Bhupen Chandra Mahanta: A freedom fighter who established Kamarpatty’s Laxmi Cabin

Guwahati, Sep 4: The Indian freedom movement was one that had accommodated all different ideologies, and was an inclusive movement that brought together the people in the country that were otherwise divided along lines of socio-economic, religious, regional, and ideological differences. So while there was ahimsa and satyagraha preached and practiced by Gandhi, there were also revolutionary activities conducted by a number of leaders. While there were leaders who had contested the legislative assembly elections from the provinces to oppose British policies, there were also many who were forced to go underground and into hiding. The country’s freedom movement was led by a number of learned and experienced politicians; the students and youth of the country too had made substantial contribution to the freedom movement

Bhupen Chandra Mahanta, born on September 4, 1919, in the Bardadhi village of Hajo was one such individual who in his youth had participated in India’s freedom movement by joining the Communist League (that later came to be known as the Revolutionary Communist Party of India, RCPI).

Cunningham Circular and establishment of non-government schools

The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched by Gandhi when he broke the salt law in 1930. The British state had taken full measures to contain and arrest the development and spread of the movement. In Assam, the then Director of Public Information, JR Cunningham had issued the infamous Cunningham Circular, imposing a ban on participation in any anti-British and pro-nationalist activities by students. Students and their guardians had to furnish a bond assuring their good behaviour, and that they had to quit their schools and colleges if they were found carrying out nationalist activities forbidden by the state.

Interestingly, this led to the rise of schools established by Indian nationalists. Kamrup Academy in Guwahati is one of the schools established during the period, in 1930; and it is where Bhupen Chandra Mahanta had obtained his early education.

Revolutionary activities

The Indian freedom struggle was a melting pot of a number of ideologies; and Marxism and communism also found expression in the way people had protested against the British regime. The Communist League (separated from the Communist Party of India) was established by Saumyendranath Tagore in 1934. The League later came to be known as the Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI). Bishnu Rabha, Govinda Kalita, and Hari Das amongst others were members of the RCPI.

Tagore had visited Assam to address the students of Cotton College and Bhupen Chandra Mahanta and a number of other leaders and youths who had attended the meeting, were inspired by Tagore’s ideologies. Subsequently, a branch of the Communist League (later called the RCPI) was opened in the Assam province.

Shortly after, communist leaders like Pannalal Dasgupta and Sudhamoy Dasgupta from Calcutta were in Assam to mobilise communist comrades against the oppressive British regime. Under the leadership of Pannalal and Sudhamoy Dasgupta, Mahanta along with other volunteers and leaders had rented a small room in the Panbazar area of Guwahati city. Called the “Radical Institute” amongst the members, the place was used to discuss communist ideologies, ways to challenge the foreign rule, and training for the same was conducted. These underground activities and secret meetings were widespread, and the police state of the British government was atrocious in their brutalities against freedom fighters and volunteers.

September 1, 1939 saw the outbreak of World War II. The British government, seeking support and resources from the people for the war, had conducted a meeting in Guwahati in 1941. Under the orders of the government, students of the local schools were to participate in the same. This led to oppositions and protests against the meeting, which was led by Mahanta and other leaders. The government had to intervene to contain the simmering discontent of the students, volunteers, and freedom fighters. The then Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup, Sir Humphrey, had ordered lathi charge and firing upon students and protestors alike; announcing the assembly of protestors as an illegal one. About 70-80 students were injured by the lathi blows; and about 8-9 protestors and volunteers had sustained grave injuries, Mahanta being one of them. Along with Mahanta were some other fellow protestors and freedom fighters like Narayan Das, Gokul Medhi, and Bhupen Phukan. Mahanta was arrested for being one of the leaders to have organised this protest. After being given some preliminary medical care at Guwahati Civil Hospital, Mahanta along with four other leaders were sentenced to imprisonment for 6 months.

