Binod Bihari Chowdhury (Bengali: বিনোদ বিহারী চৌধুরী; 10 January 1911 – 10 April 2013) was a Bangladeshi social worker and an anti-colonial revolutionary. He was influential in the Indian independence movement and a veteran member of the civil society of Bangladesh. He is mostly known for his participation in the Chittagong Armoury Raid, an armed resistance movement led by Surya Sen to uproot the British colonial rule from British India in 1930.
Born in 1911, in Chittagong, Binod Bihari was the last surviving revolutionary from the Chittagong armoury raid and was active in many significant events in the history of Bangladesh. In 2000, he received the Independence Day Award, the highest civilian award in Bangladesh.
Binod Bihari Chowdhury was born in the village of Uttarvurshi under the Boalkhali Upazila in Chittagong district which was then a part of the East Bengal and Assam province of British India. He was the fifth child of his parents, Kamini Kumar Chowdhury and Roma Rani Chowdhury. His father, Kamini Kumar Chowdhury was a lawyer in Chittagong.[1][2]
Binod Bihari started his primary education from the Rangamatia Board School in Fatikchhari Upazila.He was the student of Fatikchari's most famous & old school name Fatickchari Coronation Model High School. He was granted a scholarship for his outstanding performance in the matriculation examinations in 1929 from Saroatoli High School. He received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts and Bachelor of Law in 1934, 1936 and 1939 respectively while serving as a prisoner at the Duly Detention Camp. He was married to Biva Das.[1][2][3]
In 1927, Binod Bihari joined the anti-British revolutionary group Jugantar through a friend in school. Soon he came into contact with Surya Sen and within few days became one of his intimate associates. At that time Surya Sen was planning an armed uprising against the British Raj in Chittagong. The plan was to capture the two main armouries in Chittagong and then destroying the telegraph and telephone office, followed by assassination of members of the "European Club", the majority of whom were government or military officials involved in maintaining the British Raj in India. Firearms retailers were also to be raided, while rail and communication lines were to be cut to sever Chittagong from rest of British India. The plan was accompanied by Binod Bihari and some others.[4][5]
The intrigue was finally executed at 10 p.m. on 18 April 1930. Chittagong was liberated from British India for four days. However, the British Raj then mobilised a large body of troops in and around Chittagong. Binod Bihari along with some co-revolutionaries was taking shelter at the Jalalabad hills. On 22 April, they came under an austere attack from the British troops. Twelve revolutionaries and over eighty troops were killed in the battle. Binod Bihari was wounded at his neck in that battle. The revolutionaries came under a trial between January and March 1932. Binod Bihari was deported to the Duly Detention Camp in Rajputana.[3]