Harendranath Munshi (Bengali: হরেন্দ্রনাথ মুন্সী, 1914 - 30 January 1938), also known as Haren Munshi, was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter involved in the Indian independence movement during 1930s.
Background Munshi was born in 1914. He was a member of the extended Munshi family of Kadirpara and Chougachi of erstwhile Jessore in British India (present day Bangladesh).He lost his mother in early childhood and was brought up under the care and affection of his father, Babu Tejendranath Munshi, and his grandfather, Babu Gatinath Munshi. He initially enrolled at the local Nakol High English School. In 1931, he passed the matriculation examination from Magura School in the first division. He subsequently completed his Intermediate of Science (I.Sc.) from Rajshahi College. While pursuing his B.Sc. studies, he became involved in the Titagarh conspiracy case and was subsequently imprisoned in Dhaka Central Jail.
Revolutionary activities As a revolutionary, Munshi was active in ample revolutionary activities. In 1934, he was sentenced to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment in the Titagarh conspiracy case, also known as inter-provincial conspiracy case, and he was first transferred to Diamond Harbour and later to Dhaka Central Jail. In the Dhaka Central Jail he started fatal hunger strike since 21 January 1938, to exhibit his protest against inhuman treatments with the political prisoners and their classification as criminals.
Titagarh conspiracy case Munshi was one of the prominent accused in the Titagarh Conspiracy Case, a major sedition trial that originated from a police raid on a revolutionary hideout in the Titagarh area, near Calcutta. The raid, conducted in the early 1930s, uncovered a substantial cache of incriminating materials, including explosives such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, potassium nitrate, and charcoal; bomb-making equipment; and revolutionary literatures, including books on military training like Infantry Training, Field Gunnery, and Machine Gunners Hand Book. Consequently, 29 individuals were arrested and charged with conspiracy to wage war against the British Crown. The accused in the Titagarh Conspiracy Case included a diverse group of revolutionaries from across Bengal. The list of those implicated comprised Purnananda Dasgupta (also known as "Buroda"), Shyamananda Palchoudhuri, Niranjan Ghoshal, Sitanath De, Ajit Majumdar, Jiban Dhupi, Dinesh Bhattacharya, Jagadish Chandra Ghatak, Srimati Parul Mukherjee, Santosh Kumar Sen, Bijoy Krishna Pal, and Harendranath Munshi himself, among others. Two of the accused, Santosh Kumar Sen and Bijoy Krishna Pal, were granted pardon and turned approvers (crown witnesses), testifying for the prosecution. The trial commenced before a Special Tribunal. The prosecution examined 502 witnesses and submitted numerous documents, including the physical evidence seized from the Titagarh den, pamphlets, and handwritten notebooks outlining the organization's objectives. During the trial, approver Santosh Kumar Sen provided extensive testimony about the revolutionary activities of Purnananda Dasgupta and other key figures. After hearing all evidence and arguments, the Special Tribunal delivered its verdict on April 27, 1937. 17 of the 29 accused were convicted under Section 121A of the Indian Penal Code (conspiring to wage war against the King-Emperor) and sentenced to varying terms of rigorous imprisonment. Purnananda Dasgupta and Shyamananda Palchoudhuri were additionally found guilty under the Explosive Substances Act for possessing bomb-making materials. All 17 convicted individuals immediately filed appeals against the Tribunal's decision with the Calcutta High Court. It was while this appeal was pending that Munshi was held in Dhaka Central Jail, where his final protest would unfold.
Death
Hunger strike and forcible feeding Munshi commenced his hunger strike on January 21, 1938, joining fellow revolutionary Prafulla Sen who had initiated the fast on January 11. The strike was a protest against the inhuman treatment of political prisoners, their classification as common criminals, and specific local grievances against jail officials in Dhaka Central Jail. Contrary to initial government statements that the demands were purely political, evidence from the subsequent legislative debate and prisoner testimonies pointed to severe local grievances, including brutal disciplinary measures, inadequate medical care, and systematic humiliation by jail staff. The prison administration responded with force. On January 26 and 27, authorities began forcibly feeding him. A particularly violent instance of this procedure occurred on January 28, when the jail's Medical Officer, Dr. Chaudhuri, attempted to administer food through Munshi's nasal tube. The procedure was severely botched, causing severe damages to Munshi's gums and significant hemorrhaging. Later that day, a non-official jail visitor, Amulya Ratan Guha, the Vice-Chairman of the District Board, found Munshi vomiting and unattended. When Guha sent for a doctor, only a Sub-Assistant Surgeon arrived, who dismissed the vomiting as a temporary side effect of forcible feeding. Munshi's condition deteriorated throughout the night, with no proper medical attention provided. Munshi's condition deteriorated throughout the night, with no proper medical attention provided. He courted martyrdom in the early morning of January 30, 1938, on the tenth day of his fast.
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