From Barracks to Gallows: The Untold Story of Sunil Mukhopadhyay

 “মরণের পরে আমি কাঁদিব তোমাদের প্রাণে প্রাণে,

রহিব হৃদয়ের মাঝে, করিব জাগরণ গানে।”
— রজনীকান্ত সেন
(“After death, I shall cry out in your soul,
I shall dwell in your heart, awaken you in song.”)

Some martyrs do not die — they continue to stir the nation’s conscience long after they’re gone. Sunil Mukhopadhyay (17 August 1920 – 27 September 1943) was one such flame, extinguished too soon, yet still burning in silence.

Born in Kamalpur, Hooghly, Sunil was a brilliant student who could have walked a different path. But the ideals of Swadeshi patriotism, and later the influence of Subhas Chandra Bose, drew him toward revolution. To support his family, he joined the 4th Heavy Battery of the Indian Coastal Defence, but his heart remained devoted to India's freedom.

Sunil took part in a failed uprising in Cochin on 18 April 1943, a daring but doomed act of defiance against colonial power. On 27 September 1943, he was executed alongside eight comrades, sealing his place in the ranks of India’s unsung heroes.

This post revisits his sacrifice, conviction, and courage—a story buried by time, but alive in spirit.

Sunil Mukhopadhyay

Sunil Mukhopadhyay
Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay
Born17 August 1920
Maniktala, Kolkata, Bengal, British India
Died27 September 1943 (aged 23)
Madras Central Prison, Madras Presidency, British India
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
NationalityIndian
Alma materKamalpur Middle English School, Balagarh High School in Hooghly district
Known forMutiny attempt at Cochin in the beginning of Royal Indian Navy mutiny
MovementIndian independence movement
Parents
  • Panchugopal Mukhopadhyay (father)
  • Binapani Devi (mother)

Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay (Bengali: সুনীল কুমার মুখোপাধ্যায় Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay) (17 August 1920 – 27 September 1943) was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter from Kamalpur, Hooghly district, West Bengal. An academically gifted student, he was inspired by the ideals of the Swadeshi movement from a young age. He joined the Indian Coastal Defence’s 4th Heavy Battery as a gunner to support his family, but his patriotic convictions, especially after coming under the influence of Subhas Chandra Bose, led him into revolutionary activities. He participated in a failed uprising in Cochin on 18 April 1943 and was executed by the British on 27 September 1943 with eight comrades.[1][2]

Early life

Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay was born on 17 August 1920 at his maternal uncle’s residence in Maniktala, Kolkata, then part of British India. His ancestral home was situated in Kamalpur village in the Khamargachi area of Balagarh block, located in the Hooghly districtt of present-day West Bengal. Although the book Banga Sanskritir Ek Parba by Nrisingha Prasad Bhattacharya mentions Shobhabazar as his birthplace, accounts from family members indicate that the correct location was Maniktala. He was the eldest of nine children born to Panchugopal Mukhopadhyay and Binapani Devi.[3][4][5][6][7]

Education

Sunil began his education at Kamalpur Middle English School and later studied at Balagarh High School. In 1939, he passed the Entrance Examination with distinction and enrolled in an Intermediate of Commerce (I. Com.) course at a college in Kolkata. However, following the death of his father, he was forced to discontinue his studies in order to support his family.[8]

Influences and nationalist sentiment

From an early age, Mukhopadhyay was drawn to the ideals of the Swadeshi movement and revolutionary nationalism. His political awareness was shaped in part by his familial connection to the noted revolutionary Jatin Mukherjee, popularly known as Bagha Jatin.[9][10][11]

A notable incident from his school days is frequently cited as indicative of his early opposition to colonial rule. During a visit to Balagarh High School by a British circus performer, students were challenged to lift a dumbbell, with a small monetary reward offered to anyone who succeeded. The performer reportedly mocked the students with racist remarks, asserting that they would be unable to lift the weight. Sunil successfully lifted the dumbbell and, despite his family's financial difficulties, refused the prize money, allegedly telling the performer, "Sahib, take this money back and use it to eat well."

Military service

Due to financial constraints, Sunil joined the Indian Coastal Defence Force. He was posted to the 4th Heavy Battery as a gunner and was later promoted to the rank of Havildar through merit and service.[12][13][14]

From left to right: Sunil Mukhopadhyay at a cricket tournament. Here he is seen wearing pads and batting gloves.

