Let us dig with spade – forgetting all the ego
Leaving idleness – to invigorate our health
All ailments – will fly away In hunger we’ll take cream and thickened milk.
The above song and the arrangements of words are closely associated with Bratachari. He who observes the specific way of vow is ‘BRATACHARI`. Gurusaday Dutta was the founder of BRATACHARI. In his professional life Gurusaday also passed Bar-at-law with I.C.S. in British India. In that turbulent time at 24 only Gurusaday joined the post of S.D.O. in Arah district of Bihar. He got married with Sarojnalini, the fourth daughter of Brajendranath Dey, I.C.S. on the 23rd September, 1906. In 1909 their only son Birendrasaday Dutt was born. The nationalist movement against partition of Bengal and the support of his wife Sarojnalini had a great influence in the life of Gurusaday. The expert hunter Gurusaday left fire-arms and devoted himself to the vow of patriotism.
It was a juncture of history, when the nation sowed the seeds of its powerful endavour to nation-making. This source of unadulterated patriotism and Bengalism is the boyhood of Gurusaday.
In the year 1882, 10th May Gurusaday was born as the youngest son of Ramkrishna Dutta and Anandamoyee Debi in Birashree Village. On the bank of river Kushiara in the lap of mount Jayantia in district Sreehatta of present Bangladesh. This village Birasree was the pleasure ground of his boyhood. This environment taught him swimming, riding and climbing trees.
On one hand this bravery and on the other listening to the heroic stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata from his mother developed his qualities of leadership. At the age of only 14 he lost both of his parents. An indomitable spirit goaded him. He failed in class five but stood 2nd in the Entrance Examination in the education year 1898-99.
He came from Sreehatta and was admitted in Presidency College, Kolkata. The instinct of leadership, intellect, courage and talent made him different from all. Gurusaday became a favourite student of the famous scientists like Jagadischandra Basu, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy. In the first Congress Conference at Calcutta Gurusaday was elected as the Captain of volunteers in 1901.
Gurusaday stood 1st in the F.A. Examination in 1901. Then he left for England.
Gurusaday studied I.C.S. and Bar-at-Law with the help of Sreehatta Sammilani. Gurusaday stood 1st in the I.C.S. Examination and even achieved an outstanding result in the Bar-at-Law Examination. When he returned to the country in 1905, the people of Bengal went all out to protest against the partition of Bengal. Rabindranath composed song.
Banglar mati Banglar jal (The soil and water of Bengal)
Surendranath was in the leadership of this movement and sister Nivedita was the inspiration of the movement.
From 1911 to 1915 Gurusaday Dutta I.C.S. was in Judicial service, sometimes in Khulna, Jessore, Faridpur, Kumilla, Dhaka and Barishal in undivided Bengal.
In fact the English administrators realised that though he was in ICS, Gurusaday was never a stooge of the British Government. He was a real Indian patriot. So the transfer in service was a regular affair for Gurusaday. But Gurusaday was not bothered by it.
In November, 1915 he joined the post of district collector of Birbhum, there he founded the Lees Amateur Musical Society on 12th December, 1916. Here he learnt the ABC of making Organisation.
From his Japan tour in 1920 he could understand that the development of Country is never possible without the waking of women.
The very next year in 1921 after he had been appointed in the post of District Magistrate of Bankura he started the Co-operative agricultural project.
Actually he was the first man who started the indigenous agricultural and industrial fair.
His wife Sarojnalini engaged herself to construct women’s society for the welfare of the poor women. For this, Gurusaday had to face the rage of the Government. And he was transferred to the post of Secretary, Agriculture and Industries Department in 1923.
The sudden death of wife Sarojnalini on 19th January, 1925 created a big vacuum in the life of Gurusaday. Sarojnalini was the fountain of all of his creative activities.
After the death of his wife he founded Sarojnalini Women’s’ Welfare Association in her memory. This association started its work to find the world of freedom through the poor women’s own activities. The parting soul of Sarojnalini became the new source of inspiration to Gurusaday.
Subsequently, Gurusaday founded many women’s’ Welfare Societies. Banglakshmi was the spokesman of these societies.
In 1926 Gurusaday was again transferred to the post of D.M. Howrah. As usual here also he showed his innovative ideas. With a target to develop the villages he published the magazine “Gramer Dak”.
He said, “If you like to worship your motherland India you should respond to the calls from villages.”
In this way he called everyone to serve his own country. He established the Agro-Benefactor Society of Howrah District.
The water-hyacinth swallowed up the water-bodies and became the veritable breeding grounds of mosquitoes-the vectors of malaria. Gurusaday started to eradicate the water-hyacinth with the villagers’ help. He composed songs like “Let us eradicate the water-hyacinth, the demon who is strangling our Bengal.”
The removal of distress from village is the absolute freedom of country, this was the fundamental concept of Gurusaday. 28th March 1928. On the demand for pay escalation the employees of Liluah Workshop of Railways started agitation in front of the Bamangachhi Loco Shed gate. In no time police pounced upon the unarmed workers and started firing, which killed four workers and thirty five survived with serious bullet injuries.
