Blessed with high intellect and ideological capacity Bipin Chandra Pal is considered as the founder of Indian National Revolutionary Thought. He was a great freedom fighter, he was a great nationalist who fought bravely for the pious cause of India's freedom. He was a great social reformer, an educationist who held high morals and led a principled life. He invested his entire life for the cause of Indian freedom. He with his strong belief and efforts shook the foundations of the English Rule in India. He was one of the pioneers and at the forefront in Indian Swadeshi Movement. Revolutionary Bipin Chandra pal is enumerated as one of the Majestic leaders in Indian history whose role is very critical in laying the strong foundations of Indian Freedom Struggle. He was the keen sculptor of the Bengali Renaissance.
Bipin Chandra Pal's name is enshrined in golden letters for his contributions in the Indian Freedom Movement. Besides being a Nationalist leader who open marched against the English Colonial Regime ,he was the part of the troica of Laal, Baal, Paal who were the chief exponents of the Indian revolutionary activity.
Bipin Chandra Pal's personality and fame was widespread and he was recognized as a remarkable politician, journalists an educationalists along with exceptional oratory skills known worldwide.
Bipin Chandra Pal made immense sacrifices and struggles for India's freedom, he worked with exceptional leaders and politicians of that time in order to consolidate the freedom movement from the grass root level. He was able to instill a new vigour and enthusiasm among the people for national struggle by making people aware of the cause of freedom.
He was of firm belief that Swaraj could never be attained by the moderates methods of prayers and petitions. He used to belief that in order to attain swaraj there was a need to strike hard against the foreign rule. In regard of his believes he is considered as the founder of the extremist ideology in the freedom movement.
The time when Bipin Chandra Pal was born the entire nation was strangled under the terror and brutality of English rule.
Great revolutionary Bipin Chandra Pal was born on 7 November 1858 in Poil village of Habibganj District of undivided India which now is in Bangladesh.
He was born in a well to do Hindu vaishnav family, his fathers name was Ramchandra Pal he was a Persian scholar and a small time zamindar. His mothers name was Narayani Devi, at a very small age Bipin Chandra Pal became associated with Brahmo Samaj. Likewise Bipin Chandra Pal too used to fight against social evils and orthodoxic norms, he was a staunch opponent of caste discrimination.
He started raising his voice against discrimination on the basis of caste as early as at the age of 14 years. His protest against caste discrimination was not merely an eyewash but his character and manner too coincided his with his views. He got married to a widow which wasn't a acceptable norm in the Indian society back then. Hence this led to break of family ties, but he was firm on his stand despite parental and societal pressures. He also fought against many other social evils that had religious as well as societal implications, he fought for various reforms in society that were taboo as well he also worked for the upliftment an empowerment of women whose position in the society was very dismal.
For his higher education he took admission in the Calcutta University but due to certain reasons he couldn't complete his studies and left in between by 1789 he started teaching in a school. He was fond of reading and worked as a librarian in the Calcutta Public Library, where he came to meet leaders like Shivnath Shashtri, S.N Banerjee and B.K Goswami who left a deep impact on Bipin Chandra Pals's Life.
It is because of them he ventured into fulltime politics , later he got inspired with extremist and nationalist patriotism after coming into company of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh.
With the impact and inspiration from such people he decided to dedicate his entire life to the cause of Indian Freedom Movement.
He rose against the oppressive colonial policy and the despotic English rule and helped in uniting and forming the narrative of Swaraj.
In the third congress session of 1887 he vociferously raised his voice condemning the oppressive Arms Act.
Later on in 1898 he went to England to study about comparative ideology and religious studies, after spending a years time he returned back to India and started advocating the ideology of Swaraj to common people with greater Zeal and Vigour. He was able to define a somewhat easy and widely understood meaning of Swaraj and Swadeshi for the common folks while laying the road's for India's path to freedom.
Bipin Chandra Pal was a staunch opponents of partition of Bengal in 1905 , he played a crucial role in raising awareness about the colonial hegemony and fascist British policies his efforts during those time is somewhat unforgettable.
He hosted hundreds of processions, meetings and assemblies where he raised his voice, he called for complete boycott of foreign goods.
He laid down the framework for the Indian Freedom Struggle, he was of the firm belief that courage and bravery provides the will to self help and sacrifice which was the only way to attain complete national and political freedom.
Term Swaraj for the first time was used by Swami Dayanand Saraswati but turning swaraj into a peoples movement was the work of Laal,Baal and Paal. They put an end to the policy of prayer and petition and confronted the British for Purna Swaraj(complete freedom) or political freedom.
