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Latika Ghose

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Latika Ghose
Born12 September 1902
Konnagar, Hooghly district, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died11 December 1987
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
NationalityIndian
Other namesColonel Latika
Alma materLoreto House, Kolkata; University of Oxford
Occupation(s)Nationalist, educator, women’s rights activist
Organization(s)Indian National Congress, Mahila Rashtriya Sangha
Known forFounder of Mahila Rashtriya Sangha; leading women's political mobilization in the Indian independence movement
SpouseDr. Subodh Chandra Bose
Parents
  • Manomohan Ghosh (father)
  • Malati Ghosh (mother)
RelativesSri Aurobindo (uncle), Barindra Kumar Ghosh (uncle)
Signature

Latika Ghose (Bengali: লতিকা ঘোষ) (12 September 1902 – 11 December 1987) was a Indian freedom fighter, pioneering nationalist and women's rights activist in colonial India. Born in Konnagar, Hooghly district, to Manmohan Ghose, she was the niece of Sri Aurobindo and Barindra Ghosh. Educated at Loreto House and later at Oxford University, she returned to India in 1926 with advanced degrees but was denied a government post due to her nationalist views. She began working at Chittaranjan Sevasadan, training destitute women in nursing, midwifery, and political awareness.[1][2][3]

Inspired by Subhas Chandra Bose, she founded the National Women’s Association under the presidency of Prabhavati Devi, aiming to mobilize women for the anti-British struggle. She played a key role in organizing women volunteers at the 1928 Congress session in Calcutta (now Kolkata), where, for the first time, women marched in military formation. A member of both the Bengal Provincial Congress and All India Congress Committee, Latika worked closely with revolutionaries like Bina Das.[4][5][6]

From 1935 onward, she shifted to education, serving as principal and professor at several institutions, including Bethune College and Sarojini Naidu College. She edited her father’s poetry collection in London with help from Laurence Binyon. Latika’s life was devoted to women’s empowerment and national service until her death in 1987.[7][8]

Early Life and Education

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Latika Ghose was born on 12 September 1902 in Konnagar, in the Hooghly district of Bengal Presidency, British India. Her father, Manmohan Ghose, was a noted professor and poet, and her mother, Malati Ghose (née Bandyopadhyay), was also associated with nationalist ideals. Her paternal uncles were Sri Aurobindo, a revolutionary and philosopher, and Barindra Kumar Ghosh, a key figure in the early nationalist underground movement.[9]

From left: Manmohan Ghose and his wife Malati Ghose, parents of Latika Ghose.

She received her early education at Loreto House in Kolkata. In 1924, she travelled to England, where she earned a B.Litt. (Bachelor of Letters) research degree in English literature and a teacher’s training diploma from Oxford University. During her time in London, she also edited and prepared for publication her father’s poetry collection, Songs of Love and Death, with the assistance of the English poet Laurence Binyon. The book was published in 1926.[10][11]

From left: Sri Aurobindo and Barindra Ghosh, uncles of Latika Ghose.

Nationalist Activities and Women’s Mobilization

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After returning to India in 1926, Latika Ghose faced barriers in obtaining a teaching position at Bethune College due to her known nationalist leanings. At the request of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, she joined Chittaranjan Sevasadan in 1927. There, she worked with destitute and abandoned women, training them in nursing, midwifery, and administrative skills. She organized lectures by medical professionals and used lantern slides and popular visual methods to raise political awareness among women, especially regarding the Non-cooperation movement.[12][13]

Sitting, Latika Ghose with her father; standing, her elder sister Mrinalini.

In 1928, she played a prominent role during the boycott of the Simon Commission. At a mass gathering in Wellington Square, Kolkata, she led women volunteers from her organization to take an oath pledging their commitment to the independence struggle. Subhas Chandra Bose, impressed by her organizational skills, encouraged her to form a women's wing of the nationalist movement. This led to the establishment of the Mahila Rashtriya Sangha (National Women’s Association), with Prabhabati Bose (mother of Subhas Chandra Bose) as its president and Latika Ghosh as its founding secretary. The organization aimed to foster women’s participation in political activism, especially in rural areas.[14][15]

She led a historic women’s contingent during the 1928 All India Congress Session at Park Circus Maidan, Kolkata. On the opening day, over 300 women, dressed in coordinated green sarees with red borders and white blouses, marched in military formation under her leadership. Latika was designated as the "Colonel" of the women’s volunteer corps, while Bose himself served as General Officer Commanding. This marked one of the first public displays of organized female political activism in India. The women volunteers also managed food and refreshments for the exhibition pavilion during the session.[16][17]

Political Involvement and Later Life

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Latika Ghose was associated with the All Bengal Youth Association and became a member of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee in 1928. She later joined the All India Congress Committee. Among her close associates was Bina Das, the nationalist who attempted to assassinate the Governor of Bengal in 1932.[18][19]

After 1935, she gradually withdrew from active politics and shifted her focus to education. From 1936 to 1939, she served as principal of a women’s college in Moradabad. In 1939, she joined Bethune College as a professor and later taught at David Hare Training College, where she became a professor in the women’s section in 1953. In 1957, she was appointed principal of Dum Dum Sarojini Naidu College, from which she retired in 1962.[20][21]

Latika was also a founding member of the Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association, which worked for the social upliftment of women. She continued to contribute to education and women's development even after her retirement.[22][23][24]

Latika Ghose in her old age

Later life

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In 1924, Latika Ghose married Dr. Subodh Chandra Bose, a Congress leader and associate of Subhas Chandra Bose. The couple separated in 1935. Latika remained unmarried thereafter and devoted her life to education and social service.[25][26]

She passed away in Kolkata on 11 December 1987.[27][28][29]

Reminiscences

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According to essayist and history researcher Arup Ray, Latika Ghose, affectionately referred to as "Lotika-di", was known for her humility despite her distinguished lineage. She once remarked, "I always feel shy to talk about the family from which I come, feeling myself quite unworthy of coming from such a great family — in fact, a 'PIGMY' in this background." Ray notes that she once gifted them a copy of On Himself, a collection of autobiographical writings by Sri Aurobindo. Ray also recalls being present at her funeral, held at Keoratola crematorium in Kolkata in December 1987.

