Chittaranjan Samanta, a renowned patriot, was born on Kartik Sankranti in November 1926 in the village of Kalikakundu, located in the Medinipur district under the Mahishadal police station. His father, Ramhari Samanta, served as a teacher at Batra High School in Howrah district, while his mother, Giribala Samanta, was an active member of the Rural Women's Freedom Fighters Party. His journey in the revolutionary movement began during his eighth-grade studies at Mahishadal Royal School, with the assistance of the heroic revolutionary Satish Chandra Samanta.
Satish Samanta planned an attack on the police stations of Sutahata, Mahishadal, Panskura, Maina, Nandakumar and Tamluk in the Medinipur district on 29 September 1942. Chittaranjan, Bholanath Maiti, Haricharan Das, Ajay Mukherjee, Mahimaranjan Samanta, Ajay Mukherjee, Sushil Dhara and others, Satish Samanta formed the armed force called "Bidyut Bahini" (Lightning Brigade). He actively participated in the attack on the police station, led by this force.
In 1943, he played a crucial role in relief work as a member of the "Bidyut Bahini" during a famine in Medinipur. When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose made his historic entry into the capital city of Manipur, Imphal, with the slogan "Delhi Chalo" (March to Delhi), members of the "Tamralipta Jatiyo Sarkar," including Chittaranjan, decided to pledge their forces to Subhas Chandra Bose.
He also actively participated in the "Bhu-dan" (Land Gift) movement in Medinipur and faced multiple arrests by the police due to his involvement in the anti-British movement. He organized secret training sessions in Narkeldah village to empower oppressed girls. When Mahatma Gandhi visited Medinipur to assess the functioning of the "Tamralipta Jatiyo Sarkar," he stayed at Chittaranjan's house for five days. As a tribute to this great freedom fighter, the Government of India started providing him with a pension.
Pension order issued by Government of India in 1980.
Source: Pradipta Basak, Contributor for CCRT