1. Pritilata Waddeder,
| Pritilata Waddedar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | প্রীতিলতা ওয়াদ্দেদার |
| Born | 5 May 1911 Chittagong, Bangladesh; erstwhile Bengal, British India |
| Died | 23 September 1932 (aged 21) Chittagong, Bangladesh; erstwhile Bengal, British India |
Born in Chittagong on 5 May 1911, she was a meritorious student at the Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School of Chittagong and passed the matriculation examination in the first division in 1928. She continued her education in Eden College, Dhaka and in 1929, she passed the Intermediate examinations securing the fifth place among all the candidates from Dhaka Board. Two years later, Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction from Bethune College of Kolkata. In her college days, Pritilata used to visit Ramkrishna Biswas, a rebel who later was hanged. Pritilata received combat training from Nirmal Sen. He died on 10/11 June 1932.
In early 1930s, Pritilata joined Surya Sen's armed resistance movement. In 1932, Surya Sen planned an attack on the Pahartali European Club, which bore the notorious sign ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’. He assigned Pritilata to lead a team of 10-12 men that would attack the Club on September 23, 1932. Members of the team were instructed to carry potassium cyanide with them so that in case they were caught by police they could swallow it before the arrest. Kalpana Datta, a fellow revolutionary of Pritilata said, "Surya Sen told us he does not support suiciding. But he took Potassium Cyanide from me before he went".[1] The raid was successful but Pritilata, dressed as a man was trapped without a way of escape on that fateful night. She committed suicide by swallowing cyanide, thus ending her short endeavor in fighting for freedom of her country. Some say that Pritilata committed suicide voluntarily to convey the message that women can, and have to, sacrifice their lives for securing the freedom of India from British Colonial Rule
Shanti Ghosh (Das) devotes a whole chapter to her dilemmas concerning God which would disturb her in jail.
The first principal of the college was Babu Gyan Chandra Chowdhury. While Ashwini Kumar Dutta taught English and Logic, Kali Prasanna Ghosh taught History and Kamini Kumar BidyaRatna taught Sanskrit and Bengali. In 1898, BM College was transformed into a "First Grade College" from a "Second Grade College". In 1912, the college went to the Govt. management from personal management strategy. From 1889 to 1917 the regular activities of the college took place in BM School campus. The college was relocated to its own present complex in 1917.
From the very beginning the college was so dynamic and the results were very good. The teachers of that time were skilled, so Calcutta University started an Honors course in English and Philosophy in 1922, Sanskrit and Mathematics in 1925, Chemistry in 1928, and Economics in 1929. In 1928, Shirimoti Shanti Sudha Ghosh stood First class First in Honors in Mathematics from Calcutta University.
The time from 1922 to 1948 is called the "Golden Period" of the college. The governor of Bengal at that time, Sir Udbarn, once commented on BM College, "The college promises some day to challenge the supremacy of the metropolitan (Presidency) College."
The poet Jibanananda Das taught at BM College
