The Events of 11/11

No matter how one reads 11/11, it turns out to be November 11^th. The year is 1938 and the date now completely specified, refers to the date that N G Majumdar was killed by dacoits. And thus, this is a add-on to my last piece, “A Late Requiem for Nani Gopal Majumdar” and the events are revisited at the request of Professor Aziz Kingrani, who raised several questions regarding the gruesome events. There are two sources of information that I have access to at the moment, the volume of essays that I have referred to as the Explorations volume in my previous piece and to the scrapbook maintained by a very young Tapas Majumdar on the loss of his father. Unfortunately, the scrapbook is currently in very bad state and I need to get them digitalized.

Reporting on events of the past is difficult to say the least; what emerges, is quite bewildering. There are two parties, of course, like in any conflict, the victims and the perpetrators or perps, as you must have heard in many films. First the victims and this account is entirely from Krishna Deva’s account in the Explorations volume; he was after all an eyewitness to the incident.

I do not talk about the pandemonium that reigned while the dacoits opened fire, nor about NGM’s stepping out to ask them to stop and being shot down, the bandits swarming down and members of the team coming out of the their tents  and saving their lives by claiming that they were muslims and following their peon in reciting the Kalma. They left after confiscating some money and they kept asking for weapons and khazane that had been dug up.  After the perps left with their loot, the members of the team were without transport; the camels had been taken; there was a badly injured person (Mr Chatterjee) and the dead body of NGM. The survey team decided to leave the cursed spot and head for the Gaj Nai Canal Bungalow which was about 5 miles away. The camel drivers who were without a job were cajoled into carrying stuff for the team.

Before they had gone a mile, they met an armed convoy on camels led by a British SP who were apparently in hot pursuit of the dacoits; why they were there so quickly will be explained below. But this was the first encounter of the survey team with officialdom and their first report about the events. The SP advised them to proceed to the Bungalow as planned and to contact the Collector and Civil Surgeon. And the armed convoy left in hot pursuit! No help was provided by way of giving them a camel or two. Anyway, the team carried on and reached the Bungalow where they made the phne calls as advised by the SP; the Deputy Collector and Assistant Civil Surgeon turned up and escorted the party to the Civil Hospital. Consultations with Provincial Government and Central Government, the Director General of Archaeology in Delhi and also the Majumdar family were carried out at this stage. Although who among the Majumdar family were consulted is not very clear. The immediate family were not in a position to say anything coherent; the father-in-law of N G Majumdar was still in Sylhet; in Calcutta the brother-in-law, Mr H. Banerjee ICS ( he was married to Mrs Majumdar’s younger sister ) seems to be the most likely person. I cannot be sure since none of these persons are around any longer. But after all these consultations, it was decided to cremate Mr N G Majumdar according to Hindu rites in Dadu itself; and the cremation was carried out under the supervision of the Collector, Dadu on the afternoon of November 12!

On the 13^th of November it is reported that Mr Chatterjee lost an arm: it was amputated. On the 14^th the team left carrying MGM’s ashes. In another report, when the ashes were handed over to the Director General, he broke down. This is all that I could gather from the sources available to me. I have to say that even today when there is WhatsApp, Facebook and Internet things could not have moved faster. How did they manage?

So far as the perps are concerned, it was reported that they were reconnoitering the area for two or three days. Apparently, they came and talked to the camel drivers and the helpers who were accompanying the survey team. So they were told that the team was made up of Bengali Hindus and that they were digging for khazane or treasures. If they knew the team was made up of Hindus, why did they not object when they started saying that they were Muslims and followed the peon in reciting the prayers?  So there is some conflict.

But on 10^th November in the evening, the perps came upon a village and in the village they ransacked the house of a rich businessman, a Hndu,  and killed one person besides looting a large amount of cash,  and were returning via a route which took them over the survey team’s encampment. And on the morning of 11^th they attacked Mr Majumdar and party.  The perps left with the loot and hurriedly crossed over into Kalat State which was not under British jurisdiction. The armed convoy in hot pursuit led by the British SP were a couple of hours late and in any case, they were after the perps because they had killed the businessman the previous night.

The Kalat State provided assurances that they will hand over the perps after catching them and by mid December had, in an encounter, managed to kill the leader of the gang and capture six. And the authorities were confident of being able to capture the remaining members. Extradition proceedings were put in position and by the end of December, there is a report that the perps would be handed over to the British authorities and that trial would take place before the ‘huzur mukhtiarkar’ at Dadu. I presume this trial took place early in 1939. I have no further records except whatever I have heard from my uncle. If memory serves me right, the perps were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. Once I recall my uncle saying wistfully, while we were discussing the events, that by now the dacoits must be leading a free life because after 14 years or so, one may be released.

Within 6 months surely, things had been cleared; the chief perp shot dead, others behind bars. The state had every reason to feel greatly self-congratulatory.  But what of the family of NGM ? And what too of Mr Chatterjee who lost an arm?  Well, the State cannot look after everything, can it? But was Justice done?