Neera Arya

Neera Arya (1902 - 1998)

Neera Arya was born on March 5, 1902, in the former United Provinces of India, in the town of Khekra Nagar.[11][12] Currently, Khekra is a city in the Baghpat district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[13] Her father, Seth Chhajjumal, was a prominent businessman of his time, and his business spanned across the country. Particularly, their family business had its main center in Kolkata, and Neera Arya's initial education was managed near the Bhagwanpur village in the vicinity of Kolkata. Her early teacher was Banee Ghosh, who imparted knowledge of Sanskrit to her. Later, her education continued in the city of Kolkata.[14] Neera Arya was proficient in Hindi, English, Bengali, and several other languages. She married Shreekant Jayranjan Das, who was a pro-British officer in British India.[15] Shreekant Jayranjan Das was tasked with spying on Subhas Chandra Bose and ensuring his death.[16]

Neera Arya saluting Netaji

They had killed their husband, Shreekant Jayranjan Das, in the British Army to save Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's life.[17] When Shreekant Jayranjan Das attempted to shoot Netaji, Netaji's driver[18][19][20] Neera Arya had stabbed him in the abdomen, sending him to the afterlife. Shreekant Jayranjan Das was Neera Arya's husband, and it was because of his attempt to kill Netaji that Netaji had referred to him as a "Nagin" (female snake). After the surrender of the Azad Hind Fauj, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband and subjected to severe torture. Her brother, Basant Kumar, was also a freedom fighter who later became a monk after independence.[21] In the struggle for independence, Neera Arya also wrote her autobiography, in which she recounted her contributions to the freedom struggle. Urdu writer Farhana Taj (who writes under the name Madhu Dhama in Hindi) had the opportunity to hear many stories from her life. She also wrote a novel based on her life, highlighting her role in the fight for independence.[22]

In their autobiography, there is a heart-wrenching excerpt:

"After my arrest, I was first sent to Kolkata Jail. This incident is about Kolkata Jail, where our living quarters were small rooms where other female political prisoners had stayed or were staying. We were locked in the rooms by 10 o'clock at night, and not even the names of mattresses, blankets, etc., were heard. I was worried about how we would achieve freedom in the deep unknown island in the middle of the sea where we were going. We needed to forget about spreading bedding for now. I somehow managed to lie down on the ground, and sleep soon overcame me. Around midnight, a guard came with two blankets and without saying a word, threw them on us and left. The blankets falling and my sleep breaking happened simultaneously. It felt bad, but finding the blankets brought some satisfaction. Now, the only pain was the iron chains, and the constant thought of being separated from Mother India."[23]

"As soon as the sun rose, I received a plate of khichdi, and the blacksmith arrived. While cutting the chains on my hands, a bit of skin was also cut, but when he started cutting the shackles from my legs, I checked the leg bone with the hammer only a few times. I once said in sorrow, 'Is he blind, hitting my legs?'"[24][23]

"'What can we do to your legs while in chains?' he had told me.[24]

"'I am in bondage; what else can you do?' Then I spat on him, 'Learn to respect women.' The jailer was also present, so he said in a stern voice, 'You will be released if you tell us where your leader Subhash is.'"[25]

"'He died in an airplane crash,' I replied, 'the whole world knows.'"

"'Netaji is alive... You're lying when you say he died in an airplane crash?' the jailer said."

"'Yes, Netaji is alive.'"

"'So where is he...'"

"'He is alive in my heart.'"[26]

As soon as I spoke, the jailer became angry and said, "So you want to release Netaji from your heart." Then he put his hand on my lap and gestured towards the blacksmith. The blacksmith lifted a large tool like a breast ripper resembling a chisel used in carpentry, which had sharp blades for cutting leaves and branches. He was moving towards cutting my right breast, but there was no blade; it was just a bluff. He pressed my breasts, causing unbearable pain.[27][28]

The image potraying British officials in the Andaman jail used a breast ripper on her to try to extract information about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s location.

On the other hand, the jailer grabbed my neck and said, "If you speak out again, we will separate both your chest bubbles from your chest." He then struck my nose with a pincer-like weapon and said, "Be thankful that we didn't burn it with fire. If we had used fire, your breasts would have been completely charred."’[29]

The First Spy of the Azad Hind Fauj

Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, Rajni, Saraswati Rajamani and Neera Arya

Pavitra Mohan Roy was the head of the Intelligence Department of the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army).[30] Under his leadership, both men and women worked in the Intelligence Department. However, Neera Arya holds the distinction of being the first spy of the Azad Hind Fauj. Neera was assigned this responsibility by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose himself. Her comrade Manavati Arya,[31][32] Saraswati Rajamani[33][34] and Durga Mall Gorkha[35] and the young Daniel Kale[36][37] assisted in conducting espionage operations for the Azad Hind Fauj.

Their role in espionage is described in their autobiography as follows:

"I had another girl with me, Saraswati Rajamani. She was younger than me, originally from Burma, and born there. Both of us were assigned the task of espionage by British officers. We disguised ourselves as boys and began working in the houses of British officers and military camps. We gathered a lot of information for the Azad Hind Fauj. Our job was to keep our ears open, share acquired information with our comrades, and then pass it on to Netaji. Sometimes, we even had to steal important documents. When all the girls were sent for espionage, we were clearly told that if we were caught, we should take our own lives by gunshot. One girl made a mistake and got caught and was taken prisoner. This posed a threat to all our comrades and the organization. Manavati and I decided to rescue our comrade. We dressed her up as a eunuch dancer and reached the place where our comrade Durga was being held captive. We administered a drugged drink to the officers and escaped with our comrade. Everything was going fine until a mishap occurred during our escape. The soldiers on guard duty fired a shot, and the bullet hit Rajamani in her right leg, causing a fountain of blood. Somehow, she managed to climb a tall tree with us. The search operation continued below, forcing us to stay hungry and thirsty on the tree for three days. After three days, we mustered the courage and, with our comrade, safely returned to the Azad Hind Fauj base. The gunshot wound left Rajamani with a permanent limp. Netaji was very pleased with Rajamani's bravery and appointed her as a Lieutenant in the Rani Jhansi Brigade of the Indian National Army, and I was made a Captain. One day, I jokingly asked Rajamani, 'You've become lame, who will marry you now?' She replied, 'In Azad Hind, there are thousands of bravehearts, and from among them, someone will take bullets on his chest and bullets in both legs for the country, and I will marry that person. We will be a perfect match.'"

— First Lady Spy of INA, Publisher: Bharti Sahitya Sadan, Paperback Edition: 1982

In her final days, she spent her time selling flowers and lived in a hut in Falaknuma, Hyderabad. Her hut was eventually demolished because it was built on government land. In her old age and in poor health, she passed away on Sunday, July 26, 1998, as a destitute and helpless elderly woman in Osmania Hospital near Charminar. Journalist Tejpal Singh Dhama[38] and her fellow companions conducted her last rites. She had a dispute with the famous painter M.F. Husain.[39][40] Journalist Tejpal Singh Dhama[38] and her fellow companions conducted her last rites.[41]

A Hindi film based on the biography of "Neera Arya" was directed, acted in, and produced by Roopa Iyer. It was produced under the banners of R2 Patriotic Films LLP and Roopa Iyer Film Factory (RIFF) and presented by Pranav Desai under R&DS Productions.[42][43]

A biographical movie on Neera Arya is being planned. It is going to be made by Chinese film-maker Zhang Huihuang.[44]

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