11. Bam and the Freedom Movement:

 Despite the small population in the period between 1885 and 1947, the people of the Barak Valley played a significant role in the freedom movement and provided leadership at the district level. Some of them are highlighted below:

1) Sajid Raja Majumdar:

Sajid Raja Majumdar of Islamabad was a leading freedom fighter of Cachar district. He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement called by Mahatma Gandhi and went to jail in 1922.  Other prisoners with him in Silchar jail at that time included Tarunram Phukan, Bishnuram Medhi, Satindra Mohan Dev, Ashok Kumar Chanda and several others. Sajid Raja Majumdar was the Vice-Chairman of the Silchar Sub-Divisional Congress Committee in 1936 and a member of the Cachar District Committee. In 1940, he was a member of the Provincial Congress Committee. As a true Gandhian, after the country gained independence, he was not interested in holding any position but dedicated himself to social work and passed away in 1971. Although he was given a freedom fighter's pension in recognition of his sacrifices, he did not receive adequate recognition.

 

2) Maulana Mashad Ali Barbhuiya:

Maulana Mashad Ali Barbhuiya, an alumnus of Rampur Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh, joined the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Khilafat Movement and worked closely with Sajid Raja Majumdar, and both went to jail together. This Maulana, a recipient of the freedom fighter's pension, died in 1964. His wife, Jamila Khatun, who was over ninety years old, received a monthly family pension of Rs. 10,500.00 until her death in 2022. Maulana Sahib served a total of nine months in prison in 1921, 1922, and 1923 for participating in the freedom struggle. In 1997, the government awarded him a posthumous 'Tamra Patra' (copper plate).

3) Mahabbat Ali Barbhuiya:

He was a resident of Saptagram and a recipient of the freedom fighter's pension. He died in 1977 due to old age.

4) Mahabbat Ali Laskar:

Mahabbat Ali Laskar, a resident of Lokanathpur, was a freedom fighter. He was born in 1901. At the age of twenty, he joined the Non-Cooperation Movement. In 1922, he was arrested from his village and tried by the then District Commissioner G.D. Walker, and sentenced to six months imprisonment in Silchar Jail. This freedom fighter passed away on November 16, 1975. He was a recipient of the freedom fighter's pension.

 

5) Abdus Samad Lasker:

Abdus Samad Lasker, popularly known as 'Samad Molla', suffered greatly for participating in the freedom struggle, and in recognition of this, he received a freedom fighter's pension. He passed away in July 1986. He was posthumously awarded the 'Tamra Patra' (copper plate) in 1997.

6) Ahmad Ali Lasker:

Ahmad Ali Lasker of Bangram, well-known as Ahmad Ali Miasab, participated in the freedom movement in his early youth. Later, he joined the Muslim League and became actively involved in the League-led movement, playing an important role in the Sylhet referendum. After independence, he did not join any political party.

 

7. Moskindar Ali Majumdar: Moskindar Ali Majumdar, a resident of Hawaithang, was born in Hatirhar village of Bashkandi. He was a spy for the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) and traveled to and from Burma. When the British government learned about his espionage activities, they raided his residence in Hatirhar with the police. To avoid arrest by the British, he fled from Hatirhar and came to Hawaithang under a pseudonym, and began living there under the name Intaz Ali Majumdar. He lived under this pseudonym until the end of British rule in India. He died prematurely in 1959. He used to celebrate October 21st as Independence Day, the date on which Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose formed the interim government of independent India in Singapore (in 1943).

 

8. Abdus Subhan Borbhuiya: Abdus Subhan Borbhuiya, known as Belu Khadim, was born in 1922. He was imprisoned for participating in the Quit India Movement. He was granted a freedom fighter's pension in 1989. He passed away in January 1993. After his death, his wife, Layli Begum Borbhuiya, received the same pension. The late Abdus Subhan Borbhuiya was the muezzin of the Bhagabazar Jame Mosque and served the mosque as its muezzin for a long period of 25 years.

9. Maulana Formuz Ali Borbhuiya: A resident of Saptagram and a freedom fighter who received a pension. His son, Abdul Noor Borbhuiya, was once elected the president of the Saptagram Village Panchayat. He died in 1949 at the age of only 50.

 

Other well-known freedom fighters from the Left under the umbrella of the Congress party include: Krishnajiban Purkayastha, Binod Bihari Das, Gauramani Nath, Ananta Krishna Das, Tutiraja Barbhuiya, Maulvi Ambar Ali, Munshi Habib Ali, Anfar Ali Chowdhury, Alauddin, Asaddar Ali, Deshanta Barman, Rajmohan Borbhuiya, etc.

However, detailed information about them is not available.

 

In addition, Latu Mia, a strong young man from Rajghat village, joined the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) established by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. After being released from the INA, he returned to Rajghat. He kept his INA soldier's uniform, and in 1950 he was seen wearing his INA shirt.