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{{short description|Indian revolutionary (1904–1929)}}
{{redirect|Jatin Das|the Indian painter and sculptor|Jatin Das (painter)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jatindra Nath Das
| native_name = যতীন্দ্রনাথ দাস
| native_name_lang = be
| image = Jatindranath Das alias Khedu.jpg
| caption = Jatin Das in {{circa|1929}}
| birth_name = Jatindra Nath Das
| birth_date = {{birth date|1904|10|27|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]<br />(now [[Kolkata, West Bengal]], India)
| death_date = {{death date and age|1929|09|13|1904|10|27|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], [[British India]]<br />(now in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])
| death_cause = [[Hunger strike]]
| occupation = [[Revolutionary]]
| employer = [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]]
| other_names = Khedu,Jatin Da
| known_for = {{ubl|Following a 63-day hunger strike in prison|Participating in the [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]]}}
| signature = Signature of Jatin Das.jpg
}}

{{Anushilan Samiti}}
'''Jatindra Nath Das''' ({{langx|bn|যতীন্দ্রনাথ দাস}}; 27 October 1904 – 13 September 1929), better known as '''Jatin Das''', was an Indian freedom fighter and [[Revolutionary movement for Indian independence|revolutionary]] who worked to make India independent from the [[British Raj]] and was a member of the [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]]. He died in the Borstal Jail, Lahore<ref name=":0" /> after a long 63-day [[hunger strike]] for the rights of political prisoners of India's freedom struggle.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dogra |first=Bharat |date=13 September 2019 |title=Remembering Jatindra Nath Das, a Crusader for Rights of Political Prisoners |url=https://thewire.in/history/freedom-fighter-jatindra-nath-das-political-prisoners |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref> He was only 24 years old when he died. His death proved to be a major incident in India's struggle for independence with more than five lakhs people attending his funeral.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why revolutionary 'Jatin Da' opted for a 63-day hunger strike over hanged to death |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/why-revolutionary-jatin-da-opted-for-a-63-day-hunger-strike-over-hanged-to-death-2599362-2024-09-13 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Tribune photo on Jatin Das shook British empire |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/the-tribune-photo-on-jatin-das-shook-british-empire-831659/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=The Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life==
Das was born in 1904 in a Bengali [[Bengali Kayastha|Kayastha]] family at [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to Bankim Behari Das and Smt. Suhasini Debi. Suhasini Debi passed away when Jatin Das was nine years old. He was a brilliant student and passed the matriculation in the First Division in 1921.<ref name=":1">Waraich, Malwinder Jit Singh(Ed.). ''Profile of a Martyr Jatin Das – A First Hand Account by His Brother Kiron Das''. Unistar Books. {{ISBN|978-93-5113-645-3}}</ref> He joined the [[Anushilan Samiti]], a revolutionary group in [[West Bengal|Bengal]], and also participated in [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]] in 1921, was convicted for picketing foreign cloth shops in Burrabazar in Calcutta and lodged in Hoogly Jail.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Remembering Jatindra Nath Das on his 114th birth anniversary: All about the feisty freedom fighter |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/jatindra-nath-das-340768-2016-09-13 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>

He joined South Suburban College(now called Ashutosh College) in 1922 and passed the Intermediate in First Division in 1924. He participated in the North Bengal Flood relief activities during this time. In November 1925, while studying for a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] at Vidyasagar College in Calcutta, Das was arrested for his political activities and was imprisoned at the jail in [[Mymensingh]]. While interned there, he went on a 21 day [[hunger strike]] to protest the ill-treatment meted out to the political prisoners. He along with Panna Babu was transferred to Dacca Central Jail and then to the notorious Mianwali Jail(now in Pakistan) as a punishment for the Mymensingh Jail incident. Jatin was brought back to Bengal and released by the end of October, 1928.<ref name=":1" />

On 14 June 1929, he was arrested for making the 'bomb' which was thrown by Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutt at the Assembly hall during a session. The 'bomb' was made only to make a sound and draw attention and not to harm anyone.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahluwalia |first=Paramjit |date=2013 |title=Bhagat Singh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/socialistlawyer.63.0032 |journal=Socialist Lawyer |issue=63 |pages=32–33 |doi=10.13169/socialistlawyer.63.0032 |issn=0954-3635|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Trial of Bhagat Singh |url=https://www.indialawjournal.org/archives/volume1/issue_3/bhagat_singh.html |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Indian Law Journal}}</ref> He was [[imprisoned]] in [[Lahore]] Jail to be tried under the supplementary [[Bhagat Singh#Hunger strike and Lahore conspiracy case|Lahore Conspiracy Case]], by the colonial government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-14 |title=Story Of Jatindra Nath Das Who Made Bombs For Bhagat Singh And Fasted For 63 Days In Jail |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/explainers/news/story-of-jatindra-nath-das-who-made-bombs-for-bhagat-singh-and-fasted-for-63-days-in-jail-577188.html |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Indiatimes |language=en-IN}}</ref>

