Born on 18th Feb 1883 in an educated and affluent Punjabi family in Amritsar, Madanlal Dhingra was an Indian patriot & revolutionary who assassinated Sir Curzon Wyllie, a British Official, while pursuing his engineering studies in London. Sir Curzon Wyllie was known to be keeping an eye on the Indian activities at India House in London and was also trying to influence Indians in London to use them to his advantage. Madanlal Dhingra was arrested on the spot and was sentenced to death by the British Court.

Born on 15th Nov 1875, Birsa Munda hailed from the Munda tribe from Jharkhand. He revolted against the unfair practices of land grabbing by the British and the zamindars in the late 19th century. Birsa Munda is also known for challenging the British Christian missionaries and revolting against their conversion activities. Birsa Munda created a faith called Birsait. Members of the Munda community soon started joining the faith which in turn became a challenge for the Britishers.

It’s been 3 years since the Battle of Jalalabad and there is no sign of Masterda despite the massive manhunt launched by the British. But he has neither moved away from Chittagong nor stopped fighting. He plans an attack on the European Club at Chittagong to avenge the massacre at Jallianwallah Bagh. He appoints Pritilata, a quiet young woman, as the leader of this critical mission. Pritilata launches the attack on the Club and is martyred. Shaken by the attack, the British torture villagers around Chittagong and Masterda is betrayed. He is captured and sent to the gallows.

After the Battle of Jalalabad Hill, the British unleash a reign of terror in Chittagong to smoke out Masterda and his IRA boys from hiding. Many boys are captured & tortured but Masterda is nowhere to be found. From his secret hideouts, Masterda continues guerrilla attacks on the British. In response, the British make it difficult for boys in Chittagong to move about. Masterda outsmarts them, and against cultural mores, recruits girls to continue the war for freedom.

As Masterda and his 58 boys prepare to launch the Phase 2 of their mission from the Jalalabad hills, the British army returns and surround the hill. On one side is a bunch of 58 boys, on the other is a well-trained professional force armed to the teeth. The battle begins. Given the odds, it should have been over in an hour, but the boys not only hold off the British, but kill scores of British soldiers. They fight with such ferocity & cunning, the British get confused about enemy numbers & retreat for the night. Surya Sen leads the boys to safety, but 12 teens are martyred, the youngest only 14 years old.

In the chaos that follows the attack, the IRA loses track of its key commanders and disperses into the jungles to regroup. They wait for their commanders Ananta Singh and Ganesh Ghosh to return and launch Phase 2 of the mission. Meanwhile, the British send SOS to authorities in Calcutta and wait for reinforcements. Chittagong goes into a limbo for 3 days. With no news of the commanders, Masterda decides to lead the exhausted and hungry but determined young boys of the IRA himself.

On 18th April 1930. 10pm. Five teams of the IRA, fan out in the dark and launch attacks on the 5 key centres of the British power in Chittagong and cut the city off from the rest of the country. The British, unprepared for such an audacious attack by Indians, abandon the city. Chittagong is free! Surya Sen hoists the Indian flag even though he is fully aware the British will return with a force IRA cannot counter.

The Chittagong story is the story of a schoolteacher, Master Surya Sen, popularly known as “Masterda” and his boys who proved their mettle to the British. Masterda had no money and was under constant British surveillance, but nothing stopped him. With his comrades Ananta Singh, Ganesh Ghosh, Ambika Chakraborty and Nirmal Sen, he created the Indian Republic army (IRA). He recruited young boys, trained the teenage army, procured arms, and masterminded a plan so bold, it would shake the foundations of the British empire, right under the noses of the Chittagong authorities.