About Hijli

Hijli Detention Camp (now called Shaheed Bhavan, IIT Kharagpur),[1] is a former detention camp during British rule in India.[2] Located in Hijli, beside Kharagpur, (a part of former Hijli Kingdom) in the district of Midnapore West, West Bengal, India, it played a significant role in the struggle against the British Raj in the early 20th century. The large numbers of those who participated in the armed struggle or the non-cooperation movement could not be accommodated in ordinary jails. The British Government decided to establish a few detention camps; the first one was located in Buxa Fort followed by the creation of Hijli Detention Camp in 1930. A significant moment in the struggle against British rule occurred at here in 1931 when two unarmed detainees, Santosh Kumar Mitra and Tarakeswar Sengupta, were shot dead by the British Police.[3] Subhas Chandra Bose came to Hijli to collect their bodies. Many national leaders, including Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, voiced strong protests against the British Raj over this incident.[4] The firing which later known as "Hijli firing" is the only incident of police firing inside a jail/detention camp.[5] The detention camp was closed in 1937 and was reopened in 1940. In 1942 it was closed for the final time and the detainees were transferred elsewhere. During World War II it was occupied by US Air Force.[3] Today, the camp is also known for being the birthplace of Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur, which stated it 1951.[6] In 1990, a part of the former detention camp buildings were converted to house the Nehru Museum of Science and Technology.