By Harsh Thakor
LEGACY OF MIHIR SEN
For India, Mihir Sen was the pioneer in this expedition, when the feat was near impossible. It is sad that there is no official biography written about Mihir Sen’s life and what motivated him to swim the Channels. Few stories are more touching than what drove the sheer spirit of Sen to attempt it. It illustrated the ultimate spiritual transformation in a person. It is fascinating that Sen wished to combat the colonial supremacy and prove that Indians were as capable as the Britishers. In his days scientific training had hardly developed to the calibre of later times for Long distance swimming. Mihir Sen's achievements tower above everybody's as well as Aarti Saha. To me his achievements are on the scale of an Olympic Gold medalist. If you lived in his times one would almost consider it inconceivable to swim the English Channel. similar to a soldier going to fight a battle on no man's land Sen was an ambassador against colonial racism which enabled Indians for the 1st time to use sports clubs. Mihir was a manifestation of the spirit that challenged the supremacy of the white man. His preparations bad accomplishment had the tones of a crusader for man' s liberation. The manner he trained himself had virtually mystical overtones. I felt very sad that he was given such harsh treatment by the Communist Party India (Marxist) govt., unlike how film stars or cricketers are given. I wish a biography was scripted on Mihir Sen. Quoting the legend” “I had undertaken this perilous swim not to gain fame or trophies but to prove once again to the world that Indians are no longer afraid. To the youth of India, this triumph will have dramatically demonstrated that nothing is impossible for them — all they have to do is believe and persevere and the goal will be theirs!”
Quoting his daughter
Supriya “His motive for swimming the seven seas was primarily political.
Being a young nationalist of uncommonly strong views and unorthodox ambition,
he wanted to show the world what Indians are made of, to set for young Indians
an example of courage and to tell them that one of the best things to do with
life is to risk it. In this way, he hoped to prepare them for what he saw as
their destiny.”
Sen wasn’t a prodigal swimming talent nor was
he interested in the sport till late in his youth. Born in a family with modest
means in West Bengal, Sen had completed his preliminary education in Cuttack
and had gone to United Kingdom to get a Degree in Law thanks to some financial
support from the well wisher of the family. It was here that he first came across
a news clipping about Florence Chadwick swimming the English Channel in
1950.Sen drew his inspiration from her.
After completing his law degree, Mihir went to
England to study law. He hardly had enough money but he made it. While he was
there he even worked as a night porter at a railway station to keep himself
afloat.
Sen had not even learnt swimming by then but
the thought of the adventure and the urge to do something that no Indian had
done before spurred him on. He took freestyle lessons at YMCA and managed to
achieve that feat in 27th September, 1958, on his second attempt.
It was not full stop for Mihir Sen, who went
on to conquer all the seven seas including the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal,
the Dardanelles Strait, the Palk Strait and Bosphorous Strait.
When he returned to India after his English
Channel feat, he started a movement to permit clubs to allow all Indians inside
after he was denied entry into the same clubs. We must salute Mihir Sen for
successfully launching a crusade for Indians to be permitted to use clubs.
After practicing Criminal Law at the Calcutta High Court, he started his own
business. Mihir's company became India's second largest silk exporter.
When Jyoti Basu gave him an offer of a post to
join the CPM in exchange for a high-profile government post, Mihit not only
refused him but contested against him as an independent candidate. As a result
they targeted his business and it eventually had to shut down. He had to file
for bankruptcy and nobody came to his aid. His bank accounts were frozen and
all his money was confiscated. It caused Mihir to start suffering from dementia
at the age of 50.
Sen tragically
died from a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease at the age of 66
in June 1997.
It is most regretful that even a left party
alienated such a superstar. I am saddened that the true Communist
revolutionaries could not win his sympathy or draw him towards them.
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