Krishna Debnath

He has been a crusader for as long as he can remember. Publishing a newspaper, fighting for the Bengali language, campaigning for the freedom of Goa, equality among castes and creeds, preservation of the heritage of Calcutta… Krishna Debnath has done it all.

Way back in 1952, Debnath, now the general secretary of Bangla Bhasha-Sanskriti Samsad, followed his heart from Bangladesh to West Bengal and has been a rebel with many causes since then. “I was a 12-year-old student in Comilla in Bangladesh, when the revolution for preservation of the Bengali language started in earnest and inspired youngsters. But police forced me to leave Bangladesh for India,” he says.

Through school in Habra and later graduation at Gobordanga in the North 24-Parganas, Debnath never forgot his dreams. “I always kept in touch with like-minded individuals. We performed many satyagrahas in Calcutta. We fought for the freedom of Goa from the Portuguese around 1956,” says Debnath. It was a feeling of elation when Goa was finally freed.

Purnea and parts of Dinajpur, both with majority Bengali-speaking population, were earlier part of Bihar. “We fought for their inclusion in West Bengal and saw our dream come true subsequently,” adds a satisfied Debnath.

Starting his career as journalist with the publication Dainik Loksevak in Entally, Debnath left it way back in the ’70s to pursue his dream of fighting for the preservation of the Bengali tradition. Bangla Bhasha-Sanskriti Samsad, an organisation for development of the tenets of Bengali culture, was finally formed in 1998.

“People have debated about renaming Chowringhee, believing that the name is of foreign origin,” explains Debnath. “But we have fought hard with intellectuals and civic authorities proving that Chowringhee comes from the name of a ninth century sadhak named Chowrongi, who had his temple near the present AJC Bose Road-Chowringhee crossing.”

Currently the 64-year-old is also steering talks on establishing an engineering institute, a yoga centre and museum at Mahanaad, in Hooghly’s Pandua, where remnants of an ancient temple had been found.

Publisher of the fortnightly Naba Banglar Aalo, Debnath is also president of the All India Rudraja Brahmin Sammilani, that strives for equality among castes and helps youngsters in need. “Recently we distributed prizes among 300 poor students of extra-ordinary calibre in Nadia.”

There seems to be no stopping for Debnath’s altruistic dreams. “There is still a long way to go,” he smiles.