Published: May 13, 2015, 07:00 AM (IST)
Edited: May 13, 2015, 04:18 PM (IST)
February 6, 1932. Stanley Jackson, Governor-General of Bengal, was on the receiving end of bullets of Indian revolutionary “Agnikanya” Bina Das. Abhishek Mukherjee looks at the day when an English Test captain found himself involved, somewhat undeservingly, in the Indian freedom struggle.
One of the finest all-rounders of the Golden Age of cricket, Frank Stanley “FS” Jackson had an exceptionally successful career. An indispensable member of the champion turn-of-the-century Yorkshire side, Jackson went on to lead England in the 1905 Ashes — his last — where he won all five tosses.
Then a youngster, Jackson visited India with Lord Hawke’s side in 1892-93. Hawke, who led the Yorkshire side Jackson was a part of, had immense respect for the man: “Our greatest amateur was undoubtedly Stanley Jackson, who was ‘Jacker’ to everyone from his Harrow days. He was a great batsman, great bowler, fine fielder — a great cricketer to the core.”
In his early days Jackson was not impressed by KS Ranjitsinhji, whose technique was considered almost blasphemous in English cricket. James Coldham wrote in Stanley Jackson, A Cricketing Biography: “To the end of his career Jackson regarded unorthodoxy as the bedfellow of frivolity, as something not to be entirely trusted.”
Things changed after that Indian tour, especially after he saw more and more of Ranji. Jackson is usually credited as the man responsible for fighting the authorities to make sure Ranji found a spot in the Cambridge side. He was certainly not racist, let alone anti-Indian.
Jackson played 20 Tests, all of which were against Australia in England. He still holds the record of the longest Test career without playing an overseas Test. Jackson scored 1,415 runs at 48.79 and claimed 24 wickets at 33.29. He scored five hundreds and even took a five-for.
As captain (in Ashes 1905) he amassed 492 runs at 70.28 and took 13 wickets at 15.46: few cricketers have matched such series performances.
He retired from First-Class cricket in 1907. Other than being an outstanding cricketer, Jackson was a respected person, known for his unusual combination of Yorkshire toughness and a genial nature.
Four years after Jackson had quit First-Class cricket, on August 24, 1911, Bina was born in Krishnanagar to Beni Madhab Das, headmaster of numerous schools (he was possibly based in Cuttack at that time), and Sarala Devi, a social worker. She went to St John’s Diocesan Girls’ Higher Secondary School, and later, Bethune Collegiate School.
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While at Bethune, Bina joined the semi-revolutionary female-only Chhatri Sangha (Female Students’ Association). Influenced by the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, she took to the non-violent movement and took to using the charkha (spinning wheel).
Bina was also influenced by her sister Kalyani, who was four years elder to her. Kalyani was an active member of Chhatri Sangha, and was arrested while distributing seditious pamphlets. Bina frequently visited her sister at the prison, and was affected greatly by the extreme hardships through which Kalyani was forced to go through.
1928
When the Simon Commission representatives arrived in India in February 1928, they were met with vehement protests. The police hit back. The Lahore protest, on October 30, saw Lala Lajpat Rai being gravely injured; it is believed that the blows were responsible for his death three weeks after the incident.
Bina was an active part of the protests. Her philosophy had already changed after meeting Subhash Chandra Bose. She was a volunteer in the Calcutta Session of Indian National Congress (INC) the same year, presided over by Motilal Nehru.
Meanwhile, in 1927, Jackson had been appointed Governor of Bengal, and was knighted with GCIE (Knight Grand Commander). He did not have the slightest inkling of what was in store for him.
He seemed happy enough when Lord Hawke visited Calcutta in 1930. Hawke later reminisced in Wisden 1932: “He and I were the guests of honour at the dinner to us of the Calcutta Cricket Club given at the Bengal Club. We both made speeches, and when he got up to speak first he said across the table to me, ‘I’ve got first innings today, old man. You bossed me often enough in the past, but I’m boss here!’”
In short, he retained his sense of humour. He was efficient in his responsibilities, and there was no major complaint against him by Indians or Englishmen during his tenure as Governor of Bengal. If anything, Jackson was responsible for the Maldah District Central Cooperative Bank to promote cooperative movements.
India, ablaze
The 1930s witnessed the Indian freedom movement take extreme steps. Gandhi initiated the Salt Satyagraha (Dandi March) on March 12, 1930, triggering the Civil Disobedience Movement. INC declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) on January 26, 1930.
Bhagat Singh was imprisoned for the murder of John Saunders and bombing and distributing pamphlets inside Central Legislative Assembly. Following a fast demanding equal rights for Indian and English and European prisoners, he became one of the biggest role models for the Indian youth. He was hanged to death in 1931 at an age of 23.
The flame had been set ablaze. It was merely a matter of time.
The day
The students of Calcutta University sat expectedly as Jackson reached the dais. It was, after all, their convocation, and Jackson was the chief guest. Little did they know that seated among them, adorning the same convocation gown, was a girl in her early twenties. She was there to collect her BA (English) degree. She was also armed with a revolver.
Bina had earlier worked with Kamala Dasgupta, a friend of Kalyani, for an organisation called Yugantar (Another Era). Impressed, Kamala acquired a revolver for 280 rupees. She also trained Bina on shooting; fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), the lessons were inadequate.
Jackson had merely started his speech when Bina stood up and opened fire at him. Jackson managed to duck. By the time Hassan Suhrawardy, Vice-Chancellor of the University, managed to snatch the revolver away from Bina, she had fired five bullets at Jackson — in vain.
The Glasgow Herald reported: “The Governor, who was not injured, owed his escape to his own marvellous coolness and to the fact that the Vice-Chancellor of the University physically grappled with the assailant.”
Bina refused to divulge the names of her accomplices during a 48-hour intense interrogation — one that was far from being nonviolent. Sent for trial, she penned down a statement before the tribunal of Calcutta High Court.
Her intentions were clear: “I can assure all that I could never have any personal grudge against any person or anything on earth; I have no sort of personal feelings against Sir Stanley Jackson, the man and Lady Jackson, the woman. But the Governor of Bengal represents the system of repression which has kept enslaved 300 millions of my countrymen and countrywomen.”
Bina was sentenced to nine years of hard labour imprisonment but was released in 1939. She earned the sobriquet of Agnikanya (Woman of Fire).
What followed?
Subsequent to her release, Bina became an active part of Gandhi’s Quit India Movement in 1942. She served another three-year sentence. Bina was a member of Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly (West Bengal Legislative Assembly since 1947) from 1946 to 1951. She passed away in relative obscurity at Rishikesh on October 26, 1986.
Suhrawardy was knighted for his “heroism”.
Jackson was awarded Order of Saint John and Order of the Star of India, both in 1932. He came back to England, and served as President of Yorkshire Cricket Club from Lord Hawke’s death in 1938 till his own death in 1947. He died five months before Indian Independence in a road accident near Hyde Park, London.
(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor and Cricket Historian at CricketCountry. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)
