92nd Martyrdom Anniversary of Masterda Surya Sen A Tribute

Md. Kamal Uddin    |    ০১:৪২ পিএম, ২০২৬-০১-১২

Mohammad Kamal Uddin
Today is January 12.  This is not an ordinary date on the calendar of history—it is a day of sacrifice, a day of conscience, a day when an empire believed it had silenced a man, only to awaken an eternal flame. On this night in 1934, under the cover of darkness, the British colonial regime executed Masterda Surya Sen. They thought they were ending a life. What they failed to realize was that Surya Sen was never merely a man—he was an idea, a fire, a living chapter of resistance. A body may be hanged, but a conviction cannot be killed.  Surya Kumar Sen—revered by generations as Masterda—was born on March 22, 1894, in the village of Noapara in Raozan, Chittagong. He grew up amid poverty, hardship, and the early loss of his parents. Raised under the care of his uncle, Gourmani Sen, his heart was shaped not by comfort, but by a burning dream of freedom. From an early age, Surya Sen displayed exceptional discipline and intellectual brilliance. His education began at Dayamoyi Primary School and continued through Noapara High English School and Chittagong College. His growing involvement in anti-colonial politics led to his expulsion from Chittagong College, forcing him to complete his Bachelor’s degree at Krishnath College in Berhampore. Even exclusion could not obstruct his path—resistance became his true classroom.
By profession, he was a teacher. But teaching, for Surya Sen, was never limited to mathematics or textbooks. In the classrooms of Harish Dutta’s National School and later Umatara High English School, he taught lessons far greater than numbers—lessons of dignity, courage, and the right to live with one’s head held high. It was his role as an educator that earned him the name “Masterda,” a title that would later become legend. In his revolutionary life, compromise had no place. Personal comfort was secondary to collective freedom. Though reluctant to marry, he did so in 1919 under family pressure. Yet within three days, he returned to the city, drawn back to the struggle. The untimely death of his wife in 1926 deepened his solitude but hardened his resolve.
The history of Surya Sen is a school of courage. Through his association with the Jugantar movement, he built a disciplined and secret revolutionary network in Chittagong. The clashes at Tiger Pass and Nagar Khana Hill in 1923, the historic Chittagong Armoury Raid of 1930, the declaration of Chittagong free from British rule for four days, and finally the Battle of Jalalabad—these were not isolated events. They were bold declarations that colonial power could be challenged. At Jalalabad Hill, in a fierce two-hour battle, a small group of revolutionaries stood their ground against a modern, well-armed British force. Twelve revolutionaries laid down their lives. The heavy casualties inflicted on the enemy proved an undeniable truth: even the oppressed possess the power to resist. Betrayed and captured from the Dhalghat area of Patiya, Surya Sen was subjected to prolonged and brutal torture. Yet he did not bow. In the silent hours of January 12, 1934, without ceremony, without final words, he was executed. The empire denied him dignity in death—but history granted him immortality. And the question remains: Did the gallows succeed in ending Surya Sen? No. Because Surya Sen still lives—in the air of Chittagong, in the eyes of fearless youth, in the courage to stand against injustice. He lives wherever freedom is claimed, wherever oppression is challenged. As a devoted admirer of Surya Sen, an activist, and a writer, on behalf of the Chattogram Citizens’ Forum and the Bangabandhu Sainik League, I bow my head today in profound respect on the 92nd martyrdom anniversary of this great anti-colonial revolutionary. Masterda, you are no longer with us—but your dream remains unfinished. And the responsibility to fulfill that dream now rests with us.