Involvement in the freedom struggle

Despite serving in the British Indian Army out of financial necessity, Sunil Mukhopadhyay harbored a strong anti-colonial sentiment. His resentment towards British Raj was deepened by personal experiences of discrimination and humiliation under colonial authority. A significant turning point in his life occurred when he came into contact with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. This encounter reignited his revolutionary fervor and aligned him with Bose’s broader vision of achieving Indian independence through both internal rebellion and external military action.[15][16]

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose aimed to overthrow British rule through a two-pronged strategy: an external military campaign via the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj), and coordinated internal revolts within India, especially among Indian soldiers serving in the British forces. Radio communications and covert networks were established to inspire and coordinate these uprisings.[17][18]

Sunil, alongside a group of like-minded soldiers stationed in Cochin under the 4th Madras Coastal Defence Battery, became part of this covert revolutionary effort. Inspired by Bose’s ideals and the legacy of earlier revolutionaries like Bagha Jatin and Rash Behari Bose, they plotted an armed uprising from within the military establishment.[19][20]

Cochin conspiracy and arrest

On 18 April 1943, a planned revolt by Sunil’s artillery unit in Cochin was uncovered by British intelligence, reportedly due to betrayal from within the group. The conspiracy, part of a broader revolutionary scheme to incite rebellion within the armed forces, involved plans of sabotage and dissent.

British military police swiftly arrested approximately a dozen soldiers of the unit on charges of sedition, incitement, and conspiracy to obstruct wartime operations.

Court-martial and sentencing

A secret military court-martial was convened at St. Andrew's Church, Bengaluru, with sessions held on 6 July and 5 August 1943. The tribunal, operating under British martial law, found several of the accused guilty of conspiring against the Crown. Nine soldiers, including Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay, were sentenced to death:[21][22]

  • Mankumar Basu Thakur (21)
  • Nanda Kumar Dey (25)
  • Durgadas Ray Chaudhuri (25)
  • Niranjan Barua (23)
  • Chittaranjan Mukherjee (24)
  • Fanibhusan Chakraborty (23)
  • Sunil Mukhopadhyay (22)
  • Kalipada Aich (23)
  • Nirendra Mohan Mukhopadhyay (21)

Two others received life sentences with deportation, while one was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.[23]

The harsh disparity in sentencing led to speculation that some of the accused may have cooperated with British authorities or turned approvers, though such claims remain unverified.[24]

Upon sentencing, the condemned men were moved from Bangalore to Mysore Central Jail. Their arrival in black attire with symbolic handkerchiefs stirred anxiety among existing inmates. Srikumaran, editor of the Bangalore Congress Central Committee newsletter, documented that political prisoners submitted petitions urging the Mysore government to prohibit the executions from being carried out in the princely state. In response to the protests, the British authorities discreetly transferred the prisoners to Madras Central Prison[25][26]

Execution at Madras Fort

The executions were carried out on 27 September 1943 at Madras Central Prison. According to eyewitness accounts, the condemned soldiers displayed remarkable composure and courage in their final hours. It is reported that they chanted patriotic slogans such as "Vande Mataram" and sang the Indian national anthem as they approached the gallows, executed in pairs. In a final letter to his uncle, Sunil wrote:[27][28]

“I do not know what crime has led to my death sentence, but I have no regrets about dying for my country.”

His nephew, Dr. Siddhartha Mukhopadhyay, later reflected:

“On his centennial birth anniversary, I feel proud to be the son of Sunil Mukhopadhyay’s brother.”

Legacy

The actions of Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Chittaranjan Mukherjee, Mankumar Basu Thakur and their fellow soldiers of the 4th Madras Coastal Defence Battery constitute a little-known but significant episode of resistance within the British Indian Army during World War II. Often referred to informally as the 1943 Cochin Mutiny, this movement was driven by a group of young Bengali soldiers who were ideologically inspired by nationalist leaders such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Their intent was to sabotage British military operations from within and further the Indian freedom struggle by fomenting revolt among Indian ranks in colonial service.[29][30][31]

Although the mutiny was suppressed and its participants court-martialled, the episode represented the growing unrest and political awakening among Indian soldiers who had begun to question their role as instruments of colonial power.[32][33][34] The execution of nine accused—including Sunil Mukhopadhyay—on 27 September 1943, remains a sobering testament to the extent of sacrifice made by those who sought to liberate India through radical means beyond the mainstream nationalist movements.[35][36][37]

Despite being overlooked in official Indian historiography and rarely acknowledged in national commemorations, the Cochin Uprising has been preserved in regional memory, particularly in West Bengal, and among military historians and descendants of the martyrs.[38][39] It helped pave the way for understanding the undercurrents of dissent within the colonial armed forces, a sentiment that would later manifest more visibly during the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of 1946.[40][41][42][43]

Sunil Kumar Mukhopadhyay and his comrades are remembered as enduring symbols of patriotism, youthful defiance, and revolutionary courage in the final and turbulent decade of India’s independence struggle.[44][45][46][47]

See also

References

  1. ↑

    https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?24364 [bare URL]

  2. ↑

    https://www.literacyparadise.com/2019/11/blog-post_4.html [bare URL]

  3. ↑

    dli.scoerat.13938therollofhonour.

  4. ↑

    Ghosh, Kali Charan (1960). The Roll of Honour. Calcutta: Vidya Bharati.

  5. ↑

    "Malkhanagar". malkhanagar.com.

  6. ↑

    Bose, Netaji Subhas (23 July 2023). "Mankumar Basu Thakur - The first episode of revolt in British Indian Army". netajisubhasbose.

