Kolkata: A programme to remember Bipin Chandra Pal on his 168th birth anniversary would help showcase the freedom fighter’s “inclusive, constructive and forward-looking” vision that would encourage the youth to “put the nation first”, said his great-granddaughters. Rastrakabi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Smriti Nyas (Trust) would hold ‘Lal-Bal-Pal Smriti Parv’ to commemorate Pal’s birth anniversary at Mahajati Sadan on Saturday, said trust president Neeraj Kumar. Pal’s great-granddaughters Sushmita Chowdhury, Melita Malewar, a Belgian national now staying in Chennai, and Ishita Chowdhury, principal at a CISCE school in Kolkata, will be part of the programme.Melita expressed dissatisfaction at Pal’s minimised role in history and viewed the birth anniversary celebration as an opportunity for today’s youth to connect with the lived realities and experiences of freedom fighters. She was disappointed as she had “not seen any statues” of her great-grandfather in Bengal. But Ishita pointed out that the history chapter on “assertive nationalists” in CISCE school curriculum equipped students with the knowledge about Pal and his contribution to the freedom struggle.Known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts’ in India, Pal (1858-1932) was one of the foremost nationalists, and a part of the ‘Lal Bal Pal’ triumvirate, along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, who focused on Swaraj or self-rule and disciplined resistance against the British occupation of India.
