (in unsupported language) (1st ed.).
  21. ^ "Bigyane Biplab". 1961.
  22. ^ "Biplab Pathe Spain". 1931.
  23. ^ "Jiban Brittanta". 1927.
  24. ^ "The Bengal Revolutionaries and Freedom Movement". 1909.
  25. ^ "Song rangiye diye jao jao | Lyric and History". www.geetabitan.com. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Song ogo sundar ekoda ki jani | English translation". www.geetabitan.com. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  27. ^ https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.267256
  28. ^ "Gita Katha" (1st ed.). 1950.
  29. ^ "The Story of Indian Revolution". Prajnananda Jana Seva Sangha, Calcutta. 1972.
  30. ^ Sarkar, Tanika (2014). Rebels, wives, saints : Designing selves and nations in colonial times. Permanent Black. ISBN 978-81-7824-396-2.
  31. ^ Piyush Dasgupta (1963). Muzaffar Ahmed.
  32. ^ "Arabinda-prasanga". 1923.
  33. ^ Dasgupta, Sri Hemendranath (1946). Bharater Biplab Kahini Vol. 1.
  34. ^ লাঙল ও গণবাণী Langol O Gonobani.
  35. ^ "Jagaran জাগরণ". Satyendrabnath Sur, Chandannagar. 1938.
  36. ^ Rakshit, Bhupendrakishor (1960). Bharater Sashastra-biplab.
  37. ^ "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi". 1957.
  38. ^ "Jug-Barta যুগবার্তা". Prabartak Publishing House, Chandannagar. 1920.
  39. ^ Ray, Motilal (12 June 1880). "Bijaychandi Gitabhinay বিজয় চন্ডী গীতাভিনয়" – via Internet Archive.
  40. ^ Ray, Motilal (12 June 1957). "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Kolkata: Radharaman Chowdhury – via Internet Archive.
  41. ^ "Police Atrocity".
  42. ^ "Diamond Maharashtra Sankritikosh (Marathi: डायमंड महाराष्ट्र संस्कृतीकोश)," Durga Dixit, Pune, India, Diamond Publications, 2009, ISBN 978-81-8483-080-4.

Bibliography

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  • Sahid Sukumar by Chandan Shome, 2022
  • Hemendranath Dasgupta, Bharater Biplab Kahini, II & III, Calcutta, 1948;
  • Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, III, Calcutta 1963;
  • Ganganarayan Chandra, Abismaraniya, Calcutta, 1966
  • Shailesh Dey, Ami Subhas Bolchi.
  • Kalicharan Ghosh, Roll of Honour, Calcutta, 1960.

Further reading

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