During the 1962 India-China stand-off when the Chinese forces had advanced up to Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, Nehru lamented by saying, “My heart goes out to the people of Assam.” Somehow, these words of Nehru deeply condensed in the minds of the people of Assam and it continues to stoke the flames of anger and frustration even today. They felt abandoned, helpless, and demoralised for they were let down by their own government. And why shouldn’t they have had felt so? For, Assam, in fact the entire North-East for that matter, played a very important role in helping India attain freedom from the British rule. Its people made outstanding contributions in every phase of the Indian freedom struggle to save their culture and identity, and thus kept fighting till their very last breath.

Unfortunately, this is a story that has deliberately been left unattended and unacknowledged; thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the previous governments at the Centre, in collusion with a morally bankrupt cabal of “eminent historians” whose hypocrisy reeks of elitism. It is divisive and destructive. Because, one of the main reasons that led to the rise of insurgent movements in North-East India, including the ULFA movement in Assam, was that the history of this region of the country never received the due attention that it was supposed to in the national fora. Infrastructural development aside, the need of the hour is to undertake concrete measures that shall help correct this extremely unforgiving historical injustice, so as to ensure the all-round integration of the North-East with the rest of India. The freedom fighters of this enchantingly beautiful part of the country deserve equal recognition and respect as those of any other, at the regional, national and global levels. It is time history is re-visited, re-told and re-written.

Not many might be aware of the heroic story of a young girl from Assam, Kanaklata Barua, who embraced death at the tender age of 17 during the peak of the Quit India Movement in the year 1942. While writing this piece, it was indeed very disheartening to learn that the Internet too, has very limited information on this daring and rebellious lady from Assam. She was a fearless, brave and valiant woman freedom fighter whose role in challenging the might of the British has been strategically ignored and forgotten in the history textbooks of ‘Modern India’. She faced mindless police brutalities and became martyr at an age when today’s most college-going girls spend their time either in books and studies for a successful career ahead or make merry with their friends, hanging out and partying. Kanaklata did not have such a luxury. It was her country that came before everything else and she voluntarily chose to stand by her motherland during its hour of crisis.

Kanaklata Barua was born on December 22, 1924 to Krishnakanta Barua and Karneshwari Baruani at a village called Barangabari under Kalongpar mouza in present-day Biswanath Chariali (undivided Darrang district) of the province of Assam. The Baruas traced their ancestry to the kingdom of Dolakharia Barua of the mighty Ahom dynasty, but later relinquished the title of ‘Dolakharia’ and retained only ‘Barua’. The Dolakharias who considered themselves to be the direct descendants of Lord Indra, were the Commander-in-Chiefs of the guards that were responsible for providing protection to the royal sedan (dola) used by the Ahom monarchs. Her grandfather, Ghanakanta Barua, was popularly known as Ghana Sikari (meaning, Ghana – ‘The Hunter’) for his astute hunting skills. Her father was a farmer.

Kanaklata passed through a very difficult phase in her childhood. She received her primary education from the Barangabari High School in her village and was well-trained in all the basic household activities such as cooking, spinning and weaving, etc. Having lost both her parents at a very young age, Kanaklata shared a special bond with her grandfather who lovingly called her Aai. Being the eldest one in the family, she was compelled to leave school during her third standard owing to larger family responsibilities and taking care of her younger siblings. As a result, the sense of humility and responsibility became ingrained in our Kanaklata from a very early age.

Kanaklata was inspired by the stories of supreme sacrifice of contemporary Assamese freedom fighters such as Kushal Konwar, the then President of the local Congress Committee who was falsely implicated by the British on a charge of train derailment and later hanged. She was also influenced by leaders like Mohan Chandra Singha, Chandraprabha Saikiani, Lakhidhar Sarmah, Madhab Sarmah, and Seniram Das, most of whom were prosecuted by the government on the charges of sedition and sent to police custody. Socio-political organisations such as the Chaiduar Rayat Sabha started under the leadership of Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala in 1931, actively protested against the export of bamboo and cane from the resource-rich Gohpur region for the construction of temporary camps for the British soldiers during the World War II.

