‘Step Aside’ where Deshbandhu CR Das breathed his last in Darj to be renovated

Very soon the “Step Aside” in Darjeeling will be undergoing renovations. The North Bengal Development Department (NBDD) has sanctioned Rs 29 lakh for this.

“Step Aside,” steeped in history, is the house where Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das had breathed his last.

“The district administration has received administrative approval for the renovation of the Step Aside. The NBDD has sanctioned around Rs 29 lakh. An initial survey for the renovation work has been done. Accordingly, a plan is being prepared. After the tender process is complete work will commence,” stated Richard Lepcha, Sub Divisional Officer, Darjeeling.

Step Aside is a two-storied villa located at a stone’s throw distance from the Darjeeling Mall. Chittaranjan Das, who was popularly called “Deshbandhu” (Friend of the nation) was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and a famous lawyer.

This villa houses a Deshbandhu Museum along with a mother and child clinic. Such was the magnetic attraction of Darjeeling that Mahatma Gandhi who was scheduled to stay in Darjeeling for two days in 1925, extended it for five days postponing his Assam tour while Deshbandhu postponed his Bengal tour. A few days after the Mahatma left Darjeeling, Deshbandhu breathed his last house on June 16, 1925.

This house belonged to Nripendra Nath Sirkar (the Advocate General of Bengal and a Law Member of the Council of the Governor General of India from 1934 to 1939). In 1953, under the leadership of the then Governor of Bengal Harindra Kumar Mukherjee, the Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Memorial Society was established. In 1954, Nripendranath Sirker’s son Birendra Nath Sircar, handed over “Step Aside” to the Society.

A museum was set up in a room on the ground floor. Some personal belongings of Deshbandhu and a few portraits are preserved there, including the bed where he had died. With time the condition of the villa has deteriorated and it needs urgent repairs.