West Bengal Martyr’s Day 2026: What is it?

July 21 is Martyr’s Day in West Bengal. Rallies in Central Kolkata are underway, and leaders from Mamata Banerjee to CM Suvendu Adhikari have all commented on the occasion this year. 

What is Martyr’s Day? 

Martyr’s day is observed in West Bengal to mark the 13 Youth Congress workers killed in a police protest in 1993. It is an annual event held by the Trinamool Congress and the Indian National Congress in West Bengal’s capital Kolkata. 

In 1993, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, then a Congress leader, called for a protest to insist making photo ID cards in elections mandatory.

The protest and the violence that followed outside the Writer’s Building area in the city led to the deaths of 13 people in police firing. 

Thousands of workers had gathered for the protest covering areas of Bowbazar to Braboune Road and Mayo Road to Strand Road. 

What was the aftermath?

When Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal in 2011, she formed an inquiry commission, which concluded that no Left Front members or police personnel were responsible for the deaths of the 13 people.

The 1993 Writers’ Building March has continued to have an enduring political legacy. 

Martyr’s Day 2026

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (July 20, 2026) tabled in the Assembly an inquiry panel report on the 1993 police firing that killed 13 Youth Congress workers, and accused the TMC government of exploiting the incident for political gains and suppressing the commission’s findings for two years. 

“The commission recommended ₹25 lakh as compensation for the family of each person killed and ₹5 lakh for every injured person. But the previous TMC government neither implemented these recommendations nor paid the compensation,” Mr. Adhikari said. 

The rebel Trinamool faction has claimed that the 13 martyrs’ families will likely be present on their stage. “All of us who could have been martyrs on that day (July 21, 1993) will be here on this stage,” Firhad Hakim, formerly a close confidant of Ms. Banerjee and now a member of the rival group, said. 

This year, Ms. Banerjee cautioned her supporters to not be misled by the police, and ensure they joined the meeting of her group in front of the Birla Planetarium.