Bipin Chandra Pal, a patriot who was in the vanguard of India’s independence movement against British imperial control, was born on this day 163 years ago. Pal was a well-known writer, orator, social reformer, and politician with a multi-faceted personality. He was a member of the ‘Lal Bal Pal’ trio, which also included Lala Lajpat Rai and Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.
Pal was born in a Hindu Kayastha household in British-ruled India’s Sylhet (now in Bangladesh) on November 7, 1858. He attended the Church Mission Society College (now known as St Paul’s Cathedral Mission College), a university-affiliated college in Calcutta. He was even a professor at the same university. Following the death of his first wife, he married a widow and became a member of the Brahmo Samaj.
Pal was a dedicated social reformer who worked tirelessly to rid Indian society of its evils. He was anti-caste and advocated for widow remarriage and female education. During the dark days of British rule in India, he played a significant role in instilling a sense of nationalism among the Indian people as a renowned Indian independence campaigner.
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Bipin Chandra Pal is known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts’ and he did not believe in the moderate manner of opposition to the foreign administration. He promoted the Swadeshi movement, together with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by boycotting all foreign-made items and emphasising the usage of Indian-made goods. Pal was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to present evidence in the Bande Mataram sedition case against Aurobindo Ghosh, a notable freedom fighter and philosopher. Pal was described by Ghosh as ‘one of the mightiest prophets of nationalism’. He died on May 20, 1932, in Kolkata.
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