Kanaklata had been closely watching and understanding the chain of events that unfolded, which left a deep impression in her mind. Her maternal uncles, Debendranath Bora and Jaduram Bora, were active Congress workers who often visited her house and had detailed discussions with her regarding the Non-Cooperation programme of M.K. Gandhi. It was during the Bharat Chodo Andolan (Quit India Movement) of 1942 that Kanaklata’s name became forever immortalised not only in the annals of Assam history but also in the common Assamese psyche. At the age of only 17 years, she joined a suicide squad called Mrityu Bahini consisting of young volunteers, after her plea to join Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj was rejected on the ground that she was still a minor.

As a teenager, Kanaklata used to attend the secret meetings of various students’ organisations then active in her village. On September 20, 1942, the revolutionary wing of the Gohpur sub-division of undivided Darrang district decided to remove the British flag and unfurl the national flag of India in the local police station at Gohpur. The police had come to be associated with the most blatant form of repression of people’s rights and freedoms under the colonial regime. Kanaklata had herself volunteered to lead a procession of around 5,000 unarmed villagers and youngsters, mostly students, for the daunting task. It was later estimated that about 500 women from the neighbouring villages of Kalabari, Halem, Brahmajan, etc. had joined the procession. The congregation was a sight to watch, involving almost all sections of the society with the sole purpose of teaching the British a lesson. They were deeply enthused by the indomitable spirit of the young and courageous Kanaklata and thus decided to whole-heartedly extend their support in her endeavour. She was able to strike a chord of familiarity with everyone, both young and old, which attracted more and more people into her fold.

Volunteers from Tezpur, Dhekiajuli, and several other places had gathered on the morning of September 20, 1942 in the main camp at Kalyanpur under Kalyanpur Circle (mouza) to register themselves as a part of different death squads. As usual, Kanaklata had completed her routine household chores and then went to join the group of volunteers at Kalyanpur. Two days before, on September 18, a meeting was organised in the main Namghar (a religious prayer house of the Assamese Hindus) of the area, presided over by one Maghiram Bora. It was in this meeting that Kanaklata had requested Pushpalata Das, another female freedom fighter from Assam, to get her name enlisted in the Mrityu Bahini, which was entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out perilous patriotic acts.

Pushpalata Das, along with her husband Omeo Kr. Das and Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, were at the helm of organising the women of entire Darrang district as a part of the Quit India Movement. Pushpalata Das warned the volunteers to not indulge in any kind of violent activity even in the face of extreme provocation from the government. Kanaklata’s name was formally registered as a part of the Mrityu Bahini on September 20 at the Kalyanpur camp. Her impassioned speech just a few hours before her death left many in the audience spellbound.

Kanaklata was an extremely dedicated and determined lady who was granted membership of the group despite the fact that she was below the age of 18 years (which was the minimum age for joining the Mrityu Bahini) at the time of registration. Owing to her inexorable patriotic feelings and the zeal to fight, it was considered as an exceptional case. She was subsequently made the leader of the women cadres of the Mrityu Bahini. With the ultimate aim of freeing her motherland from the colonial rule, Kanaklata promised her grandfather that she would live up to the proud reputation of his Ahom ancestry while confronting the British Police-in-Charge of the Gohpur police station where the national flag was to be hoisted. In Kanaklata, women who had rarely stepped out of their homes until then, saw an epitome of strength and endurance. Her deep sense of commitment to the nation along with her uncompromising attitude became a source of inspiration for many.

Armed with the weapon of bravery and driven by an undeterred desire of freedom, the activist in Kanaklata marched ahead, leading the huge crowd of women volunteers from the front. She was earlier instructed by Pushpalata Das to not look behind but to advance forward under any circumstances. The slogans of Vande Mataram and the sounds of instruments like conch-shells, drums, flutes and brass-shells which were being played all along the way to the police station, had filled the air with exuberance. It sent a wave of joy and a new-found aspiration into the hearts and minds of the marching volunteers.

Kanaklata refused to apologise and bow down in front of the then officer-in-charge of the police station, Rebati Mohan Som, and his armed constables who were ready to shoot anytime. He repeatedly warned the crowd of deadly consequences if they went ahead with their plan of hoisting the national flag at the pre-decided venue, i.e. the Gohpur thana, which was situated at the easternmost boundary of the Tezpur sub-division. Kanaklata sternly asked him to do his duty while she would carry on with hers. Pushing aside a gun, she fearlessly entered the compound of the police station saying that they could only kill their mortal bodies but not their soul.

