The ancestral home of Ila Mitra, a prominent leader of the Tebhaga Movement, lies in a state of decay at Bagutia village, around 14 kilometres from Shailkupa in Jhenaidah. Despite an official directive from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs over eight years ago, the Department of Archaeology has taken no action to preserve the historic site.
Plaster is falling from the walls, and miscreants have stolen bricks from the boundary wall. Two families currently occupy the property, claiming they purchased it from a relative of Ila Mitra’s father, Nagendra Nath Sen. However, locals say the house became government vested property years ago, and no valid documents have been shown by the occupants.
Ila Mitra, born in this house, was a Communist Party leader who led the Tebhaga and Nachole movements for farmers' rights in the late 1940s. She later became a five-time legislator in West Bengal and passed away in Kolkata in 2002. Her birth and death anniversaries are no longer observed officially in Bangladesh.
Although the Ministry of Culture decided in 2014 to protect the house as a heritage site, no progress has been made. The Shailkupa UNO said they had requested guidance on relocating the current residents, but have yet to receive a response. The Deputy Commissioner of Jhenaidah stated that the matter is under review.
