Manmath Nath Gupta Image

Manmath Nath Gupta was born on February 7, 1908, in Banaras. He enrolled at Kashi Vidyapeeth for his studies. At the young age of 13, Manmath Nath joined the freedom movement as a volunteer for the Indian National Congress and participated in the Non-cooperation Movement. However, he grew disillusioned with the slow progress of the movement and was particularly disappointed when Mahatma Gandhi called it off following the Chauri Chaura incident.

Seeking a more active role, Gupta joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a group of Indian revolutionaries. He introduced Chandrashekhar Azad to the association. The HRA needed funds for their activities and planned to loot a government treasury on a train. On August 9, 1925, they executed this plan near Kakori, just before Lucknow. Gupta was among the revolutionaries involved in the heist. During the robbery, he accidentally killed a passenger. Gupta and several other revolutionaries were arrested. Due to his young age, he was not sentenced to death but received a 14-year prison term instead.

Gupta was released in 1937 but was soon re-arrested for his writings against the British government and sent to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. He was finally released in 1946. A prolific writer, he authored over 120 books in Bengali, Hindi, and English. After Independence, Gupta worked with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and edited the Planning Commission’s magazine, Yojana. He also edited Bal Bharti, a children’s magazine, and Aajkal, a Hindi literary magazine.

Trivia : In his book “They Lived Dangerously,” Manmath Nath Gupta narrated the freedom struggle from the perspective of the revolutionaries.

References: