Netaji in the Famine Tracts of Undivided Dinajpur

January 23, 2026 Times of Dakshin Dinajpur 

Netaji in the Famine Tracts: A Legacy of Relief and Resilience

Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat

Archival records and local memory recall Subhas Chandra Bose’s visits to flood- and famine-ravaged Balurghat and adjoining regions in the 1920s, underscoring a lesser-known chapter of humanitarian intervention in India’s freedom struggle. Long before Subhas Chandra Bose emerged as the global symbol of militant nationalism, he walked through the devastated floodplains of undivided Dinajpur, confronting hunger, displacement and human despair at close quarters.

In late September 1922, a catastrophic flood swept through four districts of what was then Uttar Bongo. The Atrai River overflowed its banks, submerging vast stretches of land and leaving more than 1.5 million people affected. Among the worst hit were areas of Balurghat subdivision in undivided Dinajpur, along with Natore(Rajsahi Dist) and Naogaon subdivisions of present-day Bangladesh. A significant portion of the affected population belonged to marginalized Muslim communities.

The floods were followed by a severe famine in regions such as Dhamoirhat and Patnitala. It was to witness these conditions firsthand that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in the region, accompanied by his close associate, Dr. Jatindra Nath Sengupta. In response to the crisis, the Bengal Relief Committee was formed, through which Bose issued a nationwide appeal for aid. Nearly 400,000 rupees — a substantial sum at the time — were raised for famine relief.

Bose’s association with the region deepened over the years. On May 26, 1928, he arrived at Hili by the North Bengal Express, where he was accorded a civic reception. Hili, now within the borders of Bangladesh, was then an important political and cultural hub. Historical documents attest to Bose’s close ties with the local zamindar, Kumudnath Roy, and his visit to the Sarada Bhavan Library, where he left written remarks in the visitors’ book.

Congress leaders Pratap Chandra Majumdar and Nishith Kundu were among his associates during these visits. Bose’s revolutionary organization, the Bengal Volunteers, maintained active branches across Hili and undivided Dinajpur, reflecting the region’s strategic importance in the freedom movement.In Balurghat, Bose is remembered for having stayed overnight at the residence of the eminent freedom fighter Saroj Ranjan Chattopadhyay. During that visit, he inaugurated a Congress office in what is now known as Congress Para — a building that has since been lost to repeated flooding by the Atrai River.

Contemporary newspapers documented the scale of suffering. Prabasi, edited by Ramananda Chattopadhyay, reported that famine conditions remained “unchanged,” while other accounts spoke of families selling their children in desperation due to acute food shortages.According to Dr. Samit Ghosh, a noted historian and educator, these episodes reveal a dimension of Bose’s life that remains insufficiently acknowledged. “Despite his towering stature,” Dr. Ghosh said, “we have yet to accord Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose his full and rightful place in the moral and historical conscience of the nation.”

Nearly a century later, the memory of Bose’s presence in famine-stricken Balurghat endures — a reminder that his nationalism was forged not only in ideology and armed resistance, but also in direct engagement with human suffering.