November 17, 2023
Hijli Detention Camp to IITKGP - the Untold Saga
IITKGP Foundation
Directed by Pinaki Sarkar, this documentary film dedicated to the sacred memory of the Martyrs of Hijli Detention Camp narrates the story of the building which was once a detention camp for revolutionaries who selflessly fought for the Independence of India. With recreated events, the film is a documented tale of real incidents, real characters and a portrayal of historic events. The building holding the history of India for decades is now The Nehru Museum of Science and Technology on the IIT Kharagpur campus. In British India, the district of Midnapore in Bengal became a hub of revolutionary activities; there were several organizations involved in armed revolution as well as the nonviolence movement. The British wanted to divide the district along with the partition of Bengal. The proposed district was named Hijli and its headquarter was constructed near Kharagpur, but was never used for that purpose as the plan could never be realized.
A significant moment in the Indian independence movement occurred here in 1931 when two unarmed detainees, Santosh Kumar Mitra and Tarakeswar Sengupta, were shot dead by the Indian Imperial Police. Subhas Chandra Bose came to Hijli to collect their bodies for interment. Many Indian nationalists, including Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, voiced strong protests against the British Raj over this incident. The firing which later became known as "Hijli firing" is the only incident of police firing inside a detention camp. The detention camp was closed in 1937 and was reopened in 1940. In 1942 it was closed for the final time and the detainees were transferred elsewhere. During the Second World War it was occupied by the U.S. Air Force.
Today, the camp is also known for being the birthplace of Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur, which started in 1951. In 1990, a part of the former detention camp buildings were converted to house the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology.
Source: Wikipedia and The Nehru Museum of Science & Technology
US Air Force personnel playing baseball in front of the Hijli Detention Camp main building in 1945. The moment was captured by the late Edward L. Phillips, during his stay in the Old Building as an American Crew Chief on a C-46 flying squad in May 1945.