Before Gandhiji arrival to the forefront of India's freedom struggle in 1915 ,the tribute for organizing the first ever successful people's movement goes to Laal,Baal and Paal.
Bipin Chandra Pal's thought that the British colonial policies led to exploitation of India's wealth and dwindling economy led to greater poverty and unemployment in the country, so he advised the people of India to go for Swadeshi ie (Indigenized or domestic ) products and boycott foreign goods.
With his fierce agenda he was able to greatly encourage the use of home grown and domestically used products. Indians started boycotting machine made goods imported from factories in Britain, there was community burning of foreign clothes, while strikes were organized in factories and educational institutions.
He single handedly challenged the might of the British Raj.
With his political weekly Bande Mataram in 1907 he was able to garland huge public opinion and anger against the British rule. Due to which he was jailed on the charges of treason.
As and when he was released the his movement went ahead with greater force than ever before.
In 1907 he also went to England and became a member of the India House, there he established a publication named "swaraj" in 1908. With his journal he was able to spread his revolutionary thought and ideology to greater no of people in India and abroad.
In July 1909 when Madan Lal Dhingra was arrested on the charges of murdering Curzon Wyllie the publication of Swaraj was also banned because of which Bipin Chandra Pal suffered not just economically but also mentally.
Because of this event he stayed away for sometime from his revolutionary and extremist activities, he shifted his attention towards social and mental development of human beings.
He was of the opinion that goodwill among people across the nation can only prevail if we strengthen our efforts on social development.
After the ban on Swaraj Patrika he returned back to India where he started another Journal with the name of Hindu Review Patra.
Later on he shifted away from the extremist and revolutionary nationalist ideology.
Being the chief formulator and propagator of Swaraj he was the first person who criticized and opposed the ideology and methods of Mahatma Gandhi.
He was also against the non-cooperation movement, disapproval with Gandhian thought had been started from the time he arrived in India in 1915.
Disagreement with Gandhiji's methods was highly felt during the congress session of 1921, during those times Bipin Chandra Pal through his speeches criticized Gandhiji magical thinking rather than his rational policies.
During the last days of his life , while staying in Calcutta he sided himself completely away from national politics.
With his writings and articles he immensely tried to instigate into the people the seeds of nationalism and social enlightenment, he was a great patriot who used his messages and journalistic profession to ignite in the hearts and mind of the people the feeling of patriotism and sacrifice.
For the cause of Swaraj he published many journals , books and weekly magazines, besides being a great patriot he was also a great writer and an editor.
Bipin Chandra pal is considered a journalist of far right and extremist ideology.
Some of his renowned books include Indian Nationalism, Nationality and Empire, Swaraj and the Present Situation, The Basis of Social Reform, The Soul of India and The New Spirit and Queen Victoria.
Bipin Chandra Pal also edited newspapers like Democrats, Swatantra and various other journals.
Besides Paridarshak New India ,Vande Mataram Aur Swaraj, he published various other journals.
He was one of the members of the editorial staff of the Bengal Public Opinion, in 1887-1888 he worked as a editor in Tribune newspaper in Lahore.
In 1901 he became the editor and publisher of a English Weekly known as Bharat.
In 1906 the publication of Bande Mataram started by him was shut down later on he continued to contribute through his writings in Aadhunik Samiksha ,Amrit Bazar Patrika and The Statesman.
He was not only a great leader and journalist but also a great orator, his speeches and lectures on nationalism entitle him with the position of one of the most powerful speakers and soothsayer on nationalism.
Starting from 1904 Bombay session of congress,1905 Partition of Bengal, Swadeshi Movement, Non Cooperation Movement and 1923 Bengal Treaty true patriot Bipin Chandra Pal took part in various other movements during that time.
His role in fighting against social evils and raising nationalistic thought among people is matchless.
In 1907 when Shri Aurobindo was charged for Treason and Bipin Chandra Pal was called for testimony he refrained from doing so for which he was jailed for 6 months.
Bipin Chandra Pal used to believe that Slavery is against humanistic soul and god has made every creature free, he used to dream of a society that was free from all sorts of class and caste discrimination.
During the last days of his life he lived a secluded life away from politics but he always dreamt of a free and independent India.
On 20th may 1932 he took his last breath with this India lost one of its great and combative freedom fighters, his selflessness and sacrifice can never be forgotten, this country shall always remain indebted to him for his struggles and sacrifices for the attainment of Swaraj.
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