==Hunger strike==
In [[Central Jail Lahore|Lahore Jail]], Das began another [[hunger strike]] along with other revolutionary fighters, demanding equality for Indian political prisoners with those from Europe. The conditions of Indian inhabitants of the jails was deplorable.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rawat |first=Ashish |date=29 September 2023 |title=Prejudice, Punishment, and Protest: The Carceral Experience under Colonial Rule in India |url=https://museumofbritishcolonialism.org/prejudice-punishment-and-protest-the-carceral-experience-under-colonial-rule-in-india/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=The Museum of British Colonialism |language=en-US}}</ref> The uniforms that Indian prisoners were required to wear in jail with were not washed for several days, and [[rat]]s and [[cockroach]]es roamed the [[kitchen]] area making the food unsafe to eat. Indian prisoners were not provided with any reading material such as newspapers, nor paper to write on. The condition of the British prisoners in the same jail was strikingly different.

Das's hunger strike started on 13 July 1929 and lasted 63 days. The jail authority took measures to forcibly feed him and the other independence activists. Eventually, the jail authority recommended his unconditional release, but the government rejected the suggestion and offered to release him on bail.

== Death and legacy ==
His medical report of 12 September 1929 read:<blockquote>'Das has fever- temperature morning 100 degrees, evening 99 degrees, pulse is 130 p.m.-very rapid. Vomitted only once in the day. Retching and hiccup still persists though less in frequency and duration. Mentally still clear. Taking water to which glucose is added without his knowledge.'<ref>Waraich, Malwinder Jit Singh(Ed.). ''Profile of a Martyr Jatin Das – A First Hand Account by His Brother Kiron Das''. Unistar Books. p. 59. {{ISBN|978-93-5113-645-3}}</ref></blockquote>Jatin Das died on 13 September 1929, Friday, at the lap of his brother Kiron Das at 1.00 pm.<ref>[http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Color/Suede%20Gray/Currency/P/JATINDRA%20NATH%20DAS ''Indian Post'' article]</ref> The bier was carried on shoulders by [[Gopi Chand Bhargava|Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava]], Dr. Muhammad Alam, [[Saifuddin Kitchlew|Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew]], Sardar Sardul Singh Caveseer, Dr. Benarasi Das, Sardar Kishan Singh(Bhagat Singh's father) and Lala Duni Chand.<ref name=":1" />

It is reported that Das used to sing Rabindranath Tagore's poem “[[Ekla Chalo Re|Ekla chalo re]],” in his final days.<ref>Papers of Comrade Ram Chandra, Installments I, II, and IV, NMML, Prime Ministers' Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.</ref>

[[Durgawati Devi]] led the funeral procession, which went from [[Lahore]] to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] by train. Sardar Kishan Singh, Bhagat Singh’s father, and Kiron Das, Jatin Das's younger brother accompanied the coffin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mohan |first=Jyotsna |date=2 May 2025 |title=A different fire |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/a-different-fire-a-friendship-in-the-british-raj-from-lahore-to-calcutta-prnt/cid/2097086#goog_rewarded |url-status=live |access-date=9 November 2025 |website=The Telegraph}}</ref> Thousands of people rushed to the [[railway station]]s to pay homage to Das. A two-mile long procession in Calcutta carried the coffin to the cremation ground. [[Subhash Chandra Bose]] (along with Smt. Basanti Devi -widow of C.R. Das, Mrs Kamla Nehru, Dr B.C. Roy, Shayama Prasad Mukerji and Maulvi Shamasuddin) received the coffin of Das at [[Howrah railway station]].<ref name=":1" /> Bose led the funeral procession to the cremation ground.

The hunger strike of Das in prison was a crucial moment in the resistance against illegal detentions.<ref name="durba">{{cite conference
|first=Durba
|last=Ghosh
|date=4–5 April 2003
|title=Britain's Global War on Terrorism:containing political violence and insurgency in the interwar years
|conference=How Empire Mattered: Imperial Structures and Globalization in the Era of British Imperialism
|location=Berkeley, CA
|url=http://ias.berkeley.edu/southasia/Ghosh.doc
|format=DOC
|access-date=8 April 2007
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609151220/http://www.ias.berkeley.edu/southasia/Ghosh.doc
|archive-date= 9 June 2007
}}</ref>
[[File:Jatin_Das_on_his_death_bed.jpg|thumb|Das on his death bed in 1929]]
[[File:Jatindra Nath Das 1979 stamp of India bw.jpg|thumb|Das on a 1979 post-stamp of India]]
After his death, the Viceroy informed London that "Mr. Das of the Conspiracy Case, who was on hunger strike, died this afternoon at 1 p.m. Last night, five of the hunger strikers gave up their hunger strike. So, there are only [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Batukeshwar Dutt]] who are on strike."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|author=Nayar, Kuldip |title=The Martyr: Bhagat Singh Experiments in Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bG9lA6CrgQgC|year=2000|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn=978-81-241-0700-3}}</ref>

