The Life and Times of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das

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One of the greatest son of India Chittaranjan Das was fondly known as 'Deshbandhu' which means 'Friend of the Nation'. This name was given to him in 1922, long after he had proved himself a successful lawyer who defended Aurobindo Ghose in the celebrated Alipore Bomb Case (May 1908-May 1909).

Apart from his profession of a lawyer, Chittaranjan Das was also a poet at heart. He published many books of his poems and essays. The most renowned is Sagar Sangeet, published in 1913. This was translated into English language by Aurobindo Ghose titled, The Song of the Seas.

Above all this, Chittaranjan Das was a great patriot. He dedicated his entire life toward his biggest dream—to attain `Swaraj' or Self-Governance for the country; although it is disheartening to know that he did not live long enough to experience it. He was successful to some extent in this work and in order to fulfil his dream, he established the Swaraj Party in December 1922, along with Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar and Motilal Nehru. Chittaranjan Das spent his entire life helping the poor and needy.

A must read biography of a true martyr to infuse sense of dedication and devotion to the motherland.

Nandini Saraf (14th August, 1986) is a freelance writer, currently assisting her father in his Export Business. She was born in Calcutta where she did her schooling from Birla High School (Girls' Section) and then went on to pursue Bachelors in English (Hons) under Calcutta University. She completed her Masters in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, in April 2011. During her 2-year Master's Programme, she also interned in The Telegraph, Calcutta, Madhubun Educational Books, Calcutta, and Macmillan India Limited, Calcutta.

The author interviewed Mrs. Aditi Mukerjea, the granddaughter of Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das. She is residing in Kolkata, in an apartment named, `Indrani built on one of the plots of Mr. Dasand owned by her. The building was named Indrani, after the youngest sister of Mrs. Mukerjea's. She had another sister, Ms. Swarupa Das, who died a few years ago. Mrs. Mukerjea is the eldest daughter of Sujata Devi and Chirarajan Das, the only son of Chittaranjan Das.