Opposing and criticising the World War II, Mahanta had circulated leaflets containing communist ideologies and urging people to oppose the outbreak of the war. He had also authored and published a book titled Biplobi Khetiyok, that sought to ignite fires of rebellion in farmers and agriculturalists against the imperial British. These activities were said to be conducted in dimly lit printing presses, after dusk; and the break of dawn was signalled when the volunteers could hear the sound of sweepers’ vehicles clearing out the streets. Mahanta’s book Biplobi Khetiyok was confiscated and banned; and a non bailable warrant was issued against him, subsequently leading to his imprisonment.

Underground activities of various organisations and secret societies banned by the government sometimes could not be prevented by the state police. Around the time of the launch of Quit India Movement in 1942, Mahanta’s comrades had entrusted on him an important responsibility. Two RCPI members – Pannalal Dasgupta and Sudhamoy Dasgupta – who were coming to Assam from Calcutta, had to be received in complete secrecy at Amingaon; they had to be disguised and their appearance needed to be changed, after which they had to take the steamer to the Fancy Bazar ghat. Upon disembarking, Mahanta had to retrieve his Calcutta comrades and take them to safety and hiding. Mahanta had accomplished this task successfully at about 22 years of age, as a young man, befooling the British police.

A number of communist comrades and other freedom fighters had to go into hiding during the Quit India Movement in 1942. The British crackdown on the freedom fighters was severe and ruthless. The RCPI had directed a number of its leaders and members to go into hiding, amongst whom were Haren Kalita, Haridas Deka, Gokul Medhi, and Usha Sarma. There were others, including Mahanta, who did not have to disappear and go into hiding. With the World War II at the background, a number of people who had come from other provinces of the British Empire in India, began to desert the Assam province to head back to their homes. In the process, a number of businesses were also left behind without owners and proprietors. Under the directions of the party leaders, Mahanta, who did not go into hiding, was asked to occupy such a hotel in the Kamarpatty area of Guwahati where he conducted business to make money and the hotel also acted as a secret meeting place for the leaders and members of the RCPI

Laxmi Cabin

Being the oldest amongst his siblings, the duty to take care and provide for his ageing father and his younger siblings had to be shouldered by Mahanta. Mahanta’s mother had also passed away. He could not be as actively involved in politics as he would have liked. He had to make ends meet and had decided to venture into business. For fear of the devastation and death that the war might bring, a number of people from other provinces who had come to Assam for work gradually began to leave for their homes. Vikram Singh Tiwari from Bihar was one such person. The owner of Grand Hotel in Kamarpatty that offered food and lodging, Tiwari had sold Grand Hotel to Mahanta before leaving for Bihar. Initially, while Grand Hotel ran smoothly in the business of food and lodging, the substantial amount of losses soon caught up and Mahanta had to close down the hotel.

Later, Grand Hotel was rechristened as Laxmi Cabin and started as a place that sold saah, singora, and goja. Long after Mahanta’s passing away in 2006, Laxmi Cabin continues to delight people with its famous singora.

Social work

Although Mahanta did not continue playing an active role in politics, he has been deeply involved in social work and welfare programmes for the benefit of the society. He held education to be a necessity that every individual must be entitled to. As a result, he had made generous donations to educational institutions. Education needed to be widespread and had to be made available and accessible to all children. His long association with Damdama College can be an example

Mahanta was also an advocate for self reliance and women’s education and financial independence. He deeply believed that the village was the unit of development for the society, and had carried out a number of welfare programmes for his village Bardadhi in Hajo

Mahanta and his involvement with the freedom struggle reflect and signify the youthful hope for freedom and a defiance of regime that was alien to South Asian ethos and culture. His vision of a developed nation was one that saw the development of its villages, where labour creates money and generates employment, places importance to education, puts their womenfolk at an esteemed position in the society, by educating them and making them capable of financial independence

Sources:

“Sainik Silpi: Bishnu Rabha”, edited by Dr Hiren Gohain; Journal Emporium

“Shraddha’r Mahanta Khura’k Moi Ji Hisaap’e Janu”; a narrative essay by Karendra Chandra Talukdar

“Jeevan Sangrami Bhupendra Chandra Mahanta”; Sailen Medhi