Endorsed by Gandhi’s blessing and christened by Tagore’s poetic finesse, this humble ink became a stalwart of nationalistic fervor and literary heritage.
The Swadeshi Movement of 1905 did not merely fuel a political awakening, it ignited a revolution of enterprise, one that flowed from the very tip of a pen. In the bustling lanes of Kolkata, a humble yet historic creation was born. Sulekha Ink, an indigenous emblem of self-reliance that carried the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi and the lyrical christening of Rabindranath Tagore.
Inked in Rebellion
When Indians were called upon to shun foreign goods during the early 20th century, Gandhi himself recognized the painful irony of penning anti-colonial messages with imported ink. To correct this contradiction, he, alongside freedom fighters Satish Chandra Das Gupta and the Maitra brothers, set in motion the making of Sulekha Ink in Kolkata. What began as a modest enterprise soon became a liquid weapon of defiance, staining the pages of India’s freedom struggle with dignity and pride.
It is believed that Rabindranath Tagore, with his gift of poetic vision, bestowed the ink with its evocative name—“Sulekha”, meaning good writing in Bengali. The name itself stood as a testament to quality, dignity, and the larger idea of India writing its own destiny.
The Golden Strokes and Silent Pause
Between the 1960s and the 1980s, Sulekha enjoyed its finest era, with its legacy endorsed by Gandhi’s symbolic blessing and cultural figures like filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Yet, in 1989, the ink bottle was sealed shut as the company fell into decline. Three decades later, in 2020, digital enthusiasts resurrected the brand, restoring its glow as a beacon of India’s self-reliance.
Beyond Commerce, A Symbol of Spirit
In the 1960s, another two factories of Sulekha were opened in Sodepur and Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh. For a long time, Sulekha was able to spread its popularity outside the country as well. But it stopped coming to Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) right after the partition in 1947.
Sulekha’s business reached its peak in the 1980s. This was also a time when the company’s total sale of units used to exceed one million bottles. It also had more than a thousand shareholders. In two shifts, from 6am to 2 pm and 2pm to 10pm, Sulekha’s factory would run in full swing. Sulekha gained such enviable popularity that it would receive requests of setting up new factories, not only from within the country, but also from outside the country.
However, Sulekha Ink was never merely about business—it was about identity. Each drop etched not only words but the very dreams of freedom, dignity, and resilience. Its story captures more than the making of ink; it embodies a nation scripting its own destiny against colonial chains.