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Aug 15, 2022, 25 tweets

Today is a day to introduce some forgotten freedom fighters.
They had one common link - all were communists. And they didn’t send any mercy petition to the British.🧵
#IndiaAt75
-#AzadiKaAmritMahotsav

1. Muzaffar Ahmed. Chief accused in Meerut conspiracy. 3 years in Andaman Cellular jail. Arrested in 1929, released in 1936 - the longest term in the Meerut case. Moved to India after partition. @cpimspeak founder member.

2. Ganesh Ghosh. Joined the Anushilan Samiti revolutionary movement. In 1930, Ghosh, Surya Sen, and many other Anushilan members took part in the Chittagong armory raid, Chittagong armoury raid accused. He spent 14 years in Cellular jail. Later became @cpimspeak MLA & MP.

3. Kalpana Dutta. Chittagong armoury raid accused. A member of Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. To free Surya she tried to bomb the jail with explosives but failed. She was sent to Cellular Jail & released after 6 years. @cpofindia member.

4. Subodh Roy(Jhunku). At the age of 14, he was the youngest participant in the Chittagong armoury raid. At 14 he was in jail, at 19 he was deported to Andaman. Total jail term - 10 years, 6 in Cellular. @cpimspeak state committee member.

5. Ambika Chakraborty. A member of Chittagong Jugantar party, he took part in the Chittagong armoury raid. He was sentenced to death which was later changed to transpiration for life. Spent 16 years in Cellular jail. Released in 1946. Joined @cpofindia and became an MLA.

6. Ananta Singh. In 1923, he and Nirmal Sen robber the treasury office of the Assam Bengal Railway as directed by Surya Sen. Took part in the Chittagong armoury raid. He spent 20 years in prison, 16 in Cellular. Brought back to mainland after Gandhi & Tagore’s intervention.

7. Shiv Verma. Bhagat Singh's trusted lieutenant. He was keu member of Lahore conspiracy.Accused of Lahore conspiracy, he spent 17 years in Cellular jail. Later he joined @cpofindia and then @cpimspeak.

8. Harekrishna Konar. At the age of 18, he was deported to the Cellular Jail for 6 years for making arms and bombs for the Jugantar group. There he took part in the first hunger strike. Mentor of freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt, Shiv Verma. @cpimspeak founder member.

9. Laxmi Sehgal. Officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Handpicked by Netaji Subhas Bose. Arrested by British in 1945 in Burma until 1946, when she was sent to India – at a time when the INA trials. Joined @cpimspeak.

10. Jaidev Kapoor. Took part in assembly bombing as a protest against Trade Dispute Bill and Public Safety Bill. Tried under the infamous Lahore Conspiracy Case, He was sent to the Kala Pani for 16 years.

11. Ajoy Ghosh. Became a close friend of Bhagat Singh at the age of 14. Arrested & later imprisoned after Lahore Conspiracy Case trial in 1929 but released for lack of evidence. Ajoy along with his colleagues went on hunger strike for 63 days. Later he was the GS of @cpofindia

12. Kishori Lal. Jailed for his role in HSRA bomb-making unit. Sentenced to transportation for life for Lahore conspiracy. 18 years in jail, 5 years in solitary confinement. Released in 1946 and became a @cpofindia trade union leader. Took part in Goa liberation movement in 1952.

13. Satish Pakrashi. Became a member of the revolutionary organisation, Anushilan Samity at 14. Spent 32 years in jail, 6 years In Andaman for Kolkata's Mechhuabazar Bombing case. In the Cellular Jail, he subscribed to the communist ideology.
Became @cpimspeak leader in Bengal.

14. Sohan Singh Josh. Jailed for 3 years for anti-British activities. Released, he published Kirti, a tool to propagate Bhagat Singh’s idea. Arrested again for Meerut conspiracy. Released, he joined @cpofindia and founded communist paper, Jang-i-Azadi in 1943.

15. Aruna Asaf Ali. Hoisted the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan, Bombay during the Quit India Movement in 1942. Supported Naval Mutiny. She along with JP were called the Political children of Gandhi but recent students of Karl Marx.

16. B T Randive. Supported and organised solidarity strike in support of the Naval mutiny. Later became @cpofindia General Secretary.

17. EMS Namboodripad. Left college in 1931 to join the freedom struggle and was jailed in the satyagraha movement. He was on the most wanted list of the British government from 1934-42. Founder member of @cpimspeak Kerala’s first communist Chief Minister.

18. Harkishen Singh Surjeet. As a teenager, became follower of Bhagat Singh. Hoisted the tricolour in March 1932 at the district court in Hoshiarpur at the age of 16. Arrested in 1940, spent time in solitary confinement and later released from jail in 1944. @cpimspeak secretary.

18. Sudhangshu Dasgupta. In 1930, in connection with the Mechuabazar Bomb Case, he got arrested with 23 others. In 1932, He was sent to the Andaman Cellular jail. Later editor of @CPIM_WESTBENGAL organ Desh Hitoishi.

20. Shaukat Usmani. Sentenced to a total of 16 years in jail after being tried in the Kanpur Case of 1923 and later the Meerut Conspiracy Case of 1929. Rejected British citizenship. Founder member of @cpofindia

21. Saroj Mukherjee. In 1930, he participated in the Civil Disobedience movement and got jailed. Released from jail in 1938. Founder-members of @cpimspeak.

22. Niranjan Sengupta. A leader of the Barisal branch of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti. In 1930, in connection with the Mechuabazar Bomb Case, he got arrested with 23 others. In 1932, He was sent to the Andaman Cellular jail. Later became an MLA & Minister from @CPIM_WESTBENGAL.

23. Puram Chand Joshi. In 1929, he was arrested at the age of as one of the suspects of the Meerut Conspiracy Case. Got six years of transportation to the penal settlement of Andaman Islands. Considering his age, the punishment was later reduced to three. GS of @cpofindia.

Bonus fact: The 138 members at the first party congress of the Communist Party of India in 1943 had collectively spent 434 years in jail.
They don’t need preaching on patriotism from followers of Godse.

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