Subsequently, without any warning or dispersal order, the police opened fire and Kankalata was shot dead right on the chest, her blood-stained youthful hands still holding the tricolour high with pride. It was picked up by her fellow compatriot Mukunda Kakoti who, too, was killed by gunshots on the same spot as Kanaklata. She was just a few months short of her 18^th birthday at the time of her death. Another leader, Hemakanta Baruah, also met the same fate. He was then a mere school-going boy aged 16. Several other volunteers were grievously injured. Although the police force was blessed with the unlimited power of repression, the tricolour was eventually hoisted at the police station in the evening by one Rampati Rajkhowa, adding further fuel to the freedom movement. The body of Kanaklata was brought to her home and cremated on the same night.

On the same day, eleven unarmed villagers were gunned down by the police while they were trying to hoist the tricolour at the Dhekiajuli police station. Among these eleven people, there were three teenage girls named Tileswari, Numoli, and Khahuli, who were killed on the spot and are especially commemorated by the locals of Dhekiajuli town every year on September 20. Thereafter, the Quit India Movement in Assam intensified in several areas of Darrang district such as Kalabari, Gohpur, Jamugurihat, etc. besides the town of Tezpur. It further reinvigorated the patriotic feelings of the people and sent a strong signal to the British that their days in India were already coming to an end.

Inspired by Gandhi’s call for ‘Do or Die’, Kanaklata Barua became the first Assamese martyr of the Quit India Movement. The name ‘Kanaklata’ in itself, represents the message of rebellion against oppression and injustice in Assamese households even today. A play titled Kanaklata written by the noted playwright and cultural giant of Assam, Jyotiprasad Agarwala, depicts the sense of nationalism among the common Assamese people during India’s struggle for freedom through the character of Birbala Kanaklata. It narrates the tale of bravery and heroism of village-dwelling Assamese women who left behind their home and hearth to fight for their nation, to seek justice and freedom from the foreign yoke. In fact, Kanaklata derived much of her inspiration from the various nationalist songs and plays composed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and the lectures of Bishnu Prasad Rabha, another multi-talented personality from Assam, during the heydays of the freedom movement.

Several patriotic Assamese songs such as Biswo Bijay Naujawan (meaning, “We the youth will defeat the enemy and achieve worldwide victory”), Luitor Paarore Aami Deka Lora Moribole Bhoi Nai (meaning, “We are the youth of the Brahmaputra and we do not fear death!”), etc. came to be identified with this revolutionary phase of the freedom struggle in Assam. Its memory continues to live on and on in the social, political and cultural spaces of Assam even till this day. A life-sized statue of Kanaklata Barua was unveiled at Gauripur in 2011 under the aegis of the Gauripur Branch of Lekhika Samaroh Samiti on the occasion of Jatiya Chetana Divas at the premises of the Gauripur Children’s Park. There is also a sculpture of Kanaklata at the Kanaklata Udyan or the Rock Gardens of Tezpur, Assam describing the entire incident of September 20, 1942.

The Fast-Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS Kanaklata Barua of the Indian Coast Guard, the fifth and the last in a series of such vessels, was commissioned for the first time ever by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in 1997. On February 1, 2020, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal had ceremonially launched the distribution of a revolving fund amounting Rs. 30 crores to around 20,000 women’s SHGs under the scheme called Kanaklata Mahila Sabalikaron Achoni, benefitting more than 18 lakh households and 1,78,720 SHGs across the state. A statue of Kanaklata adorns the summit of the famous Ouguri hills, a popular sight-seeing destination situated in Tezpur town that provides a breath-taking view of the Brahmaputra river and as well as the entire town.

Every year, September 20 is observed as Swahid Divas by the Gohpur Mahkuma Students’ Union based in Gohpur (present-day Sonitpur district of Assam), in the memory of Kanaklata Barua and Mukunda Kakoti. Cultural processions are also being organised in several places as a part of the celebrations. Various other programs are also organised across the state as a mark of remembrance of the bravehearts who laid down their lives for the cause of India’s Independence. In 2019, the BJP’s students’ wing – Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – had taken out a Tiranga Yatra in Gohpur on September 20, with a 100 metre-sized national flag of India as a symbol celebrating the bravery of both Kanaklata and Mukunda Kakoti.