Latika Ghose with Arup Ray

Legacy

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Latika Ghose holds a significant place in the history of India’s freedom struggle, especially for her pioneering role in mobilizing women into political action. Referred to by her contemporaries as the “First Lady Colonel of India,” she broke gender barriers at a time when women’s participation in public life was limited. Her leadership of the women’s volunteer corps during the 1928 Indian National Congress session in Kolkata marked a historic moment, where, for the first time in India, hundreds of women marched in military-style formation under a woman commander’s leadership. Subhas Chandra Bose’s decision to appoint her as "Colonel" of the women’s contingent reflected the high regard in which she was held by the national leadership.[30][31][32]

Her work in founding and leading the Mahila Rashtriya Sangha (National Women’s Association) helped institutionalize women’s political participation. The organization became a model for involving women in nationalist activities, particularly in rural areas, long before formal women’s wings existed in mainstream political parties. Her initiatives combined grassroots social reform with nationalist ideology, demonstrating that women could be both caregivers and political actors.[33][34][35][36]

As an educator, Latika Ghosh mentored generations of young women through her teaching positions in institutions like Bethune College, David Hare Training College, and Dum Dum Sarojini Naidu College for Women. Her efforts contributed to the gradual expansion of women’s access to higher education in Bengal.

Latika Ghose’s legacy lies not only in her own achievements but also in the path she paved for future generations of Indian women. Her life serves as a testament to the power of education, civic engagement, and principled leadership. Today, she is remembered as a trailblazer in women’s empowerment, a dedicated nationalist, and a symbol of courage and dignity in India's Struggle for Independence.[37][38]

References

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  1. ^ "Pharasi Biplab". 1955.
  2. ^ "Ichapur Barta Edited by Biplab Ghosh". 22 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Radharaman Chowdhury, Kolkata. 1957.
  4. ^ "Dwitiyo Biplab". 1935.
  5. ^ "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi আমার দেখা বিপ্লব ও বিপ্লবী". Radharaman Chowdhury, Kolkata. 1957.
  6. ^ Bose, Subhas Chandra. Subhas-rachanavali Vol. 2.
  7. ^ "Banhi Biplab". 1980.
  8. ^ "Revealing Facts about India's Freedom Struggle by Rajnikant Puranik". 2017.
  9. ^ "Chattogram Biplab ed. 2nd". 1950.
  10. ^ "Mahajibaner Punyaloke". 1959.
  11. ^ "Arabinda Mandire অরবিন্দ মন্দিরে". Prabartak Publishing House, Chandannagar. 1922.
  12. ^ "Mukti-tirtha ed. 4th". 1951.
  13. ^ "Amar Dekha Biplob O Biplobi". 1957.
  14. ^ "Bigyane Biplab". 1961.
  15. ^ "Biplab Pathe Spain". 1931.
  16. ^ "Biplabi Shahid Kanailal Ed.1st". 1923.
  17. ^ "Bijaychandi Gitabhinay বিজয় চন্ডী গীতাভিনয়". 1880.
  18. ^ "Mrityunjayee Kanailal". 1945.
  19. ^ "Abishmaraniya Vol. 2". 1966.
  20. ^ "Arabinda-prasanga". 1923.
  21. ^ Dasgupta, Sri Hemendranath (1946). Bharater Biplab Kahini Vol. 1.
  22. ^ "Remembering our leaders". 1989.
  23. ^ "Abismaraniya Vol. 1". 1964.
  24. ^ Ray, Bhupendrakishore Rakshit (1960). Bharate Shashastra Biplab.
  25. ^ "Jug-barta". 1920.
  26. ^ "Indian Revolutionary Movement Abroad(1905-1921)". Sterling, New Delhi. 1979.
  27. ^ "Gita Katha ed. 1st". 1950.
  28. ^ "The Story of Indian Revolution". Prajnananda Jana Seva Sangha, Calcutta. 1972.
  29. ^ Sarkar, Tanika (2014). Rebels, wives, saints : Designing selves and nations in colonial times. Permanent Black. ISBN 978-81-7824-396-2.
  30. ^ "Jagaran জাগরণ". Satyendrabnath Sur, Chandannagar. 1938.
  31. ^ Rakshit, Bhupendrakishor (1960). Bharater Sashastra-biplab.
  32. ^ Kanungo, Hemchandra (1929). Banglay Biplab Prachesta Ed. 1st (in other). NA.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  33. ^ "Biplabi Kanailal ed. 1st". 1946.
  34. ^ Majumdar, Satyendranarayan (1971). Aamar Biplab-jigyasa Parbo.1(1927-1985).
  35. ^ "Revolutionaries of Bengal". 1923.
  36. ^ The bomb in Bengal : The rise of revolutionary terrorism in India, 1900-1910. 1993. ISBN 978-0-19-563350-4.
  37. ^ "Jiban Brittanta". 1927.
  38. ^ "The Bengal Revolutionaries and Freedom Movement". 1909.

Bibliography

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