P. Sainath

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She was 104 when we met her, emerging from her room,
impatiently shaking off any hands seeking to assist her. Other than leaning on
her handstick, Bhabani Mahato neither sought nor accepted assistance from
anybody. Even at that age, she walked, stood, and sat on her own steam. If
anything, generations of her vast joint family in Chepua village of West Bengal’s
Purulia district depended mostly on this farmer and homemaker who was central
to their lives and future.



Freedom fighter Bhabani Mahato passed away peacefully
in her sleep soon after midnight of August 29-30, 2024. She was 106 years old. With
her passing, only four of the 16 freedom fighters in my book The Last
Heroes: Foot Soldiers of Indian Freedom (Penguin November 2022) now
remain alive. In one sense, Bhabani was exceptional even among the many
extraordinary freedom fighters whose interviews are lodged in PARI’s <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/albums/freedom-fighters/">Freedom Fighters Gallery</a>. She
was the only one who, for hours in our conversation, strongly denied having had
a role in that epic struggle. “What
did I have to do with that, or anything like that?” she asked us in March 2022 when we first met her. Read:  <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/when-bhabani-mahato-fed-the-revolution/">When
Bhabani Mahato fed the revolution</a>

Well, she
actually had plenty to do with it, even more than her illustrious husband –
recognised freedom fighter Baidyanath Mahato, who had died 20 years before our
visit to her home in Man Bazar block. My colleague Smita Khator and I were
crestfallen when she strongly denied being a freedom fighter. And it took us
hours to figure out why.



She was being
honest to the understanding of ‘freedom fighter’ as defined in the Swatantra Sainik
Samman Yojana scheme of 1980. A definition that largely excluded women and
their actions in the anti-colonial struggle; that largely centred around jail
time – thereby also excluding huge chunks of the revolutionary underground.
Worse, by asking those in the underground ‘proof’ of their being proclaimed
offenders – it was seeking certification of India’s freedom heroes from the
British Raj!



When we came at
it differently, discussed it differently, we were stunned by the sheer
magnificence of Bhabani’s sacrifice. The risks she took in feeding fugitive
revolutionaries hiding in Purulia’s jungles. Cooking for and feeding often 20
or more of them – apart from doing that at the same time for a family of over
25 persons. Also, managing to grow that food in 1942-43 at the height of the
Bengal Famine. What an incredibly great and risky contribution to India’s
struggle for Independence!



We will miss
your magic Bhabani di.

Courtesy: the Mahato family

Pranab Kumar Mahato

The humble heroism of Bhabani Mahato passes

پرولیا کی مجاہدہ آزادی بھوانی مہتو کا انتقال

కడచిపోయిన భవానీ మహతో వినయపూర్వక వీరత్వం

பபானி மஹதோவின் பணிவான வீரம் மறைந்தது

ਅਲਵਿਦਾ ਭਵਾਨੀ ਮਾਹਾਤੋ!

ବିନମ୍ର ବୀରତ୍ୱ ଭବାନୀ ମାହାତୋଙ୍କ ପରଲୋକ

'क्रांतीची चूल' भबानी महातो काळाच्या पडद्याआड

ഭബാനി മഹാതോ എന്ന വിനയാന്വിതയായ വീരനായിക വിടവാങ്ങുന്നു

ಮುಗಿದು ಹೋದ ಭವಾನಿ ಮಹತೋ ಅವರ ವಿನಮ್ರ ಹೀರೋಗಿರಿ

पुरुलिया के क्रांतिकारियों की अन्नपूर्णा भवानी महतो का निधन

ભવાની માહાતોની વિન્રમ વીરતાની વિદાય

क्रांतिकारी मन के महतारी भबानी महतो दुनिया ले होगे बिदा

आजादी के बरियार सिपाही, भवानी महतो के बिदा!

মুক্তিযুঁজাৰু ভৱানী মাহাতোৰ দেহাৱসান

নিরহঙ্কার বীরত্বে সমুজ্জ্বল এক জীবন রেখে গেলেন ভবানী মাহাতো

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The humble heroism of Bhabani Mahato passes

A freedom fighter from West Bengal's Puruliya district, Bhabani Mahato was a force to reckon with in our struggle for freedom. She passed away on August 30, 2024

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