Batukeshwar Dutt, the unsung hero of India's freedom struggle

Batukeshwar Dutt was a freedom fighter who accompanied Bhagat Singh to the national assembly in Delhi where they courted arrest after throwing bombs.

Patna: India's independence did not come easy. Today, Indians are able to exercise their freedom because of the sacrifices put in by freedom fighters. Big names like Bhagat Singh are well known, but there are many unknown names who fought bravely for India's independence. One such leader was Batukeshwar Dutt.

Born in a village in Bardhaman district in 1910, Dutt became associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association which was headed by Chandrashekhar Azad and he accompanied Bhagat Singh to the national assembly in Delhi where they courted arrest after hurling bombs and throwing revolutionary pamphlets while chanting the slogan "Inquilab zindabad".

While Bhagat Singh - who was also an accused in the murder of a British police official - was hanged to death, Dutt was sentenced to life and deported to jail in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.

After Independence, Dutt had settled down in Patna along with his wife Anjali who taught at a leading girls' school of the city.