Surya Sen 'Master Da's Contribution to freedom

BY A STAFF REPORTER: Surya Sen believed in the power of armed rebellion. The Chittagong expedition he led in 1930 was aimed at demonstrating that it was possible to challenge the 'armed power' of the British Empire. Surya Sen was born on March 22, 1894, at Noapara in Chittagong to Ramniranjan Sen and Shila Bala Devi. In 1916, Sen imbibed revolutionary ideas through his teacher, Shatish Chandra Chakraborty, when he was doing his BA at Murshidabad's Berhampur College (now Krishnath College).

When Master Da came to Chittagong in 1918, he started teaching at the local national school and became famous with the prestigious 'Masterda'. He later quit his job and became the president of the Chittagong branch of the Indian National Congress. Sen actively participated in the non-cooperation movement. He looted the assam-bengal railway's coffers for cash to encourage the movement, for which he was imprisoned for two years along with fellow revolutionary Ambika Chakraborty. The tribunal convicted Surya Sen under Section 121 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.