Colonelgola Kali Mandir, Midnapore was frequented by freedom fighters - GetBengal story

Medinipur is still mentioned in the pages of history as a centre of revolutionary activities by the freedom fighters of India, a place that gave birth to India’s freedom movement in Bengal. Three British district magistrates were assassinated in succession by the revolutionaries on this soil. The incidents of their killing had scared the British who even feared to step into the city. But these incidents are not just historical milestones and have not been lost as they are still associated with one of the oldest Kali pujas of the district. The Colonelgola Kali Mandir of Medinipur, situated on the banks of Lal Dighi, has restored the memories of the brave sons of Bengal to date./p>

The Colonelgola Kali Mandir does not bother to participate in the theme pujas, rather focus on maintaining the legacy of the freedom fighters. The puja is almost 250 years old. Freedom fighters like Bimal Dasgupta, Gyan Bose, Satyen Bose, Khudiram Bose and many others used to live in the neighbourhood of this temple. The Brahmo Samaj temple is also nearby. According to locals, Khudiram Bose got “Dikkha” from this Kali temple. 

The Bengal revolutionaries had to be cautious as their work was not a cake walk. The administration was controlled by the British, and anyone who went against their rule was branded as terrorists. The lives of the freedom fighters were hanging by a thread, a truce for the time being did not entice them as they aimed for greater glories, the vision of an independent nation. Taking harsh steps which were required to achieve freedom, were not easy and asked for a lot of mental and physical strength. After practicing with weapons and preparing themselves mentally, these young men used to come to the Colonelgola Kali Mandir to get blessings from the deity before going on any mission and prayed for their success. 

The Kali puja was started by the Dutta zamindar household, and with time it became a routine for the freedom fighters to always visit the Kali temple before the commencement of a mission. Lal Dighi Purbapara is a bit far from the Colonelgola Kali temple. Although currently thousands of families inhabit there, in the earlier times, this place was almost empty, surrounded by forest with only a handful of tribal families living there. After the revolutionary activities were planned and the plan was a success, this forest was an ideal place for the revolutionaries to hide. At that time, under the Sycamore tree, the Kali puja was started by the revolutionaries.

Revolutionaries like Bimal Dasgupta, Kishan Sahara and others worshipped Goddess Kali while hiding in the forest. The puja was started in 1939 and it still continues. Many new revolutionaries were trained in this very place to avoid the eyes of the British. If any sound got heard by the local people, it was easy to cover it up by saying that those were just sounds from certain rituals performed in the mandir. The British police came to know of the place and kept a watch but failed to stop the puja ever. Currently, the locals look after the temple and they are the ones to continue with the puja. The history that is intertwined with The Colonelgola Kali Mandir needs to reach more people so that they could become aware with the heritage of Bengal.