ABSTRACT
Matangini Hazra was born in 1870 in Hogla village of Tamluk, in undivided Midnapore district, West Bengal, to a Mahisya family (now in West Bengal). She was a significant participant in several independence struggles, such as the protest against the Chowkidari tax and the Salt Satyagraha. She was affectionately known as 'Gandhi Buri.' She commanded one of the five batches of Vidyut Bahini volunteers sent to Tamluk by the Samar Parisad (War Council) to seize and hang the Congress flag atop the Tamluk Thana on September 29, 1942. Soldiers under the leadership of Anil Kumar Bhattacharya stopped them on their approach to the thana. Matangini Hazra was shot dead in the fire, holding the Congress flag in her hands. She was the first Quit India campaign victim in Tamluk and Midnapore. The goals of this article are to look into Gandhiji's Quit India Resolution, the role of women in the freedom struggle in Bengal, with a special focus on the Purba Medinipur district, the role of Matangini Hazra in Gandhiji's Quit India movement, and the role of the parallel tamluk national government's Biplabi newspaper. Secondary data was acquired from official publications, censuses, books, and journals for the research.