Top 10 Sensational Facts about Sarat Chandra Bose

Top 10 Sensational Facts about Sarat Chandra Bose

Sarat Chandra Bose was an Indian lawyer with a diverse personality. The elder brother of Subhas Chandra Bose, Sarat was a freedom fighter, a humanist, a political thinker, a journalist, a legal practitioner, a parliamentarian, and a philanthropist. Also among his many roles, Sarat was said to be a patriot who contributed significantly to India’s freedom struggle.

The second son and fourth child of Janakinath and Prabhabati Bose, Sarat was born in 1889, in Cuttack, Odisha. Sarat’s higher education was in Kolkata after his matriculation at the age of 12 years. In 1909, Sarat completed his MA from Calcutta University, and in 1911, he qualified as a lawyer. Sarat’s father Janakinath was also a remarkable legal practitioner. Nonetheless, it was Sarat who became the first person in his family to qualify for the Bar in England between 1912 and 1914.

It’s said Sarat’s earnings were high and he also lived a lavish lifestyle. Those close to Sarat said he gave quite a considerable sum of his earnings. He is said to have spent his money on needy students, the poor, and freedom fighters. Sarat is also said to have financially supported his younger brother Subhas Chandra. Sarat considered Subhas’ successes as accomplishments of his own dreams.

Below are ten amazing facts about Sarat Chandra Bose.

1. Sarat and his younger brother Subhas were both in the freedom movement

Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, standing extreme right, with his large family of 14 siblings in Cuttack, India, ca. 1905. Photo by Netaji Research Bureau, Calcutta/Wikimedia Commons

Sarat and Subhas were both followers of ‘Deshbandhu’ Chittaranjan Das and conformed to his political philosophy. Sarat was a believer in morality and believed that ‘Nothing which is morally wrong is politically right’.

With this ideology, Sarat served as a politician in several capacities. He was a Swarajya Party member of the Bengal Legislative Council, an Alderman in the Calcutta Corporation in 1924, and from 1930 to 1932, Sarat served as a Councillor.

2. Sarat was imprisoned for his involvement in the Civil Disobedience Movement

Delegates to the first meeting of the Indian National Congress in Bombay, 1885. Photo by Wikimedia Commons

In 1930, Sarat gave up his professional practice for Congress work. He also joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. Sarat secretly gave large sums of his earnings to the revolutionary movement in Bengal an alternative he preferred to the non-violent movement.

In 1932, Sarat was jailed for his involvement with the movement. Under Regulation III of 1818, Sarat spent three years at Jabalpur and Seoni Jails. He was later confined to his house in Kurseong.

3. Sarat wanted to assist revolutionaries in a prison break

In 1931, Sarat traveled from Kolkata to Chittagong to meet with some of his defendants. The defendants were revolutionaries. Unknown to all, Sarat had carried a live bomb in his briefcase. He wanted to give the live bombs to the revolutionaries for them to attempt a jailbreak.

4. Sarat and his brother had close connections with Irish revolutionaries

Subhas Chandra Bose Photo by Netaji Research Bureau, Calcutta/Wikimedia Commons

Sarat and his brother Subhas had associates in the Irish revolution. The close relations began when Sarat met Madame Maud Gonne MacBride, the renowned heroine of the Sinn Féin and of the Irish revolution.

The meeting took place in 1914 in Paris as Sarat was returning from England. Subhas also met Madame MacBride. Sarat met her once again in 1948 in Dublin and also met her son Seán MacBride, the president of Ireland. The brothers were also close associates of Éamon de Valera, the revolutionary leader.

5. In 1934 Sarat turned down a Congress nomination to the Central Legislative Assembly

In late 1934, while Sarat was in jail, he was nominated to the Central Legislative Assembly which he turned down. On 18 August 1934, Sarat contested and won as a candidate of the Nationalist Party.

He was elected to the Central Assembly as a state prisoner under the party formed by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.

6. Sarat and his brother worked with Mahatma Gandhi

Studio photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, London, 1931. Photo by Elliott & Fry/Wikimedia Commons

Sarat and Subhas were leaders of Congress with Subhas serving as president in 1938 and 1939. Due to serious differences in Congress, the Bose brothers parted ways with Mahatma Gandhi and his followers.

This led all the Congress Working Committee members to resign in March 1939. Subhas resigned from his position the following month and the Bose brothers were suspended from Congress thereafter.

7. Sarat formed a political party with the aim of dislodging the Muslim League ministry

After their resignation from Congress, Sarat formed the Progressive Coalition Party. Despite his suspension, a majority of the Bengal Congress Parliamentary Party members sided with him.

Sarat formed a coalition with A.K. Fazlul Haque of the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party in Bengal. The aim was to remove the Muslim League ministry in the state, an attempt in which they were successful.

In December 1941, Sarat was to become the home minister but was arrested before he could take office. He was arrested by the British government under the Defence of India Rules.

8. Sarat protested the partition of Bengal and Punjab

Viceroy of India: Lord and Lady Mountbatten with Mahatma Gandhi. Photo by Through My Eyes/Wikimedia Commons

Following his release from prison late in 1945, Sarat rejoined national politics under the Congress banner. The party was victorious and he was made the Central Legislative Assembly’s leader of the opposition although he later resigned.

Before and after the Mountbatten Plan, Sarat protested the partition of Bengal and Punjab. The partition issue was what caused him to resign. Sarat initiated a protest cause as early as February 1947.

With the partition imminent Sarat wrote to Sardar Vallabhai Patel. His letter stated that future generations would condemn them for conceding the division of India and supporting the partition of Bengal and Punjab.

9. Sarat published a daily and weekly publication

To promote the idea of India as a union of socialist republics, Sarat utilized several publications. In 1948, he published a periodical known as The Socialist Republican as well as The Nation which was a daily newspaper.

Sarat also published a Bengali weekly known as Mahajati. On 21 February 1950, a day after Sarat died, The Nation published Sarat’s signed editorial. In the editorial, Sarat encouraged East Pakistan to join the Indian Union as a separate state for the well-being of Bengali Hindus and Muslims.

10. Sarat made an address at the first conference of the United Socialist Organisation

Statue of Sharat Chandra Bose in Kolkata between Rajbhawan and High Court. Photo by Pinakpani/Wikimedia Commons

In his capacity as president, Sarat made his address at the first United Socialist Organisation conference. The conference was held on October 20, 1949, in Kolkata. In his address, Sarat presented an eight-point program for national reconstruction.

The program highlighted issues such as equal rights for everyone and large-scale production on a scientific basis for India’s economic regeneration. The program also highlighted the application of the principles of equality and social justice in building a free India.

Sarat’s death on February 20, 1950, was considered a major setback to all the plans and actions that he had instigated.