Rabi Neogy

Rabi Neogy
Rabindra Chandra Neogy
Born	29 April 1909 Sherpur, Bengal, British Raj
Died	May 10, 2002 Sherpur, Bangladesh
Known for	participation in Indian independence movement and ex prisoner of Andaman Cellular Jail
Spouse	Surabala Neogy
Children	Ranjit Neogy (son) Manjushree Neogy (daughter) Sajal Neogy (son) Kajol Neogy (son)
Parents	Ramesh Neogy (father) Surabala Neogy (mother)

Rabindra Chandra Neogy (Bengali: রবি নিয়োগী) (1909–2002) was an Indian revolutionary and workers' rights activist. Born in Sherpur to a zamindar family in Undivided Bengal, he defied his privileged roots to join the revolutionary movement early. He later became involved with Jugantar and faced multiple arrests for anti-British actions, including the Gudaraghat Shooting Case. Deported to the Cellular Jail, he led hunger strikes demanding prisoner rights and co-founded the Communist party’s jail branch. After joining the Communist Party in 1942, he led peasant struggles like the Tanka movement. He refused to leave East Pakistan post-Partition and spent over three decades prison across multiple regimes like British, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi regimes—spending 34 of his 92 years imprisoned.

Early life and family background

Rabi Neogy, was born on 16 Baisakh 1316 in the Bengali calendar (corresponding to 29 April 1909, though the exact Gregorian date is disputed), in Sherpur, Mymensingh in present-day Bangladesh. He belonged to a prominent zamindar family. The Neogy residence, known locally as Neogy Lodge, was well known in the region.

Parents and siblings

His father, Ramesh Neogy, was a respected figure in Sherpur who managed family estates and actively supported local cultural institutions, including running a public library. His mother, Surabala Neogy, raised eleven children, including Rabi and his younger brother, Manindra Neogy (nicknamed Mani), who was also politically active.

Education and political awakening

Schooling and early activism

Neogy began his education at Sherpur Victoria Academy and later attended Gobindapur Peace Memorial School, where he passed his matriculation in 1926. His political awareness began early; at the age of 11, he participated in the Khilafat Movement during his school years.

College years and revolutionary turn

In 1926, he enrolled at Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh. There he became associated with the Jugantar revolutionary group and underwent physical training at Dhiren Sen’s gymnasium, a meeting point for members of both Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti. After a confrontation with police, Neogy was expelled and fled to Kolkata, where he joined Vidyasagar College and connected with revolutionaries such as Surendranath Ghosh and Jibanlal Chatterjee.

Revolutionary activities under British rule

Civil disobedience and arrests

Returning to Sherpur in 1929, Neogy helped mobilize the local civil disobedience movement. In 1930, he served as a member of the All Bengal Congress Working Committee and was arrested during picketing actions.

Armed activities and imprisonment

In 1931, he was arrested in the Gudaraghat shooting case and sentenced to seven years in prison, serving terms in Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and later in the Andaman Islands. In 1933, Neogy participated in a hunger strike in the Cellular Jail demanding improved prison conditions. The death of three strikers during force-feeding prompted national protest and eventually led to concessions after 46 days.

Marxist organization in prison

In the Andamans—referred to by revolutionaries as a “Marxist University”—Neogy helped establish the first Communist party cell inside the jail in 1933. He was released in 1938, re-arrested, and then freed again in 1941, though he was detained shortly afterward under the Security Act.

Political work in Colonial and postcolonial eras

Transition to Communist politics

In 1942, Neogy joined the Communist Party of India and was elected to its Mymensingh District Committee. He led the 1943 peasant conference in Nalitabari opposing the Tanka system in Netrokona, helping lay the groundwork for the All-India Peasant Conference held in 1945.

Post-partition struggles and persecution

After the Partition, Neogy refused to leave his homeland despite communal violence that forced his family into exile. During the 1950 riots, both he and his wife Jyotsna Neogy were jailed. Under Pakistan's rule, he was imprisoned for 20 of 24 years, enduring multiple arrests for his continued activism.

Role during the liberation war and afterward

1971 and nation-building

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Neogy supported freedom fighters and worked in refugee camps, despite the destruction of his Sherpur home by Pakistani forces. After independence, he remained engaged in socialist organizing, youth education, and cultural initiatives.

Rabi Neogy

Later arrests and continued advocacy

Even at the age of 80, Neogy was imprisoned under Ershad ministry's regime in 1988. Reflecting on his political trajectory, he remarked:

“From British times to today, every government except Bangabandhu’s has jailed me. Am I that dangerous? I only speak of people’s liberation.”

Personal life

Marriage and family

In 1941, Neogy married Jyotsna Rani Neogy, daughter of Yogesh Majumdar of Bikrampur. A revolutionary in her own right, Jyotsna participated in the women's liberation and labor movements, enduring over 12 years in jail or underground. The couple had three sons and a daughter.

• Ranjit Neogy: poet and artist
• Manjushree Neogy: singer and cultural activist
• Sajal Neogy: educator
• Kajol Neogy: engineer

Journalism and public engagement

Neogy also worked as a journalist, reporting from the 1971 war fronts for Kalantar, a Kolkata newspaper. He founded the Sherpur Journalists’ Association in 1973 and served as president of the Sherpur Press Club, being named its lifetime president in 1996.

Awards and recognition

Neogy received several honors in recognition of his revolutionary work, including:

• Dalu Genocide Day Honor (1989)
• Veer Savarkar Trust Award, Mumbai (1991)
• Tilak Trust Award, Pune (1991)
• Jiten Ghosh Trust Award (1994)
• Masterda Surya Sen Parishad Honor (1995)
• Tebhaga Memorial Award (1996)
• Shahid Dhirendranath Datta Commemoration (1996)
• CPB Golden Jubilee Recognition (1999)

Legacy

Having spent 34 of his 92 years in jail, Neogy became a symbol of principled resistance across changing political landscapes. His legacy remains embedded in the revolutionary and socialist history of the Indian subcontinent.

Rabi Neogy died on May 10, 2002, in Sherpur.

Bibliography

• Hemendranath Dasgupta, Bharater Biplab Kahini, II & III, Calcutta, 1948;
• Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, III, Calcutta 1963;
• Abishmaraniya by Ganganarayan Chandra