Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Roy

Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray^[1] (Bengali: ভূপেন্দ্রকিশোর রক্ষিত রায়) (19 March 1902 – 24 April 1972) was an Indian revolutionary, writer, and social worker from Dhaka. A prominent member of the Bengal Volunteers, he was active under Hemchandra Ghosh's guidance and imprisoned as a state detainee from 1930 to 1938. Editor of the influential magazine Benu (1928–1932), he was known for inspiring youth activism. After his release, he contributed to refugee rehabilitation in Dandakaranya and held leadership roles in Mahajati Sadan and Biplabi Niketan. Married to fellow revolutionary Ujjwala Majumdar, his notable literary works include Chalar Pathe, Biplab Tirthe, and Bharater Sashastra Biplab.^[2][3][4]

Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray was born on 19 March 1902 in the city of Mymensingh, in the Bengal Presidency of British India (now in Bangladesh). His father, Yogendra Kishore Rakshit Roy, was originally from Keraniganj Upazila, located near Dhaka. He completed his early education in Dhaka and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dhaka.^[5][6]

From a young age, Rakshit Ray became involved in nationalist politics. He was among the early and active members of the Bengal Volunteers, a revolutionary organisation founded in the 1920s to liberate India through armed struggle.^[7][8][9]

In 1926, Bhupendra Kishore became associated with Benu, a Bengali language magazine first published in April that year (Boishakh 1333 in the Bengali calendar). Founded by Rebati Mohan Burman, a Marxist thinker and one of the three co-founders of the National Book Agency, Benu aimed to instil revolutionary ideals among Bengali youth during British rule.^[10][11][12]

The magazine appeared at a time of ideological tension and transition in India. While Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent movement inspired many, the idea of armed struggle and Marxist thought were also gaining traction. After a disagreement between Burman and Hemchandra Ghosh—the founder of Mukti Sangha (later collaborated with the Bengal Volunteers Corps)—Bhupendra Kishore took over the editorial responsibilities of Benu. The magazine was printed by Davenham Press, managed by Hemchandra Guha and Nirmal Chandra Guha.^[13][14]

Under Bhupendra Kishore's editorship, Benu addressed a wide array of issues, including women's rights, student and labour movements, mistreatment of political prisoners, and communal violence. It provided coverage of events such as:

• The Salt March
• The Chittagong Armoury Raid
• Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt's legislative bombing
• The Hijli firing incident
• The 1929 British general elections

The magazine also featured a regular column titled Bishwobarta ("World News"), which reported on international developments like the Sacco and Vanzetti trial in the United States, reforms by Afghanistan's Amir Amanullah, Soviet industrial growth, and the candidacy of imprisoned Indian communist Shaukat Usmani in the 1929 UK elections.

During this period, Bhupendra Kishore, also came into contact with Tagore.^[15] On the day Benu was launched, Tagore contributed a verse that symbolically marked the occasion:

"When birds cease their song at noon, O shepherd, play your flute alone."

Bhupendra was later arrested and imprisoned in Peshawar Jail on charges of sedition. While incarcerated, he engaged in correspondence with Tagore, discussing themes of nationalism and literature across European and Bengali contexts.^[16] Tagore is said to have replied to each of Ray's letters, and their exchanges reflected a shared intellectual and cultural engagement despite generational and ideological differences.^[17]

Despite its underground revolutionary alignment, Benu maintained a balanced editorial tone. It expressed respect for Gandhi and the Indian National Congress while constructively criticising policies such as the Nehru Report (1928) and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1930). It also saluted armed revolutionaries, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions on the subject.

The magazine often took great risks by publishing photographs and letters of revolutionaries who were labelled as "terrorists" or "dacoits" by colonial authorities. The October 1929 (Ashwin 1336) issue gained notoriety for its tribute to Jatindra Nath Das, who died after a 63-day hunger strike in Lahore Jail. Another widely read edition was the "Dinesh Gupta Issue" following the hanging of revolutionary Dinesh Gupta in July 1931.^{[18][19][20][5][6]}