Within half an hour Gurusaday reached the spot and started investigating the incident. The District Magistrate Gurusaday Dutta held the Superintendent of Police Mr. Sturgis and Captain Christie of Eastern Frontier responsible for firing. This was the first instance when the British were accused by an Indian I.C.S. Officer. At once the British Government flew into rage and to revenge Gurusaday Dutta had been transferred to Maimanshingha District.
In the year 1929 while he was travelling Rome he took part in an event organised by Save English Folk Dances and Songs, Society of England. Immediately after being the District Magistrate of Maimonsingha he established the Maimonshingha Folk dance and Folk song society.
He started using the ‘Jari Dance’ for communal harmony. It was an exemplary step in the history of Independence movements.
12th March 1930. The historical Dandee Movement started under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. That influenced Maimonsingha a great deal.
On 6th April an order was sent to Gurusaday to start lathi charge and firing to break the movement. But Gurusaday refused to obey that order.
On 12th April Gurusaday got a new telegram “Leave Maimanshing at once.” Gurusaday had been transferred to Birbhum. Thus he had been transferred eight times to Birbhum only.
In Birbhum also indefatigable Gurusaday re-invented the almost extinct dance ‘Raibenshe’. Inspired by this dance-form he composed a victory-song named “Raibishe”.
At this time in 1931 he founded the Rural Heritage Revival Society of Bengal to keep Gurusaday started practising and preaching the folk dance assisted by a teacher of Sultanpur High School of Birbhum Nabanidhar Bandyopadhyay (Alaji), Satyakinkar Chattopadhyay (Satyaji) and many others.
In the year 1931 Gurusaday discovered the war-dance Dhali of Jessore. After that followed a series of discoveries and practices of different dance forms. ‘Sari’ of Chittagong, ‘Dhamail’ of Sreehatta, ‘Kathi’ of Birbhum, ‘Baul’ of Birbhum, ‘Jhumur’ of Purulia. Gurusaday revived folk songs and folk dances one after another.
Inspired by his works many eminent personalities of the then period like Hemlata Thakur, Dinendranath Thakur, Dinesh Chandra Sen stood by his side.
6th February, 1932 (23rd Magha, 1338 Bangabda). A folk dance camp took place in the playground of Benimadhab High School, Suri.
Gurusaday exhorted the trainees of the camp to accept life as a great vow. The BRATACHARI movement took birth through the term ‘BRATACHARI.
Three oaths of the love of land were uttered: – I love and serve Bengal, India and the whole world. I am the vow-taker of Bengal, India and the whole world.
All assembled trainees heartily accepted his call and took oath to follow it. They also accepted Gurusaday Dutta as their ‘Guru’. And he became ‘Guruji’ for all.
To make the human life complete, successful and pure Guruji spoke of five vows i.e. Wisdom, Labour, Truthfulness, Unity and Joy.
Irrespective of man and woman who will follow these five vows will be a ‘‘BRATACHARI.
As to the definition of Guruji ‘‘BRATACHARI is essentially a people’s movement.’
When the freedom-movement was at its height and the whole world was rocked by turmoil, Gurusaday started the movement of a new life – an internal revolution.
With the enormous effort of Gurusaday the ‘BRATACHARI education in scouting was introduced in all schools, colleges and universities of the then Bengal as a compulsory subject.
Bengal got the new incantation of harmony in the call of Gurusaday “Joy Sonar Bangla” or “Ja-So-Ba”
20th March 1932. At his own initiative and financing an open exhibition of folk arts like ancient canvas, statues of wood and stone, pitchers designs and wall-paintings, was held in the Society of Oriental Art building. Many Bengali intellectuals including Abanindranath Tagore applauded greatly.
In the year 1933 Gurusaday was sent to Delhi as a Central Assembly Member. In the same year he founded “All India Folk Dance Society” with the artistes from Birbhum.
In 1934 he was again transferred to the post of Secretary, Industries Department in Kolkata. In this year the Bengal Bratachari Samity was established and registered by Society Registration Act.
Gurusaday delivered his lecture in the International Folk Dance Festival in London as the representative of India in June, 1935. As a result a sensational interest on Bratachari grew in Europe.
In 1936 Guruji was invited to the international conference on New Education Fellowship in England.
On 15th November, 1937 in the residence of Sarat Basu, Bratachari was presented in the presence of Netaji and Gandhiji in the audience. Overwhelmed Gandhiji said “I do admit with grief, this item is absolutely new to me; though it should have been known to me long ago.”
Rabindranath also said in his blessings, “I expect Bratachari should spread over entire Bengal.”
Guruji did not allow their blessings to go in vain.
Guruji divided the entire practice into sixteen Aalis or sixteen vows of action.
The freedom of women from slavery was the main thing of his philosophy.
To propagate the ‘BRATACHARI Movement in Europe, he wrote a song in English “If you want”.
Gurusaday Dutt wrote a number of books. Most of them are not available now.
After a long service of thirty five years, on 11th December, 1940 Gurusaday Dutta retired. But he did not rest on his oars.
Eleven days after his retirement, on 22nd December he purchased a 33 acre plot of land for Rs. 31 thousand in the extreme south of Kolkata City under ‘Joka’ village near Thakurpukur beside Diamond Harbour Road through the State Government in favour of Bengal Bratachari Society. He named it ‘Bratachari Village’. There the foundation of museum was built with the brick engraved with the name of Bratachari.