Ananta Singh
Ananta Lal Singh (Bengali: অনন্তলাল সিংহ) (1 December 1903 - 25 January 1979) was an Indian revolutionary, who participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930.[1] Later, he founded a far-left radical communist group, the Revolutionary Communist Council of India.
In the 2010 Hindi film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, actor Maninder Singh played his role and in the movie Chittagong, Jaideep Ahalawat ('GoW' fame) did it. [2]
Early life
Singh was born in Chittagong. His father's name was Golap Singh. Sinha's ancestors were Punjabi Rajputs who migrated from Agra and settled in Chittagong. He met Surya Sen while he was studying in the Chittagong Municipal School and became his follower.[1]
Revolutionary movement
Sinha's involvement in the Indian nationalist movement began with the Non-cooperation movement in 1921. Although, he motivated the 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 the Assam 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 reached Calcutta after a short stay at Sandwip. 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 the Chittagong armoury raid. After the incident, he was able to flee to French territory Chandernagore. But, after 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 the Cellular Jail in Port 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 undertakan by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. After his final release in 1946, he joined the Communist Party of India.[1]
Post-1947 period
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, named the Revolutionary 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 60's there were regular robberies in various banks in Calcutta where, Ananta Singh's name featured. There were series of writings in local papers and the bhadralok 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 near Jaduguda in the present-day Jharkhand 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]
Works
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) and Ami Sei Meye (I am that Girl).[1]