sep 23, 1932 - Martyrdom of Pritilata Waddedar 1932

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She was Bengal's First Woman Martyr.
She was inspired by the valiant freedom fighter Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi.
Pritilata was part of several raids and attacks on symbols of British power in India like the Telephone & Telegraph offices and the reserve police line.

There was a British-exclusive club called the Pahartali European Club which attracted the attention of the revolutionaries. This club reportedly had a board which said, “Dogs and Indians not allowed.”
Surya Sen decided to attack this club and torch it.

On D-Day of the attack on 23 September 1932, Pritilata was designated as the leader of this attack. All the group members were provided potassium cyanide which they were asked to consume if caught.
On the assigned day, Pritilata led the gang. She was dressed as a Punjabi man.

Pritilata, who was sure to be caught by the British, swallowed the cyanide pill and paid the ultimate sacrifice to the cause of the nation. She was just 21 years old.


A revolutionary phase in Bengal saw large scale participation of young women under Surya Sen's leadership.
They provided shelters, acted as messengers and custodians of arms and fought guns in hand.
Preet lata Waddekar died while conducting a raid, while Kalpana Dutt was arrested and tried along with Surya Sen and given a life sentence.
In December 1931, two school girls, Shanti Ghosh and Suniti Chaudhary, shot dead the district magistrates.
In December 1932, Beena Das fired point blank at the Governor while receiving her degree at the convocation.

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