Brojen Das Biography 
Brojen Das was a Bengali swimmer, who is credited as the first Asian swimmer to swim across the English Channel. He was also the first person to cross it six times from 1958 to 1961. Das was born in undivided India in Kuchiamora of Bikrampur, which later became a part of Bangladesh following the partition in 1947. When he crossed English Channel for the first time in 1958, he was already a citizen of East Pakistan. He passed away in Kolkata on 1 June 1998, aged 70. He was posthumously honoured with Independence Day Award the following year.
Brojen Das was born in the Kuchiamora village of Bikrampur, present-day Bangladesh. He completed his matriculation in 1946 from KL Jubilee High School. Later he graduated from Vidyasagar College in Kolkata. He started practising swimming in Buriganga River right from the childhood. An annual swimming competition was started in Dhaka in 1953 and its initiative was taken by Das. He trained across different rivers such as Shitalakshya River, Meghna River and even a 46 mile long drive from Narayanganj to Chandpur. He has also won numerous swimming competitions since young.
He swam across Mediterranean Sea from Capri to Naples, as a sort of preparation for his expedition across English Channel for the first time. He made his first attempt on 18 August 1958 at midnight along with other competitors from 23 countries. He finished on the next day after noon, thus creating a new record of being the first Asian to cross English Channel. He made 5 more successful attempts in the next three years. His achievement later inspired Indian female swimmer, Arati Saha to cross the English Channel.
Published: January 30, 2019
Updated: January 30, 2019