Tributes were paid by almost every leader in the country. Mohammad Alam and [[Gopi Chand Bhargava]] resigned from the Punjab Legislative Council in protest. [[Motilal Nehru]] proposed the adjournment of the Central Assembly that was in session as a censure against the inhumanity shown against the Lahore prisoners. The censure motion was carried by 55 votes against 47. [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] said "Another name has been added to the long and splendid roll of Indian martyrs. Let us bow our heads and pray for strength to act to carry on the struggle, however long it may be and whatever consequences, till the victory is ours".

Prosecution Lawyer Carden Noad said: <blockquote>"I desire on behalf of us all to express sincere regret and genuine sorrow which we feel on account of the untimely death of Jatinder Nath Das. There are qualities which compel admiration of all men alike and the prominent among them are qualities of courage and constancy in pursuit of an ideal. Although we do not share the ideals which he followed, we can not but admire the unwavering fortitude and firmness of the purpose he displayed".<ref name=":1" /> </blockquote>Bose described Das as the "young [[Dadhichi]] of India", referring to the well known mythological yogi [[Dadhichi]] who sacrificed his life for the sake of killing a demon.

Later that year, Jawaharlal Nehru began his famous Presidential Speech at Lahore Congress (on 29, December 1929) with a homage to Jatin Das along with Burmese freedom fighter Vizaya<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Habib |first=Irfan |date=1997 |title=Civil Disobedience 1930-31 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3517680 |journal=Social Scientist |volume=25 |issue=9/10 |pages=43–66 |doi=10.2307/3517680 |issn=0970-0293|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In honour of Jatin Das [[Rabindranath Tagore|Tagore]] wrote:<blockquote>"All meanness is devoured by the fire of your anger—

O God, give us strength, have mercy on your devotees.

Sweep away, Almighty, what is false and petty—

May death be dwarfed by the ecstasy of life.

By churning the depths of suffering will be found immortality,

Those who fear death will be freed of their terror.

Your resplendent scorching power will melt and let flow

Freed of the chain of stones, a stream of sacrifice"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nair |first=Neeti |title=Changing homelands: Hindu politics and the partition of India |date=2011 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-05779-1 |location=Cambridge, Mass |page=122}}</ref></blockquote>[[File:The_Tribune_newspaper,_Jatin_Das_passes_away1929.png|thumb|Newspaper of [[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] which showed that Das died, 1929]]The [[Jatin Das Park metro station]] on the [[Kolkata Metro]] is named after him.

==Popular culture==
Tamil writer [[Ki. Rajanarayanan]]'s semi-historical novel ''[[Gopallapurathu Makkal]]'' (1989) makes a reference to Das.

In the 2002 film ''[[The Legend of Bhagat Singh]]'', the character of Das was played by [[Amitabh Bhattacharjee]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1569093/ Amitabh Bhattacharjee]. IMDb</ref> A 35-minute documentary film titled ''Immortal Martyr Jatin Das'' was released in 2009.<ref name="Chatterji">{{cite book |last=Chatterji |first=Shoma A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xV0lDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT36 |title=Filming Reality: The Independent Documentary Movement in India |publisher=SAGE Publications India |year=2015 |isbn=978-9-35150-543-3 |page=36}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ekla Chalo Re|Ekla chalo re]]
* [[Batukeshwar Dutt]]
* [[Pritilata Waddedar]]
* [[Potti Sreeramulu]]
* [[Thileepan]]
* [[Bhagat Singh]]
* [[Chandra Shekhar Azad]]
* [[Bagha Jatin]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |title=Bhagat Singh as 'Satyagrahi': The Limits to Non-violence in Late Colonial India |journal=Modern Asian Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=May 2009 |first=Neeti |last=Nair |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=649–681 |jstor=20488099 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x08003491|s2cid=143725577 }}
*Waraich, Malwinder Jit Singh(Ed.)(1981). ''Profile of a Martyr Jatin Das – A First Hand Account by His Brother Kiron Das''. Unistar Books. {{ISBN|978-93-5113-645-3}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jatindra Nath Das}}
*[http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Color/Suede%20Gray/Currency/P/JATINDRA%20NATH%20DAS ''Indian Post'' article]

{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Jatindra Nath}}
[[Category:Anushilan Samiti]]
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1929 deaths]]
[[Category:Activists from Kolkata]]
[[Category:People who died on hunger strike]]
[[Category:Indian hunger strikers]]
[[Category:Revolutionaries of Bengal during British Rule]]
[[Category:Vidyasagar College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British India]]
[[Category:Indian people who died in prison custody]]

Jatindra Nath Das - Revision history

IrmaBracy4216 at 10:00, 27 February 2026