Dastidar, Purnendu
Dastidar, Purnendu (1909-1971) revolutionary politician and writer. He was born in 1909 at village Dhalghat under patiya upazila in Chittagong district. His father Chandra Kumar Dastider, a graduate of Presidency College, Calcutta, was an officer in Chittagong Law Court. Purnendu passed the Entrance examination from Chittagong Collegiate School in 1925 and the I Sc examination in the First Division from Chittagong College in 1927. He got admission in Jadavpur Engineering College (Calcutta), but had to give up his studies as he was arrested in Calcutta as a companion of surya sen. While in prison, he passed BA with distinction and later earned the BL degree. On being released from jail in 1940, he started practice in Chittagong Court.
Purnendu Dastidar became a member of the communist party in 1948 and was arrested. He contested the 1954 general elections from jail and won one of the reserved seats in Chittagong district defeating Mr Binod Bihari Datta of the Congress and became a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. He moved a resolution for the construction of a tower in memory of the Chittagong rebellion of 18 April 1930. The resolution was passed in the Legislative Assembly in 1956. In 1957 Dastidar joined the National Awami Party (NAP) founded by Maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani. After the declaration of Martial Law in Pakistan in 1958, Dastidar was again taken to prison and was released in 1962.
He became president of the Chittagong City Committee of NAP in the same year. He was arrested once again at the time of Indo-Pakistan war in September 1965 to be released at the time of 1969 mass upsurge. Thereafter he took part in the political activities of the NAP (Wali Khan). In the 1970 general elections he contested from the Chittagong-ll constituency for a Provincial Assembly seat, but lost to the awami league candidate. He started for India to join the war of Liberation in 1971, but on the way died of exhaustion on 9 May.
Purnendu Dastidar also earned fame as a writer and translator. Among the books he wrote mention may be made of Swadhinata Sanggrame Chattagram, Kabiyal Ramesh Shil, and Birkanya Pritilata. Shekhaver Galpa and Mopashar Galpa are his translation works. [Golam Kibria Bhuiyan]
