Satyendranath,
born on 30 July 1882,was one of the five sons
of Abhoyacharan, who also had five daughters.
Abhoyacharan was the Headmaster of Midnapur Collegiate
School and scholar, Rajnarayan. Their original
home was at Boral, 24-Pargans (Bengal), but both
the brothers were teachers by profession, which
found them settled in Midnapur.
They were honest, dignified and simple in
life. Rajanarayan is considered the first protagonist
of the revolutionary cult in Bengal, and his
daughters sons were the famous leaders, Aurobindo
and Barindra Kumar Ghose. Rajnarayanss
catholicity needed considerable courage in those
days to preach that Brahmoism was not a separate
religion but only protestant Hinduism.
All these influences went to mould Satyens
character. He received his early inspiration
from his eldest brother, Jnanendranath. Satyen
entered Midnaput Collegiate School in 1888.
Among the best in the class, he passed the Entrance
examination in the first division in 1897 and
First Art in 1899. For degree course he joined
the City College, Calcutta, But ill-health prevented
him from appearing at the examinations.
Jatin Benerjee (later, Swami Niralamba), deputed
by Aurobindo from Baroda in 1902, initiated
in Calcutta and Midnapur secret revolutionary
societies, associated later with the name of
the Journal, Jagantar, launched by Barindra
Kumar and his associates. Under Rajendrayans
patronage, the Midnapur group grew under the
leadership of Hemchandra Das Kanango, ably assisted
by Satyen.
The preparatory curriculum for revolutionary
recruits those days consisted of physical culture,
which included training in the use of different
weapons, and moral, intellectual and political
education, essential parts of which were the
study of the Geeta, Vivekananda
and Bankims works, History of revolutionary
movements and biographies of heroes and patriots.
The anti-partition agitation of 1905 gave a
fillip to the secret movement. Satyen started
the Chhatra Bhandar, or students
emporium for countrimade good, which was a centre
for recruiting students, and a handloom factory,
which turned into a shelter for wholetime workers
for the revolutionary cause.
Kshudiram Bose, later executed for attempt
on the life of a British civilian, Kingsford,
was an early recruit of Satyems; he was
lodged in the handloom factory. An agricultural-cum-industrial
exhibition was held at Midnapur in 1906. The
organisers recognised young Satyens ability
by appointing him assistant secretary. Under
his instruction, Kshudiram was distributing
Sonar Bangla', a seditious leaflet, and
was caught by a policeman. Satyen got him released
on a false plea, which cost him his job at the
Collector.
It was a good riddance for him as he found more
time to devote to revolutionary work.
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On Hem Chandras leaving for Paris for
training in the manufacture of explosives, the
district leadership devolved on Satyen.
A political conference was held at Midnapur
in 1907. Satyen demonstrated against the moderate
politics of the reception Committee personnel
and ultimately of Surendranath Banerjee, the
chief architect of the anti-partition agitation.
It resulted in the break-up of the conference.
Similarly ended the 1907 session of the Indian
National Congress at Surat, where Satyen sided
with Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Aurobindo and other
extremist leader against the moderates.
1908 witnessed the first manifestation of
the Bengal revolutionary movement with the attempt
on the life of Kingsford at Muzaffarpur. Sayen,
serving two months imprisonment in Midnapur
jail under the Arms Act for possession of his
brothers licensed gun, was transferred
to the Alipur jail as an unfertile prisoner
in the Alipur Bomb Conspiracy Case, where, among
a large number of other accused persons, were
Aurobindo, Barindra Kumar and Hem Chandra. A
co-accused, Naren Goswami, made himself an object
of bitter hatred by turning a prosecution witness.
Hem Chandra and Satyen were determined to create
an inspiring example by removing the blot on
revolutionary patriotism.
At their request, Sris Chandra Ghose and Basanta
Kumar Banerjee of Chandernagore managed to pass
two revolvers to the accused during interview.
A fellow-prisoner, Kanailal Dutt. besought Satyen
to give him the privilege of sharing the fatal
glory. Hemanchandra and Satyen readily connected.
As a godsend, Satyen fell ill and was taken
to jail hospital, from where he smuggled a letter
to Goswami. He requested Goswami to meet him
to discuss means of him to secure release by
turning an approvers prison life had made him
feel miserable. Goswami was successfully duped.
Meantime, on the evening of August 30,1908,
Kantilal feigned unbearable colic pain and was
hospitalised. Next morning, Goswami, escorted
by an Anglo-Indian convict warder, came to meet
Satyen, who, noticing him proceeding towards
the dispensary room, ran out and fired. Goswami,
fleeing past Kanailals ward, was shot
at by him. He ran down the staircase pursued
by the two firing, until he fell dead in a drain
before the hospital gate. Convicts and warders
seized and disarmed them. Both were sentenced
to death.
Satyen refused to interview his mother until
she promised to hold back tears before the attending
officials. On her heartrending appeal, Hem Chandra
took upon himself the blame and asked Satyen
to merely for her satisfaction. He did, with
the expected result, which was welcome to himself
he was hanged on 21 November 1908. He faced
gallows with calm dignity. Lest there be demonstrations,
his dead body was withheld .His relative, Abinash
Chandra Roy, arraigned for the well known Brahmo
leader and Acharya (Priest) Shibnath Shastri
to conduct prayer before cremation inside jail.
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