The Legend of Durga Bhabhi
A school is considered a temple of learning and it sows the seeds of our future torchbearers, but a school in Lucknow has got caught in an ugly turf war. Lucknow Montessori School, the brainchild of the revolutionary freedom fighter Durga Bhabhi is fast sinking into oblivion.
Like minded people in the city have been rallying for the past several months to ensure that the school stays afloat. As we celebrate Independence Day, the story of Durga Bhabhi is one which reminds you of the mutinies that we as Indians should cherish and take great sense of pride in.
In Lucknow you will find new and dynamic schools coming up. You will notice the new and swanky infrastructure that comes with the newly setup schools. With high fees come the multiple perks. But Lucknow Montessori School has a rich legacy that very few of the modern day Gurukul’s will offer.
Bhagat Singh gave up his life for the nation. You try spotting a home of the revolutionary Bhagat Singh’s wife in Ghaziabad possibly you may not find it.
Durga Devi Vohra better known as Durga Bhabhi once lived here with her son Sachi. Durga Devi who died in 1999 at the age of 92 and was referred to as Bhagat Singh’s wife actually never married Bhagat Singh. The only child to a Gujarati couple in Allahabad, Durga Devi was brought up by her aunt after her mother died and father took sanyas. At 11, she tied the nuptial knot with Bhagwati Charan Vohra, son of a wealthy Gujarati who lived in Lahore and worked for railways.
It all started with Bhagat Singh along with his fellow comrade Sukhdev accidentally gunning down JP Saunders on 17 December 1927. While the duo escaped, Lahore was plunged into darkness with disturbance marring the peace there. With cops standing on guard at every nook and corner of Lahore, the Hindustan Socialist Republic Association (HSRA) requested Durga Devi to “act” as Bhagat Singh’s wife and pave way for his escape.
After meticulous planning with husband Bhagwati Charan the trio left for their respective destinations.
They set out on a tonga for Lahore railway station on 17 December. They bought two first-class rail tickets. As Bhagat Singh was travelling with “family”, he got a coupe. Over 400 cops were at the platform on the lookout for Bhagat Singh, but he escaped.
Bhagat Singh was dressed in a suit and a hat. Carrying her son in her arms, Durga Devi, knew that the real target JA Scot escaped.
On reaching Lucknow, Bhagat Singh immediately sent a telegram to Bhagwati Charan, informing him that he was coming to Calcutta with ‘Durgawati’ while Rajguru was going to Banaras. When the two arrived at Calcutta, they were received by a surprised Bhagwati Charan who was delighted to learn of his wife’s role in helping Bhagat Singh and Rajguru escape.
Bhagwati Charan passed away in Lahore on 28 May 1930 while testing a bomb on banks of Ravi. Never influenced by caste prejudices working for Hindu-Muslim unity he was party to murder of Saunders and throwing of bombs in Central Assembly Hall by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt.
After Bhagwati Charan died a grief stricken Durga Devi plunged into revolutionary work. She led a procession in Lahore in July 1929, holding placards with Bhagat Singh’s photograph demanding release. Weeks later she led a funeral procession of Jatindra Nath Das from Lahore to Calcutta.
That very year on October 8, she shot at a British policeman and his wife standing on the Lamington Road in South Bombay termed “the first instance in which a woman figured prominently in a terrorist outrage”. She was arrested and awarded three years imprisonment. After Bhagat Singh’s execution in 1931, the HSRA wound up.
Durga Bhabhi moved to Lucknow in 1940 and started Lucknow Montessori School for children belonging to poor families. She had by now done her Montessori training at Madras in 1939. She ran the school till 1975 when she moved to Ghaziabad.
So short is the memory of the country that neither has any road in Ghaziabad or Lucknow been named after her, nor has the school she setup seen good times in the recent past.
Durga Bhabi notably was among the early women revolutionaries of pre-independence India. Not many would know that in the blockbuster movie Rang De Basanti the role played by Soha Ali Khan was based on Durga Devi
Durgawati Devi is still remembered as a terror to the British police, and referred to as “The Agni of India”.
After almost seven decades of a free India it is rather sad that those who toiled night and day to get India freed from the shackles of British rule are being forgotten. Most of them including Durga Bhabhi have been overlooked by writers and historians.
As long as India remembers Bhagat Singh with gratitude, it cannot ignore the role of Durga Bhabhi.
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