Jatin was well known not
only for his physical prowess, but also for his absolute commitment toward
his principles. He on more then one occasion spent time in jail for assaulting
British officers. An example is of reaction when he noticed four British
officers harassing a young lady and her grandfather on a train in a neighboring
compartment. Bhaga Jatin ripped apart the bars that separated the compartments
and made short work of four officers single-handedly. He was arrested for
the action a few days later, but the judge fearing that the publicity would
inspire other Indians youth to follow in Bhaga's footsteps dismissed the
case.
His methods for bringing
India closer to independence were often violent. He advocated and taught
other young revolutionaries to make and use bombs and firearms. While pursued
his passion secretly, he maintained his day job as a stenographer to the
Governor's secretary. The police commissioner, Tegart, was puzzled by the
continued spate of deadly assaults on British officers. It seemed that
as soon as one revolutionary was caught and hanged, another sprung up.
They did suspect Bhaga Jatin to be mastermind of the revolutionary operations
but could produce no proof against him. A young jailed revolutionary was
tricked into revealing the identity of his leader and Jatin was arrested
based on the revolutionary's confession. Jatin was held for fifteen months
before being released for lack of proof.
Soon after his release, Jatin
quit his government job and opened up a contracting firm known as Harry
Company. This company was a front for importing arms from Japan and Germany
to continue the fight for India independence. When Aravinda Gosh left for
Pondicherry, Jatin took over leadership of the revolutionaries. A plan
was setup by Jatin, Rash Behari Bose and other revolutionaries to launch
an armed conflict against the British army on February 21, 1915 in Punjab
and the rest of North India. An informant in guise of a revolutionary relayed
the planned campaign to the Bristish. The British swooped down upon the
revolutionaries. Those who were arrested were sent to the gallows. The
officials in Calcutta went on alert and a manhunt for Jatin began.
He was tracked down to a
hideout in Kaptipada. He along with four other young revolutionaries went
into the nearby forest in an attempt to escape the British. A gentleman
against all odds, Jatin backtracked to the house where the revolutionaries
had sought shelter in the middle of the night to thank the owner for his
hospitality.
The five revolutionaries
ended being cornered on a small hill and there they held off British officers
for hours. When the British soldiers finally reached the top they found
one dead and the other four revolutionaries severely wounded. As Jatin
was being taken to the hospital he insisted that he himself was entirely
responsible for the days events and that the three surviving companions
had nothing to do with what had happened. Jatin's undying devotion to his
cause and his single-minded dedication to India's freedom commanded the
respect of those who worked so hard to have him captured. Police commissioner
Tegart rushed from Calcutta to Jatin's side as he was being operated on.
Jatin passed away on September the 15th, 1915. Officer Tegart remarked
at Jatin's deathbed that Bhaga Jatin was one of the bravest Indians he
had ever seen.
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