The reverence for Kanaklata runs deep in the nerves and veins of the common people of Assam, especially in her hometown of Gohpur. In fact, many in Gohpur consider the cleaning of her statue as a yeoman’s social service. It so happened in the year 2014 that the Gauhati High Court had directed two persons, Rajib Uzir and Ashish Basumatry, accused of assaulting a student leader in Gohpur to render this same social service for a period of seven days as one of the conditions in order to avoid arrest.

Why seek inspiration from the West to understand issues such as ‘feminism’ and ‘gender equality’ when we have examples like these in our own country itself? This is the land where Nari Shakti or the ‘feminine’ is worshipped in the form of Ma Durga, Kali, and Kamakhya. The womb of Bharat Mata has given birth to several courageous, yet nameless, unsung women warriors whose valour and unmatched contributions towards India’s freedom intimidated the enemy too. From Rani Laxmi Bai in the North to Rani Chennamma in the South and Kanaklata Barua and Rani Gaidinliu in the East, they all fought their opponents in their own distinctive ways. Since most of them died an early death, they did not even have the opportunity to witness the materialisation of their dream of liberating their country from foreign hands.

But, an honest academic discussion of questions like ‘women empowerment’, etc. needs to take into account the role played by these ladies in crushing the enemy with the utmost grit and determination. The girl child, specifically, should be taught lessons in self-defence and bravery, taking a cue from the life-histories of these firebrand women leaders from our very own but hushed-up history. The story of Indian Independence is not just about a few foreign-educated graduates who could speak and converse in fluent English with the British. It is as much about them as it is about those hundreds and thousands of Kanaklatas whose stories have remained unspoken, unsaid and still unheard of by many in our own country! They are yet to receive their due recognition which they rightly deserve.

The Gohpur police station too, established in the year 1902, has remained forgotten over the years, despite it being one of the most important and historic sites in Assam’s fight for India’s Independence. It was in the year 2018, nearly eight decades after the incident in 1942, that the Government of Assam decided to accord the site a “heritage” status and thus began the process of preserving this dilapidated, old building. The Gohpur police station was being used as the residence-cum-office of the Sub-Divisional police official for several years before the Directorate of Archaeology approached it for carrying out the restoration project. The Sootea and Dhekiajuli police stations too, atop which the national flag of India was unfurled in the same year and on the same day, were chosen for the purpose. A budget of Rs. 1.5 crore (50 lakhs for each) had been sanctioned. All objective readers of Indian history must ponder over the fact as to why such a realisation never dawned upon the Congress Party even after being in power in the state for a period of 15 long years straight at a stretch!

Kanaklata Barua is remembered as the youngest woman freedom fighter from Assam. Her story of unparalleled valour and heroism has been retold by the noted Assamese director Chandra Mudoi in his movie Epah Phulil Epah Xoril in 2017. Its Hindi version entitled Purab Ki Awaaz released across theatres in India on March 10, 2017 with the aim of reaching a wider audience.

References:

1. Guptajit Pathak. (2008). Assamese Women in Indian Independence Movement: With a Special Emphasis on Kanaklata Barua. Mittal Publications, New Delhi.
2. Shiela Bora. (2016). Kanaklata Barua. National Book Trust, New Delhi.
3. Dr. Binod Sarmah. Quit India Movement and the Gohpur Episode of Assam. Review of Research Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 1-7.
4. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sentinelassam.com/amp/editorial/kanaklata-the-martyr-extraordinary/
5. https://www.google.com/amp/s/indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/assam/assams-colonial-police-stations-are-getting-restored-more-than-century-after-they-were-built-5721148/lite/
6. https://www.telegraph.india.com/north-east/court-proffers-a-different-social-service-lesson-two-assault-accused-named-gandhi-and-anda-told-to-clean-statue-of-martyr-kanklata-in-gohpur/cid/321863
7. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/kolkata-grse-launches-fifth-fpv-for-coast-guard20190811170721%3famp=1

Image Credits: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaklata_Barua