Bhupendra Kishore was arrested for sedition in 1929 after Benu published an editorial on labour exploitation and a short story by Sudhir Ghosh. He was arrested again in 1930 after the assassination of Police I.G. Lowman in Dhaka by Benoy Basu, a member of the Bengal Volunteers.^[21][22][23] Later editors of Benu, including Sunil Sengupta and Prasanna Kumar Pal, were also arrested. The magazine ceased publication in early 1932 following the arrest of its final editor.^{[24][25][26][27]}

On 4 September 1930, Bhupendra Kishore was arrested by the British colonial authorities. Although there was no concrete evidence to prosecute him in a court of law, he was detained under the provisions of the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1930, a law that permitted preventive detention without trial for suspected revolutionaries.^{[28][8][9][29][30][31]}

Over the following years, he was held in various prisons across British India. His sequence of detentions included:^[32]

• Presidency Jail, Kolkata – from 4 September 1930
• Buxar Jail – from 27 March 1931
• Peshawar Jail – transferred on 2 January 1932
• Bareilly Jail – transferred on 22 June 1935

The relocation of political prisoners to distant jails was a common strategy employed by colonial authorities to disrupt revolutionary networks and isolate detainees from their regional bases of support.

On 3 October 1937, even after several years of incarceration, Bhupendra Kishore was detained once again and confined in the Hijli Detention Camp, which was notorious for its harsh conditions and treatment of political prisoners. He was finally released unconditionally on 25 August 1938, marking the end of nearly eight years of continuous detention without formal trial.^[33][34]

Between 1930 and 1938, Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray remained incarcerated as a state prisoner in multiple jails across British India. In 1938, while held at Presidency Jail in Calcutta, he was brought before Mahatma Gandhi, who was then visiting the prison. Shortly after this meeting, Bhupendra Kishore was unconditionally released, bringing an end to nearly eight years of continuous detention.^[35][36]

Following his release, Bhupendra Kishore became actively involved in social and community development initiatives. He played a significant role in the rehabilitation of refugees in Dandakaranya, a region where thousands of displaced persons from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) were resettled in the post-Partition period.^[37][38][39]

He was also associated with several institutions in West Bengal. He served as a trustee of Mahajati Sadan, a cultural and historical institution envisioned by Subhas Chandra Bose in Kolkata, and was the vice-president of Biplabi Niketan, an organisation committed to preserving the legacy of India's freedom fighters.^[37][38][39]

Additionally, he maintained close ties with educational and rural welfare institutions such as Saptagram Sarveshwar High School and the Badu Palli Niketan organisation in the North 24 Parganas district.

Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray was married to Ujjwala Majumdar, herself a committed revolutionary. She was notably an accused in the attempted assassination of British governor John Anderson in Darjeeling, highlighting the couple's shared dedication to the anti-colonial cause.^[40][41] He remained an ardent supporter of Bose's ideology, closely observing major developments such as the Gandhi–Bose ideological rift, the formation of the Forward Bloc, and Bose's efforts to establish the Indian National Army.^[30][31][42]

Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray was also a prolific writer whose works focused on India's armed revolutionary movement, the political evolution of the country, and broader social issues. His writings reflect a deep commitment to nationalistic ideals and historical analysis.^[43][44][45]

His publications include:

• Je Pataka Matite Nameni ("The Flag That Never Touched the Ground")
• Bharatiya Rajnitir Ruprekha ("An Outline of Indian Politics")
• Chalar Pathe ("On the Path of Progress")
• Nari ("Woman")
• Sabar Alakshe^[46] ("Unseen by All", 2 volumes)
• Bharater Sashastra Biplab^[47] ("India's Armed Revolution")
• Biplab Tirthe^[48] ("Pilgrimage to Revolution")

These works continue to be referenced for their insight into the ideological undercurrents and personal sacrifices that defined Revolutionary movement for Indian independence.^[49][50]

Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Ray died on 24 April 1972, leaving behind a legacy of political activism, social service, and literary scholarship dedicated to the cause of Indian Independence Movement.

• Hemendranath Dasgupta, Bharater Biplab Kahini, II & III, Calcutta, 1948;
• Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, III, Calcutta 1963;
• Ganganarayan Chandra, Abismaraniya, Calcutta, 1966.

• Works by or about Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Roy at the Internet Archive
• Works by Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Roy at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Roy at Open Library
• Newspaper clippings about Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit Roy in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW