ক্ষুদিরামের জন্ম কোথায় হয়েছিল ? হবিবপুর না মোহবনী ?
खुदीराम का जन्म कहाँ हुआ था? हबीबपुर या मोहोबोनी ?
Arindam Bhowmik
As a child, we all knew that he was born in Habibpur, a town in Midnapore. Habibpur was mentioned in all the books written about him. Whenever he was mentioned in any event, everyone would mention the name of Habibpur. On his birthdays, Habibpur's name was printed in all the newspapers. At least for the 50 years after independence, everyone knew that.
After completing my schooling, I went to another state. When I returned to Midnapore after 22 years, I heard that Khudiram's birthplace had changed. Khudiram was said to have been born in Mohobani, Keshpur. Initially, I didn't bother much about it. In fact, I thought it was a good thing because if people from different places claim that Khudiram was born in their place, then Khudiram will be discussed and publicized a little more. That is good, but it won't change history.
But my assumption was wrong. Later, I saw that the matter had reached a point where the situation was as if history had changed.
In 2018, I returned to Midnapore permanently. Since that year, I started celebrating Khudiram's birthday at his birthplace in Habibpur, Midnapore city. The next day, I saw in the newspaper that the district administration had initiated a birthday celebration at his birthplace in Mohobani village. I was even more surprised that all the leading Bengali newspapers mentioned Mohobani village as his birthplace. I was quite surprised because even if journalists report the news, it is not printed. It is printed only after the editor sees it. How did the editors of so many newspapers accept Mohobani village as his birthplace? No one asked any questions?
After that, I saw the same incident every year. Every year, the birthday is celebrated in Mohaboni village on the initiative of the district administration and the next day, Mohaboni is also mentioned in the newspapers as the birthplace of Khudiram. After further investigation, I found that almost everyone in the new generation knows Mohaboni as the birthplace of Khudiram. Most of those who post on social media are also mentioning Mohaboni. The matter does not end here. When this is mentioned on social media that Khudiram's birthplace is Habibpur in Medinipur city, many people protest. Also, many YouTubers have made many videos with the title "Khudiram's birthplace Mohaboni".
Things have now reached a point where the name of his birthplace, Habibpur, may be erased from the pages of history in the near future. Therefore, I feel compelled to write this article.
Now the question is "Khudiram was born in Mohaboni", where did those who started this matter get this information? To find the answer to this question, I questioned many people in Mohaboni village. I did not get any good answer from anyone. Almost all of them answered that - "I have heard everyone say it".
However, some say that during the time of Khudiram, there was a Daima named Basan Biswas in Mohobani who told his son Satish Biswas that Khudiram was born in Mohobani and that he himself cut Khudiram's umbilical cord. It is from that Satish Biswas that the residents of Mohobani may have come to know that Khudiram was born in Mohobani. But this information is wrong.
There is no information or proof to support the idea that Khudiram was born in Mohobani. It was not written in any book. A group of people are just trying to establish this theory by force.
Now let's come to the topic of Habibpur. First, I will mention the information given by Khudiram himself. A few days before his execution, Khudiram wrote a short autobiography in his own handwriting and gave it to Kalipada Bose. There, he wrote in his own handwriting, "My ancestral home is in a small village called Mohobani, 10/12 kross north of Medinipur. I was born in Medinipur ......." A photocopy of that writing was first printed in the book published by the ‘Sara Bangla Shaheed Khudiram Atmotsarga Satabarsha Udjapon Committee’. Later, in 2018, I printed a photocopy of the writing in my book "Ke Khudiram".
Also, Khudiram's elder sister Aparupa Devi wrote an article titled "Atripta Khudiram" at the age of 70. The article was published in the newspaper 'Swadhinata' on July 21, 1947. In this article too, she said - "We were all born in Medinipur".
After the country became independent, several books were published about Khudiram. Remember that at that time, almost all of Khudiram's contemporaries were alive. The books were written with the help of his sister, son-in-law, friends, teachers, nephews. All those books also mention that Khudiram was born in Habibpur, Medinipur city.
In this context, I will talk about Khudiram's nephew Lalit. Although he was Khudiram's nephew but almost the same age, Lalitmohan was like Khudiram's brother and friend. The two grew up together. Listen to what Lalitmohan Babu wrote –
"Trailokyanath Bose purchased a plot of land from a Brahmin in front of the famous Siddheshwari Kali temple in Habibpur Mohalla, built a mud house there, and lived there with his family. Khudiram's elder sister Aparupa, second sister Sarojini, and younger sister Nanibala were born in the same house in Habibpur. "Khudiram, the youngest son of Trailokyanath Babu, was born on this very spot on Tuesday, December 3, 1889, at 6 am."
Lakshmi Priya Devi had lost two sons before Khudiram. She fasted for three days and prayed at the Siddheshwari Kali temple for three days, hoping to have a long-lived son. On the third day, in the middle of the night, Mother Kali appeared in her dream and granted her a boon that she would have another son.
Almost a year after this incident, on December 3, 1889, a bright star fell from the sky during the Shukla Paksha. A newborn's cry was heard in a house in Habibpur Mahalla of Midnapore city. Midnapore was blessed, a house was filled with the sound of conch shells, and a baby's cry gave birth to - "Khudiram".
This is the house and just opposite it is the temple of Goddess Siddheshwari Kali. Many say that this house is the house of Khudiram's sister, while others say that it is his aunt's house. They are wrong. Khudiram's father Trailokyanath bought the land and built a mud house here. He was the tehsildar of Narajole Raj Estate in Medinipur. The prevailing belief at that time was that if a child could be sold in the birth-house, the child would live a long life. With that hope and belief, on the day Khudiram was born, Lakshmi Priya Devi sold Khudiram to her eldest daughter Aparupa in exchange for three handfuls of broken-rice. Aparupa Devi was then living in her in-laws' house in Hatgechia village of Ghatal subdivision.
This incident has been narrated by Aparupa Devi herself. Aparupa Devi died in 1950. Her grandson Subrata Roy and his wife Mamata Roy now live in the same house where she lived. They also say the same thing. Watch the video below.
ফেইসবুক-এ ভিডিওটি দেখুন | Watch the video on Facebook.
ইউটিউব-এ ভিডিওটি দেখুন | Watch the video on YouTube.
After the death of Trailokyanath Bose, the house and the land were auctioned due to his debts. Then on August 14, 1947, just before independence, the residents of Habibpur decided to build an altar at the exact place where Khudiram was born. But who would show him that place? Aparupa Devi was brought in a horse-drawn carriage, and she showed him the exact place where the fire-child Khudiram was born. That day, at midnight, the country became independent. From that altar, a huge procession with torches in hand circumambulated the city of Medinipur.
Birthdays should be celebrated in Mohabbani with government assistance but mentioning the ancestral home, not the birthplace. It is not right to change history. After all, changing the birthplace of Khudiram will be disrespecting him.
