Historic Tongk movement leader Kumudini Hajong passes away

Kumudini Hajong of Durgapur upazila in Netrakona, a leader of the historic Tongk movement, passed away on Saturday (March 23) noon.

She breathed her last at 2:00pm at her home at Baheratli village under Kullagara union of the upazila.

She is survived by three sons and two daughters.

Paltan Hajong, General Secretary of Bangladesh National Hajong Organization, said Kumudini Hajong died due to old age complications. One of her daughters lives in Dhaka. After her arrival, the time for the last rites will be fixed in consultation with the relatives.

The Tonk custom was prevalent in the Susong-Durgapur zamindari area of Greater Mymensingh. As per the custom, a certain amount of paddy had to be paid to the zamindar as rent, whether crops were cultivated or not. In 1937, the exploited peasants started a movement against this custom, known as the Tonk Movement.

The Hajong community of Durgapur was actively involved in the Tongk movement under the leadership of Communist leader Comrade Moni Singh. Kumudini Hajong's husband Lankeshwar Hajong, and later she herself, got involved in this movement. In the face of the movement, the tongk system was abolished in 1950.