Muzaffar Ahmed Memorial Prize awarded to late Prof. Amalendu Dey

KOLKATA, 5th August, 2014:  Muzaffar Ahmed Memorial Prize for the year 2014 was conferred posthumously to the legendary historian Prof. Amalendu Dey. Considering all aspects, Muzaffar Ahmed Smriti Puraskar Committee this year has selected the Book “Sirajer Putra O Bangsadharder Sandhane”(In search of Siraj’s son and his Descendants) for the Award, which is written by Prof. Amalendu Dey in Bengali. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, President of the Muzaffar Ahmed Smriti Puraskar Committee, declared the name of the awardee at a function held at PDG Bhavan Hall Tuesday.

Mridul De gave a brief introduction of the book at the function. He said, Battle of Palashi (1757) is an important & critical phenomenon in the history of Bengal, as well as India. There are so many missing links between differently scattered incidents. A good number of information is yet to be discovered. In the Battle of Palashi, Siraj-Ud-Daulah lost. But after that what happened to his family? Where Siraj’s family members had gone? How come son of then Mymensingha’s king resembles Siraj’s son? Why the main lieutenant of Siraj, Mohanlal disappeared after the battle? Most of us may haveforgotten this patriot but on the other hand legendary historian and researcher like AmalenduDey was curious on them. Prof. Dey had gone through a painstaking search on the facts and mysteries and unfolded the missing links before us.  

   

Prof. Dey, at his last phase of life, had highlighted the history of contribution of Siraj’s son and his descendants in this small book of only 35 pages.  It is learn from this book that some of Siraj’s descendants are not disappeared yet! Even, some of them had sacrificed their life in the Freedom Movement as well as in the Communist Movements too. Descendants of this family had broken the religious barriers, and it is their inherited spontaneous character.

Contributions of Mohanlal, the most trusted lieutenant of Siraj-Ud-Daulah has also been highlighted in this book, which is important information. Prof. Dey has not only discovered may unfolded missing links, but also open the doors to the researchers a wide spectrum for further researches.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau Member & Leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly Dr. Surjya Kanta Mishra read the Citation at the function. Late Prof. Amalendu Dey’s son Amit Dey and daughter Tapti Dey received the Prize from Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.