Chittagong

In 1930, protests erupt in Chittagong after the death of Jatin Das. A diffident 14-year-old Jhunku faces his father’s wish for him to study in England, while idolizing Masterda and the rebels. The figures of the magistrate Wilkinson and the movement shape his sense of justice and duty.

After the initial protests, Major Johnson tortures Masterda, escalating the crackdown. Wilkinson opposes such methods, sowing doubt about British justice in Jhunku. The tension between education, loyalty, and rebellion deepens as events unfold.

Rebels spike Johnson’s motorcycle with oil, triggering his crash and a fevered manhunt. Wilkinson eventually pressures Jhunku to reveal information, leading to Sukhen’s death at Johnson’s hands. The incident drives Jhunku to question his loyalties and seek revenge.

The betrayals and violence push Jhunku to abandon his old beliefs and join Masterda’s army. He shifts from a reluctant teen to an active participant in the uprising. This marks his entry into a larger revolutionary network.

Pritilata Waddedar, a schoolteacher, is drawn to Masterda’s ideas and longs to join the struggle. She harbors affection for Nirmal Sen and navigates love amid political fervor. Her presence broadens the movement beyond male comrades.

Masterda and his allies train around fifty students for a coordinated strike on Chittagong on 18 April 1930. They aim to cut telegraph lines, disrupt trains, and seize police armouries as a prelude to revolt. The operation culminates in a staged proclamation of a provisional revolutionary government.

Ganesh Ghosh leads the police armoury raid while Lokenath Bal's faction seizes the Auxiliary Force armory, and others disrupt communications. Surya Sen leads a military salute and proclaims a provisional government, igniting brief elation across the town. Chittagong experiences a rare moment of revolutionary success before reinforcements arrive.

British reinforcements push the rebels to Jalalabad hill ranges, triggering a fierce confrontation with heavy casualties. Harish, known as Tegra, the brother of Lokenath, dies in the fighting. The rebels’ hold in the city collapses as the net tightens around them.

After the dispersal, CID officer Ahsanullah Khan intensifies the crackdown, and Jhunku is arrested and beaten during interrogation. He refuses to betray his leaders and comrades, sealing his fate as a lifelong prisoner. The revolutionaries suffer further losses as the crackdown continues.

Pritilata Waddedar attacks the Pahartali European Club and assassitates DIG Johnson; she is gravely wounded and chooses cyanide to die rather than surrender. Her sacrifice exemplifies the contribution of women to the struggle. The attack reverberates through Chittagong and fuels resistance.

Master Da Surya Sen is captured by the authorities and hanged, a major setback for the movement. Jhunku’s narration resumes with his later experiences, including his eventual release years later. The crackdown, however, sows seeds for continued resistance elsewhere.

In 1939, Jhunku is released and resumes the struggle alongside Aparna, rejoining uprisings against colonial rule. He participates in actions again, maintaining his resolve to free his country. The cycle of rebellion continues into the late 1930s.

In 1945, peasants and revolutionaries unite in the Tebhaga movement to challenge grain taxation and control. Underground dungeons are created to guard granaries, and large crowds rise in support. The British retreat under pressure as India edges toward independence, ending with the crowd and the song Ishaan.