military junta tortured Dhirendranath Datta to death in Comilla. Even in the opposition, Bhupen enjoyed the admiration of the ruling party. Khawaja Nazimuddin, Prime Minister (1951–53), speaking of Bhupen, once exclaimed : "He knows how to plan, organise and execute.". His articles in the Ittefaq drew the attention of the intelligentsia in the then East Pakistan. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was particularly proud to have known Bhupenda. Return to India Immobilised by the Martial Law in 1958, Bhupen waited in vain for four years to renew his activity in Pakistan. In 1962, he bade good bye to Pakistan and to politics, and went back to India, sharing his time between Kolkata and New Delhi. During his absence, on 9 September 1947, an imposing Bagha Jatin memorial week was observed in West Bengal, and the former Jugantar members had chosen Bhupen for writing an authentic biography of their leader. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of a young researcher, Bhupen passed on to him the lifelong notes and reflections he had accumulated, accompanied him to interview most of the important associates of Bagha Jatin and opened before him the access to the archives in India. His approach to history His first-hand knowledge of events was of a great lesson in historical research : while comparing oral statements with files in the archives and, at times before apparent contradictions, his spirit of synthesis and intuition helped to determine their complementary character. When the pupil completed the first draft, Bhupen revised it minutely and, whilst the biography was being serialised, he went on adding further comments. In addition to his regular contributions in Bengali and English periodicals, Bhupen issued an obituary pamphlet on his erstwhile colleagues, as was needed. In spite of a seriously failing eyesight, this "engaged spectator" entertained a ministerial correspondence with people he was associated with. A tribute "Simple, unostentatious but erudite, Bhupendrakumar, with his well-built physique, serious but candid countenance, sparkling eyes and friendly smile, impresses one as an ascetic missionary mellowed by love for man. He is a firm believer in reason, science and progress, and has no patience with casteism, regionalism and communalism, nor with institutional religion that creates isolation and alienation," wrote Kamala Das Gupta. Bhupendrakumar guided three generations of Indian thinkers and activists. Having celebrated the centenary of Bagha Jatin's birth, he died quietly in Kolkata, on 29 December 1979. Notes Anushilan Samiti Anti-British establishment revolutionaries from East