Taraknath Das
Taraknath Das was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement and a passionate advocate for minority rights in North America. Born in a village near Calcutta, India, he became involved in resistance against British colonial rule from a young age. Facing threats of arrest, Das left India for Japan in 1905, but soon moved to the United States, where he continued his activism. He notably supported Indian workers in Canada and founded the newspaper "Free Hindusthan," calling for the end of British rule in India.
Throughout his life, Das engaged in various efforts to challenge racism and promote civil rights for South Asian immigrants. His activism led to his imprisonment for nearly two years due to his involvement in what was known as the Hindu-German conspiracy during World War I. After his release, he pursued an academic career, earning a PhD and lecturing at several universities while continuing to advocate for minority rights, including testifying before the U.S. Congress.
Das also established the Taraknath Das Foundation, which supports financial assistance for Indian students in the U.S. and fosters dialogue between the two nations. He returned to India after its independence in 1952 and remained active in promoting social justice until his death in 1958. His legacy is marked by significant contributions to activism and scholarship, emphasizing the importance of civil rights across diverse communities.
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Subject Terms
Taraknath Das
Indian-born activist and scholar
- Born: June 15, 1884
- Place of Birth: Majhipara, Parganas, Bengal, British India (now India)
- Died: December 22, 1958
- Place of Death: New York, New York
An opponent of the British colonial regime in India, Taraknath Das was active in political and social movements dedicated to Indian independence. Upon immigrating to the United States, he devoted himself to the welfare and civil rights of Indian immigrants and other minority groups in North America and abroad.
Areas of achievement: Activism, scholarship
Early Life
Taraknath Das was born to Kali Mohon and Birajmohini Das in a village near Calcutta (now Kolkata). He became involved in the movement for Indian independence from British colonial rule at an early age. Facing the threat of arrest by British authorities, Das chose in 1905 to leave India for Japan, a nation then engaged in a military conflict with Russia that was perceived by some Asian nationalists as a war against the European colonizing powers. He was soon disillusioned by his experiences in Japan, and the following year, he sailed to the United States to begin a long exile in North America. While continuing to promote the cause of Indian independence, Das quickly joined the struggle against racism in the United States and Canada as well, working against social and political policies detrimental to Indians and other minority groups.
Life’s Work
In 1907, Das began to agitate in support of striking Indian workers in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A population of largely imported workers, the Indian workers there were routinely secluded in run-down living quarters and faced hostility from Canadian unions, which excluded minority workers and saw them as potential strikebreakers who could sabotage union efforts. Anti-Asian violence spread throughout the West Coast of the United States and Canada, and on September 7, 1907, a large crowd marched in Vancouver, demanding that nonwhite immigration be halted. In response to these events, Das began to publish pamphlets, write editorials, coordinate meetings, and advise individuals of their legal rights. He also founded the newspaper Free Hindusthan, which called for the end of British rule in India.
After working in Canada for some time, Das returned to the United States in 1908 and enrolled at Norwich University, a military college in Northfield, Vermont. He excelled academically but was discharged due to British interference. Das returned to the Pacific Northwest, where he enrolled in courses at the University of Washington and resumed his activism on behalf of Indian independence and the Indian minorities of the United States. In 1909, Das went to Vancouver, British Columbia, and founded the Swadesh Sevak Home, a center that provided Indian laborers with various social and educational services.
During this time, Das was carefully monitored by British and American agents suspicious of his strongly worded belief in the right of colonized people to use violence to win their freedom. Following the outbreak of World War I, Das organized resistance against the British in an attempt to further the goals of Indian independence, at times working with German organizations. As the United States had not yet entered the war, Das’s activities did not violate American law, despite British protests. However, his efforts to organize anti-British activities with German support came under additional scrutiny once the United States entered World War I as an ally of Britain. In 1917, Das was convicted and sentenced to nearly two years in prison for his role in what became known as the Hindu-German conspiracy. He was eventually moved to the penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, becoming the first person of Indian descent to be incarcerated there. While in prison, he continued to write in support of Indian independence.
Following his release in 1924, Das married Mary Keatinge Morse, a fellow activist who helped to found both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Woman’s Party (NWP).
Having earned a PhD from Georgetown University in 1925, Das taught and lectured at several universities in his later years. He remained an advocate for minority rights in the United States and India, testifying before the US Congress on behalf of Chinese Americans and giving lectures that were often critical of Indian suppression of human rights. Although he had previously cultivated positive relations with Germany and Japan, he was deeply critical of Japanese military aggression and the rise of Nazism in Germany, and he promoted India as a refuge for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II. After the war in 1952, he returned to India for the first time in decades, five years after it gained independence. Das died in 1958.
Significance
In addition to making numerous significant contributions to academia and political activism during his lifetime, Das continued to support Indian students in the United States and promote minority activism and international cooperation through the Taraknath Das Foundation. Established in the 1930s by Das and Morse and operating within the South Asia Institute at Columbia University, the foundation promotes dialogue between the United States and India, recognizes activism on behalf of social justice for minorities, and offers financial assistance to Indian students studying in the United States as well as to various nonprofit organizations.
Bibliography
Aydin, Cemil. “Taraknath Das: Pan-Asian Solidarity as a ‘Realist’ Grand Strategy, 1917–1918.” Pan-Asianism: A
Bose, Neilesh. "Taraknath Das (1884–1958): British Columbia, and the Anti-Colonial Borderlands." BC Studies, vol. 204, 9 Jan. 2020, doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i204.191688. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Documentary History, 1850–1920. Ed. Sven Saaler and Christopher W. A. Szpilman. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 305–11. Print.
Gould, Harold A. Sikhs, Swamis, Students, and Spies: The India Lobby in the United States, 1900–1946. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2006. Print.
Mukherjee, Tapan K. Taraknath Das: Life and Letters of a Revolutionary in Exile. Calcutta: Natl. Council of Educ., Jadavpur U, 1998. Print.