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Gopal Mukherjee | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 May 1913 |
| Died | 10 February 2005 (aged 91) |
| Other name | Gopal Patha |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Notable work | Organising Hindu resistance on Direct Action Day |
Gopal Mukherjee or Gopal Patha (also spelled Gopal Chandra Mukhopadhyay) was an Indian businessman. During Direct Action Day, he helped to organise a Hindu resistance youth group.[1][2]
Life
[edit]Gopal was born into a Bengali family at Malanga Lane in Bowbazar, Kolkata.[3] He was the nephew of the revolutionary Anukul Chandra Mukherjee.[4] During his childhood, he acquired the nickname 'Patha' (he-goat) because his family ran a meat shop on College Street.[5][6] He later took over the responsibility of running the meat shop. According to historian Sandip Bandyopadhyay, as part of Gopal's business, he regularly interacted with Muslim traders and thus did not harbor any bitterness towards Muslims.[7] He also started a local Kali puja in his area.[8]
Role in Direct Action Day
[edit]According to Debjani Sengupta, Gopal was described as a notorious gang leader in North Calcutta, who organized his followers to retaliate against the ongoing violence in Direct Action Day. Upon seeing Muslim League volunteers marching with weapons against Hindus and pro-Pakistan slogans, he believed it was a critical time to save the country and resist oppression. Gopal instructed his gang to answer "brutality with brutality," explicitly ordering his men to commit ten murders in retaliation for every one murder committed by the attackers. His growing vigilante group, which was joined by non-Bengali milkmen, armed themselves with knives, swords, cleavers, sticks, and rods. Gopal personally carried grenades and two .45-caliber American pistols, which he had procured from American soldiers stationed in Calcutta in 1945.[9][5][6]
Historian Sandip Bandopadhyay, who interviewed Gopal, argued against characterizing him as "communally divisive", stating that the context of 1946 required a different understanding of the term. Gopal's primary objective was to defend his local area from attacks, though he did not initiate the violence, he organized and trained a group of youths to counter Muslim rioters. Gopal did not harbor any bitterness towards Muslims as he frequently interacted with them for his business, but was forced to turn violent when rioters advanced towards Calcutta. In his interviews with local residents in central Kolkata, it was stated that Gopal provided shelter to numerous Hindu families and widows during the riots. [7]
Legacy
[edit]Hindu Samhati started celebrating Mukhopadhyay’s centenary on August 16.[7]
Kolkata Municipal Corporation renamed "Suhrawardy Avenue" to "Gopal Mukherjee Road". Historians pointed that the road was actually named after Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy instead of Huseyn Suhrawardy, who had nothing to do with Direct Action Day.[10][11][12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ ""Gopal Mukherjee: The man who led Hindu resistance and saved Calcutta from falling into Pakistani hands"". Firstpost. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ "৪৬-'র 'গ্রেট কলকাতা কিলিং' একাই রুখে দিয়েছিলেন গোপাল পাঁঠা, কে তিনি?" [Calcutta Killings & Gopal Patha: the Great Calcutta killings of 1946 was stopped self-handedly by Gopal Patha- Who was he?]. AajTak Bangla (in Bengali). Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ Das, Suranjan (1994). "The 'Goondas': Towards a Reconstruction of the Calcutta Underworld through Police Records". Economic and Political Weekly. 29 (44): 2979.
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Sandip (2010). Itihasher Dike Fire Chhechallisher Danga. Kolkata: Radical. p. 58. ISBN 978-81-85459-07-3.
- ^ a b Whitehead, Andrew (1 July 1997). "Duty does not permit repentance - The Butchers of Calcutta". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ^ a b Khan, Yasmin (2007). The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan. Yale University Press. p. 66. ISBN 0-300-12078-8. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Celebrating the centenary of a "divisive" figure". The Hindu. 18 August 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ "Howrah keeps alive 'tantrik' puja tradition". Times of India. 25 October 2003. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
The residents of Kolkata might flock in droves to the famous pujas started by Gopal Patha or Fata Keshto...
- ^ Sengupta, Debjani, ed. (2015), "The Calcutta Riots in Representations and Testimonies", The Partition of Bengal: Fragile Borders and New Identities, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 36–67, ISBN 978-1-107-44815-5, retrieved 24 June 2026
- ^ "Suvendu Adhikari targets wrong Suhrawardy in Kolkata road rename to honour Gopal Mukherjee, say historians". The Telegraph (India). 22 June 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ Singh, Shiv Sahay (22 June 2026). "KMC renames city's Suhrawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ "'Rectified Historical Wrong': Bengal CM Suvendu After Suhrawardy Avenue Renamed As Gopal Mukherjee Road". News18. Archived from the original on 23 June 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ "The Two Suhrawardys: How the BJP's renaming optics confuses one with the other". The Indian Express. 22 June 2026. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- ^ "Eighty years later, an uncle pays for a nephew's sins; Congress, TMC target CM Suvendu for Kolkata's Suhrawardy Avenue renaming". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2026.