A freedom fighter who surrendered a flourishing legal career to chase an independent India — Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar marked the birth anniversary of 'Deshbandhu' Chittaranjan Das on Thursday, 5 November 2026, saluting the leader as a true servant of Maa Bharati (Mother India).

Posting on X in Hindi, Khattar wrote: 'On the birth anniversary of a great freedom fighter and true servant of Mother India, 'Deshbandhu' Chittaranjan Das ji, I bow to him with reverence. He dedicated his entire life to the freedom and reconstruction of the nation. His unwavering commitment to Swaraj and his resolve for national service remain an inspiration for all of us.'

Who was Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das?

Chittaranjan Das (1870–1925) was one of the towering figures of India's independence movement. A celebrated lawyer in Calcutta, he famously argued in the defence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak during his sedition trial — and later walked away from a highly lucrative practice to plunge full-time into the freedom struggle. The title 'Deshbandhu' — meaning 'Friend of the Nation' — was bestowed by a grateful public, not claimed.

He served as President of the Indian National Congress in 1921, steering the organisation through the turbulent Non-Cooperation Movement. When the movement was called off after the Chauri Chaura incident of 1922, Das, alongside Motilal Nehru, took a different path — co-founding the Swaraj Party to contest legislative councils from within and obstruct colonial governance. It was a bold, contrarian strategy that kept constitutional pressure on the British even as mass agitation paused.

A legacy built on sacrifice, not just sentiment

Das died young, at 55, in June 1925 — but left behind a Bengal transformed in its political consciousness. His insistence on Swaraj — self-rule — was not merely rhetorical; he poured personal wealth into the cause and championed Hindu-Muslim unity at a time of communal strain. His influence shaped a generation of Bengali leaders who carried the torch through to 1947.

Khattar's tribute follows the well-established practice among Indian political leaders of marking the birth anniversaries of pre-independence figures, a tradition that cuts across party lines and keeps the memory of the freedom struggle alive in public discourse.

The 'Friend of the Nation' never lived to see the nation he fought for become free — but his blueprint for principled dissent inside and outside the system still echoes in every debate about how to hold power accountable.