Patna: As the nation celebrates Independence Day and remembers those who fought British rule, Patna faces an uncomfortable question: why has the city failed to adequately honour Batukeshwar Dutt, one of the resolute revolutionaries of India’s freedom struggle who chose the Bihar capital as his home after Independence?Dutt, who stood alongside Bhagat Singh in one of the most dramatic acts of anti-colonial resistance, spent his final years in Jakkanpur, where he built a house and lived until his death on July 20, 1965. Yet, decades later, his memory remains largely absent from Patna’s public landscape.On April 8, 1929, Dutt and Bhagat Singh hurled bombs inside the central legislative assembly in Delhi to protest British repression. Amid the smoke, they raised the slogans “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Samrajyavad ka Nash Ho” and scattered red pamphlets declaring the objective was “To Make the Deaf Hear.”They deliberately surrendered, intending to turn the courtroom into a platform to expose colonial injustice. While Bhagat Singh was later hanged, Dutt was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Cellular Jail in the Andamans. He was later incarcerated in Hazaribagh, Delhi and Bankipur jails.Released in 1938 on health grounds, Dutt rejoined the freedom movement following Mahatma Gandhi’s call, leading to another imprisonment. After Independence, he was released and chose Patna for his remaining years.While Dutt’s ancestral home in Bardhaman has been developed as a museum by the West Bengal govt, Patna has yet to establish a memorial or museum in his memory.Intach state convener Bhairab Lal Das said Dutt’s contribution should be included in school textbooks and called for a research institution on India’s freedom struggle in his memory.
