200 convictions, 900 suspects: Book throws new light on Bengal’s women revolutionaries

Author details how British India kept surveillance on these women and the role of journals in mobilising them

The first files on women revolutionaries in Bengal appeared in the Intelligence Branch of British India roughly around 1919. And by 1947, more than 200 cases of conviction and sentencing of women were recorded in these files.

Along with these convictions and sentences, the files of the Intelligence Branch of Bengal had a long list of women revolutionaries or suspects – approximately 900. Along with the files, the West Bengal State Archives also has history-sheets on revolutionaries and thousands of glass and film negatives that record details of their surveillance. All such interesting details about women revolutionaries are contained in a recent publication titled  Women in the War of Freedom Unveiled, Bengal 1919-1947: Glimpse from Archival records.

Madhurima Sen, the author of the book, brings to the fore several interesting facts about the Indian freedom struggle from the functioning of the British Intelligence Branch in Bengal, which kept surveillance on the revolutionaries by maintaining a ‘blue list’ and a ‘red list’. The book also highlights the role of certain periodicals, particularly journals brought by women, and custody details of the women revolutionaries. 

Ms. Sen, an archivist at West Bengal State Archives, has also derived information from its photo archives wing to which many did not have access. The Directorate of State Archives, West Bengal, which is one of the biggest repositories of documents from the colonial period in this part of the country, has a collection of about 50,000 glass and film negatives, including photographic print, all of which are related to ‘revolutionary activities’ in the 20th century.

“Most women mentioned in the IB files came from Hindu upper and middle classes, who could emerge from seclusion and develop a life within and outside their families and identify themselves with social and political causes. We, however, find names of Halima Khatun and Razia Khatun from Mymensingh district, Jobeda Khatun and Jayanab Rahim who were connected with the revolutionary/nationalist organisations of their time,” the publication says referring to socio- political situation of the pre-Independent India, particularly Bengal. 

 Ms. Sen said the trend of women’s region-wise participation in the revolutionary movement suggest that “conviction of women in the eastern part of Bengal was far greater than the western part”. The highest numbers of accused were from Chittagong,” the book said, adding that the numbers might have increased after the Chittagong Armoury Raid (1930).