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Chittaranjan Das
चित्तरंजन दास
Deshbandhu — the friend of the nation who wore khadi into the courts
Years
1870 – 1925
Known as
'Deshbandhu' — the nation's friend
Birthplace
Calcutta, Bengal
Field
Freedom Fighters
“Swaraj is not a gift to be received — it is a birthright to be asserted.”
— C.R. Das
The Story
Born into a famous legal family of Calcutta, C.R. Das was a barrister whose courtroom brilliance was legendary — his defence of Aurobindo Ghose in the Alipore bomb case in 1908 is still studied as a landmark of law of Bhārat. But he used his fame for the nation: when Gandhi launched Non-Cooperation in 1920, Das gave up his practice and his Western clothes for khadi and leadership.
Elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1922, he pressed for the movement to enter the legislatures — founding the Swaraj Party with Motilal Nehru to carry the struggle into the councils themselves. He was arrested, imprisoned, and released, but never wavered in his demand for full independence.
His last great service was to Bengal itself: he negotiated the Bengal Pact for Hindu-Muslim unity, and he mentored a generation of revolutionaries and leaders — none more famous than Subhas Chandra Bose, who called him his political guru. He died in 1925, and the whole nation mourned its 'Deshbandhu'.
Core Ideas
Deshbandhu
'The friend of the nation' — the name a grateful people gave him.
The Barrister's Sacrifice
He gave up a legendary law practice for the struggle.
The Swaraj Party
He carried the movement into the legislatures.
Defender of Aurobindo
His 1908 defence is a classic of law of Bhārat.
Guru of Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose called him his political master.
Why it matters today
C.R. Das is honoured in the Deshbandhu Memorial and in the city of Chittaranjan named for him. He showed that the freedom struggle needed not only martyrs in the field but also masters in the courtroom — and he was both.