‘Protect Jatindra Mohan’s house in Chattogram’

Prominent journalists, litterateurs, and cultural activists in Chattogram today called upon the interim government to take measures for protecting the house of Deshpriyo Jatindra Mohan Sengupta, a leader of the freedom struggle against British rule.
They made the call in a statement.
They also said Chattogram was the birthplace of the anti-British revolution, reports our Chattogram correspondent.
Jatindra was a five-time elected mayor of Calcutta Corporation during the British period, alongside being the president of All India Congress, and organiser of the largest labour movement in the subcontinent, said the statement.
Unfortunately, most of the properties of his family, including his residence in Rahamatganj area of the port city, are lying neglected, falling into ruins, and getting illegally grabbed due to lack of proper inheritors, the statement also said.
“It is a historical establishment, where personalities like Netaji Subhash Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Maulana Shaukat Ali have visited. However, on January 4, 2021, a group, with the connivance of some influential people, grabbed the land and attempted to demolish the old building,” the statement read.
Later, the grabbers retreated amid resistance from conscious citizens and students, it also said, adding that a plan was taken to set up the “Independence and Liberation War Museum” in the building.
“According to our knowledge, the project proposal was under consideration at the highest level in the government. However, we have come to know from reliable sources that at present, vested interest groups are in the process of re-occupying the building and the land.”
Earlier, in a case filed by the vested group with a Chattogram court, the verdict was made in favour of the state. Even then, the perpetrators continued their effort to grab the property, said the statement.
“We request that even if it is not possible to implement the project at the moment, all measures should be taken to preserve the property,” it also said, adding that the museum project may be implemented later when the situation becomes stable in the country.
Signatories to the statement include: Dainik Azadi editor MA Malek; author Ferdous Ara Alim; freedom fighter Mahfuzur Rahman; engineer Subhash Barua; architect Zarina Hossain; journalists Biswajit Chowdhury, Abul Momen, Rashed Rauf, and Kamrul Hasan Badal; and reciter Rashed Hasan, among others.