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Ananta Singh | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1903-12-01)1 December 1903 Chittagong,Bengal,British India (nowChittagong,Bangladesh) |
| Died | 25 January 1979(1979-01-25) (aged 75) Calcutta,West Bengal,India |
| Occupation | Independence Activist |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable works | Chittagong Armoury Raid |
Ananta Lal Singh (1 December 1903 - 25 January 1979) was an Indian revolutionary, who participated in theChittagong armoury raid in 1930.[1] Later, he founded afar-leftradicalcommunist group, theRevolutionary Communist Council of India.
The role of Singh was played by actorManinder Singh in the 2010 Hindi filmKhelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey.[2] and actorJaideep Ahlawat in the 2012 filmChittagong (film)
Ananta Singh was born on 1 December 1903 atChittagong.[3] His father's name was Golap (Gulaab) Singh. Singh's grandparents werePunjabi-speakingRajputs who migrated fromAgra and settled in Chittagong. He metSurya Sen while he was studying in the Chittagong Municipal School and became his follower.[1] Indumati Singh was his sister who is also a notable freedom fighter.
Singh's involvement in the Indian nationalist movement began with theNon-cooperation movement in 1921. Although, he motivated his schoolmates to join the movement, he personally did not have much faith in the movement. On 14 December 1923, he and Nirmal Sen led the robbery at the treasury office of theAssam Bengal Railway according to the plan made by Surya Sen and clashed with the police after the robbery on 24 December. He fled from the scene after the robbery and reachedCalcutta after a short stay atSandwip. He was arrested in Calcutta but released soon. He was again arrested in 1924 and imprisoned for four years.[1]
After his release, he founded a gymnasium and recruited many youths for the revolutionary movement led by Surya Sen. On 18 April 1930, he was one of the leaders of theChittagong armoury raid. After the incident, he was able to flee from Chittagong withGanesh Ghosh andJiban Ghoshal. After a short encounter with police in Feni railway station, he took shelter to French territoryChandernagore. But, hearing the news of the torture faced by his fellow revolutionaries who were already in jail, he surrendered to the police on 28 June 1930 in Calcutta and faced the trial. In the trial, he was sentenced to transportation for life and sent to theCellular Jail inPort Blair. After, a long hunger strike in the Cellular Jail in 1932, he was brought back to a mainland jail along with a number of his fellow political prisoners due to an initiative undertaken byMahatma Gandhi andRabindranath Tagore. After his final release in 1946, he joined theCommunist Party of India.[1]
After the Indian 'independence' in 1947, Singh was mostly involved in the film production and dealership of the motor vehicles. In the late 60s, he founded a new far left political group, Man-Money-Gun (MMG)[4] later renamed theRevolutionary Communist Council of India in Calcutta. The members of this group conducted a number of bank robberies in Calcutta in order to raise funds for buying arms and ammunitions. This period of his life is very controversial. In the late 1960s there were regular robberies in various banks in Calcutta where, Ananta Singh's name featured.[5][6] There were series of writings in local papers and theBhadralok who in those days was still remembering and revering the revolutionary nationalists were quite upset to learn about his deeds. Finally, along with most of the members of the group, he was arrested from their hideout in a forest nearJaduguda in the present-dayJharkhand state in 1969. He was imprisoned till 1977. He was suffering from cardiac problems during his imprisonment and died within a short period of time after his release.[1]
Singh's most significant work is his controversial autobiography,Keu Bale Dakat, Keu Bale Biplabi (Some Call Me a Robber, Some Call Me a Revolutionary). His other significant works include:Chattagram Yubabidroha (Youth Revolution in Chittagong) (in two volumes),Agnigarbha Chattagram (Chittagong on Fire),Masterda on Surya Sen,Surya Sener Svapna O Sadhana (Dream and Austerities of Surya Sen) andAmi Sei Meye (I am that Girl).[1] Between 1960 and 1966, he even produced three Bengali films including the hitJamalaye Jibanta Manush.[5]