I was born in 1904 in a respectable family in the
village of Saidband in the Hailakandi subdivision of Cachar district. My
great-grandfather was bestowed with the two royal titles of ‘Pakhi’ and
‘Mulla’. Due to financial difficulties caused by the growing size of his
family, my father, Makbul Mia Mazumdar, purchased land and moved to the village
of Islamabad in the Bam area under Sonai police station (my current address)
when I was 5 years old.
In 1916, after receiving a scholarship in the primary
school examination, I enrolled in the No. 1 Algapur M.V. School in the
Hailakandi subdivision to pursue my secondary education.
In 1919, at the age of 15, after passing the middle
school examination, I enrolled in the fourth grade at Hailakandi High School.
At that time, hearing stories of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the infamous
atrocities committed by Dyer in Punjab from national leaders like Kamini Kumar
Chanda, I boycotted school during the National Week of 1920 and dedicated
myself to the national movement, engaging in public service in rural areas and
participating in the Indian National Congress's campaign for boycotting foreign
goods.
On April 1, 1922, I was sentenced by the then Deputy
Commissioner of Cachar, David Walker, and imprisoned as a political prisoner
under the name ‘Khaddar’ for being a revolutionary. (DC – What is your name?
Answer – Khaddar, DC – What is your father's name? Answer – Charkha, DC – Where
is your home? Answer – Kapasban)
At that time, in Silchar jail, I suffered
imprisonment along with 42 political prisoners, including the esteemed Tarun
Ram Phukan, Bishnuram Medhi, Triguna Charan Barua, Kali Prasad Barua, Nidhiram
Das, Maulvi Mohiuddin Ahmed from Guwahati, and the renowned Sanat Kumar Das,
Satindra Mohan Deb, Ashok Kumar Chanda, Pekuram Kanu, Md. Golezar Ali Majumdar,
Maulvi Mashad Ali Barbhuiya, Maulvi Ibrahim Ali, Maulvi Umar Ali, Maulvi Muhsin
Ali, Maulvi Hamidur Raja, Maulvi Alim Uddin, Kazi Rahman Bux, etc., from Cachar.
After being released from jail, I had to remain under police surveillance.
In 1926, I went into hiding and spent a year engaged
in constructive work in various rural areas and places like Naharani tea garden
on the outskirts of Jorhat town in Sibsagar district, and later in the rural
areas near Tezpur town in Darrang district, and in tea gardens such as Baralai,
Kakula, Itakhola, Chatiya, Biswanath Chariali and Biswanath Ghat, Majuli Char,
Pabai, Pratapgarh, etc. As they could not find me during that time, my father
was fined 120 (one hundred and twenty) rupees.
In the middle of 1927, I returned home and engaged in
constructive work through the charkha and loom, forming a team of Congress
workers, and was able to reappear publicly in 1930. The members of that team
included Krishnajivan Purkayastha, Binod Bihari Das, Gauramani Nath, Ananta
Kumar Das, B.L., Debendra Lal Chowdhury, Ashwini Kumar Dutta, Maulvi Hormuz
Ali, Md. Tutiraja Barbhuiya, and others.
Until 1935, I built the
organization through public service, and in 1936, I formed a strong Primary
Congress in Dholai. At that time, I was elected as its president. During that
period, I was also elected as the vice-president of the Silchar Sub-divisional
Congress Committee and a member of the Cachar District Congress Committee.
In 1938, to take full
advantage of the opportunities offered by the Congress, I relinquished my
official position and took on the responsibilities of a secretary.
In 1940, as an elected
representative from Cachar, I and Dhirendra Chandra Purkayastha attended the
Ramgarh Congress. At that time, I was elected as a member of the Provincial
Congress Committee (BPCC).
When the Congress
declared a Satyagraha during the last war, I refrained from participating in
any activities that would earn me money during that period. Due to the increase
in prices of goods necessitated by the war, my father was forced to sell land because
of increased family expenses and mounting debts. In 1946, during the intense
Muslim League movement, despite being severely harassed by League-supporting
Muslims along with my relatives and colleagues, I remained involved with the
Congress in forming a Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind-aligned group. During that time, my
colleagues and I were attacked in various ways by League supporters on several
occasions, forcing us to file criminal cases twice. My colleagues included Md.
Hormuz Ali, Moulvi Wazir Ahmad, Moulvi Abdul Hamid, Moulvi Ambar Ali, Moulvi
Habib Ali, Moulvi Masad Ali, and others.
During the Sylhet
referendum, I, along with Moulvi Wazir Ahmad, Moulvi Abdul Hamid, Moulvi Hormuz
Ali, Anfar Ali Chowdhury, Alauddin, and Asaddar Ali, campaigned for the
Congress in various places including Karimganj, Sylhet Sadar, Balaganj, and
Jaintiapur. My colleagues were severely beaten at various centers, on roads,
and in vehicles. They even attempted to kill us. On August 15, 1947, I was
elected to the post of president at the Sonai Thana conference in Kabuganj. The
suffering caused by the loss of my mother in childhood, the persecution of
Muslims in my youth and early adulthood, and the hardship of lacking money,
clothing, and food in old age—this is the irony of my life. Nevertheless, I am
determined to uphold the ideals of the Congress and the principles of Bapuji
until my last breath—Jai Hind.
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About the author:
Sajidraja Majumdar, a
resident of Bam's Islamabad, passed away in 1961. His autobiographical work was
accidentally discovered in 2018 by Khairul Amin Borbhuiya (son of Maulana Masad
Ali Borbhuiya, a freedom fighter from Islamabad) in a wooden box at Sajidraja
Majumdar's house. Until then, its existence was unknown to anyone.
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