The Forgotten Birbala
The life she endured,
The life she endowed.
The uncelebrated hymns of martyrdom,
She made history which is still unsung.
Kanaklata Barua should have lived in our hearts. Yet, she is hardly alive in the heroic tales of Indian nationalism. Born on December 22, 1924, the valiant maiden was to ignite the Indian nationalism and eventually become the pride of Assam. Daughter of Krishna Kanta and Karneshwari Barua, she was born in the Borangabari village of the Darrang district in Assam. As the successor of the Dolaksharia Barua kingdom of the erstwhile Ahom dynasty, she later came to be esteemed with titles such as Birbala and Shaheed.
Growing up was a hustle for her. She was merely 5 years old when her mother took her last breath, and some years later, her father bid her the final goodbye. Though she did her initial schooling from Borangabari School in Sonitpur, Assam, she had to withdraw her education after the death of both her parents to take care of her siblings. No one would have ever thought that later the responsibility towards the household would eventually turn into the responsibility towards mother nation.
In the fullness of time, she dreamt of being a part of the Azad Hind Fauj, but due to her being really young, she was denied its entry. But this setback didn’t let her quit the Indian national struggle. It was the time of 1942; the whole country was in a frenzy. The Bharat Chhodo Andolan, which is famously known as the Quit India Movement, had become an ultimatum for the British Raj to leave India. While most of the senior leaders were being arrested as soon as the movement unfurled, the younger generation took it forward and flared up the urge to get out of the clutches of the colonial rule. Meanwhile, Kanaklata joined the Mrityu Bahini, a death squad originated by Pushpalata Das. It included the youth of Gohpur, Darrang district, who aspired to wreck the crown rule through various acts inspired by the Quit India Movement.
Kanaklata’s strong will and undeterred commitment towards the nation were also attributed to the versatile Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla’s songs and the revolutionary artist and singer Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha’s valorous orations. Yet Gandhiji’s principle of non-violence inspired her to adhere to ahimsa. Her innate fervour empowered her further to become the leader of the women cadres of the Mrityu Bahini. “We shall either free India or die in the attempt of it”, in a nutshell, “Do or Die” became a significant part of her life. Now, her only ambition was to unchain India from the pain and sorrow of centuries.
20th September, 1942 dawned bright. The Mrityu Bahini had decided to unfurl the tricolor at a local police station in the Gohpur region. With Kanaklata as the leader of the unarmed procession, it marched towards its destination screaming slogans such as “Bharat Mata ki Jai”,“Vande Mataram” and “Karo ya Maro”. The officer in charge of the police station cautioned them about the dreadful consequences of trespassing against colonial rules.
But Kanaklata, as resolute and courageous as she was, continued the march holding fast to her pride, the Indian flag in her hand. Unable to halt, the police soon began firing and in the process, a mighty bullet hit our chivalrous Birbala. The uncanny thing was that even after she got shot, Kanaklata didn’t collapse to the ground; rather, she held the national flag high up in the sky and continued her march. She walked unwithered until her comrade, Mukunda Kakati, took the flag from her. Subsequently, she succumbed to her wounds and, thus, laid down her life for her love and devotion towards the country. But her martyrdom didn’t go into void, as after some enormous endeavors, the Indian tricolor fluttered in the serene blue sky.
Though she lived only for a brief period of 17 years, she did something that people, even older than her, would be petrified to attempt. Her fearless eyes and her undaunted heart might not have a replication in contemporary India but her stories of bravery have inspired millions of youth over decades.
In 2011, a grandiose statue of Birbala was established in Boragabari, Assam. Further, the Fast Petrol Vessel ICGS Kanaklata Barua of the Indian Coast Guard is named after her. In her commemoration, the Assamese film director Chandra Mudoi retold her story in the film Epaah Phulil Epaah Xoril. The movie reached other parts of India through its Hindi version, named Purab ki Awaz.
In essence, the countrymen might be oblivious to who Kanaklata truly was, but Mother India would never fail to remember her sacrifice for the nation. Her tales of intrepidity might not be recalled in the textbooks of the Indian youth, but in the golden pages of Indian History, Birbala and her valour would forever be reminisced.
By: Anusha Mahanta
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