  7. ↑

    "একই দিনে ফাঁসি হয়েছিল নয়জন বাঙালি বিপ্লবীর, আমরা কি মনে রেখেছি তাদের আত্মত্যাগ ?". 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

  8. ↑

    Ray, Motilal (12 June 1957). "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Kolkata: Radharaman Chowdhury – via Internet Archive.

  9. ↑

    https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?27055 [bare URL]

  10. ↑

    "ভারতীয় নৌবিদ্রোহের শহীদ মানকুমার বসু ঠাকুর". www.newsg24.com. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

  11. ↑

    "বিস্মৃতি সরিয়ে একনজরে দেখা অগ্নিযুগের বাঙালি শহিদদের". Literacy Paradise. Retrieved 12 June 2025.

  12. ↑

    "Jagaran জাগরণ". Satyendrabnath Sur, Chandannagar. 1938.

  13. ↑

    Rakshit, Bhupendrakishor (1960). Bharater Sashastra-biplab.

  14. ↑

    "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi". 1957.

  15. ↑

    "Jug-Barta যুগবার্তা". Prabartak Publishing House, Chandannagar. 1920.

  16. ↑

    Ray, Motilal (12 June 1880). "Bijaychandi Gitabhinay বিজয় চন্ডী গীতাভিনয়" – via Internet Archive.

  17. ↑

    "Dli.scoerat.13316amisubhashbalchhi".

  18. ↑

    "Abishmaraniya Vol. 2". 1966.

  19. ↑

    "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Radharaman Chowdhury, Kolkata. 1957.

  20. ↑

    Bose, Subhas Chandra. Subhas-rachanavali Vol. 2.

  21. ↑

    "Arabinda-prasanga". 1923.

  22. ↑

    Dasgupta, Sri Hemendranath (1946). Bharater Biplab Kahini Vol. 1.

  23. ↑

    "Mrityunjayee Kanailal". 1945.

  24. ↑

    "Mrityunjayee Kanailal". 1945.

  25. ↑

    "Jug-barta". 1920.

  26. ↑

    "Indian Revolutionary Movement Abroad(1905-1921)". Sterling, New Delhi. 1979.

  27. ↑

    "Jiban Brittanta". 1927.

  28. ↑

    "The Bengal Revolutionaries and Freedom Movement". 1909.

  29. ↑

    "Gita Katha" (1st ed.). 1950.

  30. ↑

    "The Story of Indian Revolution". Prajnananda Jana Seva Sangha, Calcutta. 1972.

  31. ↑

    Sarkar, Tanika (2014). Rebels, wives, saints : Designing selves and nations in colonial times. Permanent Black. ISBN 978-81-7824-396-2.

  32. ↑

    Dey, Biswanath Ed (1959). Subhas Smriti.

  33. ↑

    N.A (1960). Crossroads Being the Works of Subhas Chandra Bose 1938-1940. Kolkata: S. N. Guha.

  34. ↑

    Anurupa Debi (1933). Biplabi.

  35. ↑

    Kanungo, Hemchandra (1929). Banglay Biplab Prachesta (in unsupported language) (1st ed.).

  36. ↑

    "Bigyane Biplab". 1961.

  37. ↑

    "Biplab Pathe Spain". 1931.

  38. ↑

    Bose, Subhas Chandra (1952). The Indian Struggle (1935–1942). Calcutta: M. L. Chakravarti.

  39. ↑

    Bose, Subhas Chandra (1959). Fundamental Questions of Indian Revolution. Kolkata: Netaji Research Bureau.

  40. ↑

    "Biplabi Kanailal" (1st ed.). 1946.

  41. ↑

    Majumdar, Satyendranarayan (1971). Aamar Biplab-jigyasa Parbo.1 (1927-1985).

  42. ↑

    "Revolutionaries of Bengal". 1923.

  43. ↑

    The bomb in Bengal : The rise of revolutionary terrorism in India, 1900-1910. 1993. ISBN 978-0-19-563350-4.

  44. ↑

    "Ichapur Barta Edited by Biplab Ghosh". 22 October 2017.

  45. ↑

    "Pharasi Biplab". 1955.

  46. ↑

    Weinberg, Gerhard L. (2011), A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2nd Edition, p. xx, ISBN 978-0-521-61826-7

  47. ↑

    Kumaraswamy, P. R. (2010), Squaring the Circle: Mahatma Gandhi and the Jewish National Home, Digital version, Routledge, p. 153, ISBN 9781000097856

Bibliography

  • Hemendranath Dasgupta, Bharater Biplab Kahini, II & III, Calcutta, 1948;
  • Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, History of the Freedom Movement in India, III, Calcutta 1963;
  • Ganganarayan Chandra, Abismaraniya, Calcutta, 1966
  • Shailesh Dey, Ami Subhas Bolchi.
  • Kalicharan Ghosh, Roll of Honour, Calcutta, 1960.

Further reading


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