Darjeeling: ‘Balidan Diwas’ commemorated

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 25 Aug 2024, Darjeeling: ‘Balidan Diwas’ marking the day Major Durga Malla was hanged to death by the Britishers in Delhi in 1944 was observed on Sunday in Darjeeling. Major Durga Malla was born on July 1, 1913 at Doiwala near Dehradun. In 1931, at the age of 18 he enrolled in 2/1 Gorkha Rifles. He excelled in military training and was promoted to Signal Havildar. 

He married Sharda Devi in 1941, but their life together was disrupted by World War II. Malla’s battalion was deployed to the war front as Japanese aggression intensified. 

In December 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack, worsening the situation for Allied Forces. During this period, Captain Mohan Singh of the Indian National Army (INA) sought Japanese support for India’s independence, leading to the formation of the INA in September 1942. 

Inspired by Singh, Malla joined the INA, rising to the rank of major and leading a special squad in intelligence and guerrilla warfare. 

While on an intelligence mission, he was captured at Kohima on 27 March 1944. 

He was sentenced to death by the Court of Trial at Red Fort, New Delhi. His wife was also brought to the prison cell, but Malla did not succumb to all this. He preferred death to dishonor. 

On 15 August, 1944 he was sent to the gallows at the age of 31 at the Delhi Central Jail. A statue of Major Durga Malla, astride a horse, brandishing a Khukuri (Gorkha traditional sword) was unveiled at the Ladenla Road, Darjeeling, a few yards away from the bust of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in 2023. People from all walks of life paid respects to the martyr on Sunday. 

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