Remembering Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das

June 16 is the death anniversary of Chittaranjan Das, one of the leading freedom fighters and greatest sons of India. And of course a pride of Bengal (he is affectionately and reverentially addressed as Deshbandhu or friend of the country) and mentor to many freedom fighters notably to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who drew maximum inspiration from CR Das.

To commemorate his 93rd death anniversary, the Chittaranjan Memorial Society, Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi held a solemn event on June 16, which was attended by many but the highlight of the function was the august presence of no other than former President Pranab Mukherjee whose knowledge packed rhetoric, in a historical perspective, mesmerized the audience who were substantially enriched by the high dosage of wisdom and rich tributes given by him in a brief spell.

Pranab babu'r address was preceded by inauguration of a recast of CR Das' statue which stands tall in the CR Bhavan complex. CR Bhavan is located in the thick of Chittaranjan Park, a predominantly Bengali colony, teeming with multiple activities and full of life and spirit.

The inhabitants are mostly originally belonging to East Pakistan Displaced Persons (EPDP), a name entrenched amongst Delhites, who would love to shop here fresh fish and sweets of immense variety.

Anything Bengali, books or marriage requirements, would be conveniently available here and many refer to the locality as a mini Bengal. Later, EPDP locality got renamed as Chittaranjan Park and is today one of the most popular neighborhoods in Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Now, reverting to Pranab Mukherjee's speech, it was marked by a delivery of power packed history through annals of which Chittaranjan Das had lived through.

At times, we thought we were in the history class of Presidency College listening to noted historian Sushobhan Sarkar touching upon the events unfolding with the turn of the twentieth century when the struggle for freedom had seen the first ray of light.

Interestingly, Pranab Babu mentioned rather chronologically, the various Acts promulgated by the British including the Acts of 1909, 1935 and 1947 in run up to our independence. More importantly, at CR Das' behest, the famous 'Bengal Pact' was drafted in 1923 and if it was enforced in letter and in spirit, the partition of India could easily have been avoided.

This significantly, finds mention in the autobiography (India wins Freedom) of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Pranab Babu further enlightened the audience by disclosing that CR Das was aware of the sensitivity of the Muslims and 'Bengal Pact' was meant to ensure Hindu Muslim unity and interests of the Muslims.

This showed, Pranab Mukherjee said, the farsightedness of Deshbandhu who was all for communal unity. Sizing up the well-being of the Muslims, as a visionary, CR Das could see the problems coming and that was his greatness.

What's interesting is that history books do carry Bengal Pact of 1923 and its contents including CR Das' contribution towards communal bonhomie , but the way Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the facts in a much lucid and simplified manner befitting the occasion , left the audience enthralled and much richer in education on contemporary history .

And that's what is perhaps needed in both sides of Bengal - the thrust of oral history so that great personalities like CR Das are not forgotten but remembered on some pretext or the other. Meanwhile, we saw a most intellectual write up on CR Das in Bangladesh's prominent daily 'Asian Age' carrying Deshbandhu's valuable contribution.

The piece, in the form of an editorial, got proliferated and widely disseminated, also drawing positive comments from numerous Bengalis from across the border reposing the faith that CR Das continues to be relevant even 93 years after his demise.

As regards Pranab Babu, his eloquence befitting the death anniversary of CR Das dispelled many doubts in the minds of some who were reeling under ambiguity after ex President's presence and speech at the RSS headquarters barely ten days ago.

The writer is a freelancer who writes on topical issues of interest