Kalpana Dutta (also known as Kalpana Joshi) was an Indian revolutionary who worked with Masterda Surya Sen in the famous Chittagong Armoury raids of 1930 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, she joined the Communist Party of India and worked for the upliftment of the working class. Rabindranath Tagore called her the 'burning Daughter of Bengal'.
Personal Information
| Full Name | Kalpana Dutta Joshi |
| Date of Birth | July 27, 1913 |
| Birth Place | Sripur village, Chittagong district (now Bangladesh) |
| Died | February 8, 1995 (aged 81) New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Political Party | Communist Party of India |
| Alma Mater | Bethune College University of Calcutta |
| Spouse | Puran Chand Joshi (m. 1943; died 1980) |
| Children | Suraj Joshi (son) Chand Joshi (son) |
| Parents | Binod Behari Dutta (father) Shobhanbala Dutta (mother) |
| Relatives | Chuni Dutta (sister) Ruby Dutta (sister) Dr. Durgadas Dutta (grandfather) |
| Profession | Indian independence movement activist, revolutionist |
Early Life and Education
Kalpana Dutta was born on July 27, 1913, in Sripur, a village in the Chittagong District of Bengal Province, British India (now in Bangladesh), to a fairly affluent family. Her grandfather, Dr. Durgadas Dutta, was an influential person in Chittagong and had been conferred the title of Rai Bahadur for his loyal services to the British Raj. Her father, Binod Behari Dutta, was a loyal government employee, and her mother, Shobhanbala Dutta, was a housewife.
She completed her matriculation examination from Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' High School in Chittagong in 1929 and then moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to pursue higher studies. She joined Bethune College in Calcutta in the science department. Along with her classes in chemistry, which later helped her in making bombs, Kalpana also took lessons in lathi and swordplay at the gymnasium. Later, she graduated from Calcutta University in 1940.
She became involved in politics while studying at Bethune College. Inspired by the ideals of Shaheed Khudiram Bose and revolutionary Kanai Lal Dutta, she joined the Kalyani Das’s Chhatri Sangha (Women Students' Association) formed at Bethune College, where Bina Das and Pritilata Waddedar were also active members. The leaders of the revolutionary party at the time believed that girls, being naturally compassionate and gentle, were unsuitable for revolutionary work. Kalpana Dutt wrote, "It was an iron rule for the revolutionaries that they should keep aloof from women."
Personal life
Kalpana Dutta married the charismatic CPI General Secretary P.C. Joshi in 1943. She died on February 8, 1995, at the age of 81 in New Delhi, Delhi, India. She gave birth to two sons, Suraj Joshi and Chand Joshi. Chand Joshi was a journalist who worked for The Hindustan Times. He was also known for his book, Bhindranwale: Myth and Reality (1984). Chand Joshi’s second wife, Manini Chatterjee, was also a journalist who works for The Telegraph and authored a book on the Chittagong Armoury Raid titled Do and Die: The Chattagram Uprising 1930–34 (1999). The book was also adapted into the 2010 film Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, with Abhishek Bachchan as Surya Sen and Deepika Padukone as Kalpana Dutta. Another movie, Chittagong, was released on October 12, 2012, based on the uprising. It was produced and directed by Bedabrata Pain, an ex-NASA scientist.
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