164-583: Dhaka Anushilan Samiti was a branch of the Anushilan Samiti founded in the city of Dhaka in November 1905. Initially a group of eighty under the leadership of Pulin Behari Das , it "spread like wildfire" throughout the province of East Bengal . More than 500 branches were opened, linked by a "close and detailed organization" to Pulin's headquarters at Dhaka. It absorbed smaller groups in
328-691: A 1926 note to J. E. Francis of the India Office, he described Bengali revolutionaries as "the most selfless political workers in India". The locality of Baghajatin in Kolkata has been named after him. Barbati Girls High School situated near the banks of the Budhabalanga River in Balasore town has a statue of Bagha Jatin as it was here the erstwhile Balasore district government hospital
492-475: A Japanese named Okakura. These activities commenced in Calcutta somewhere about the year 1900, and are said to have spread to many of the districts of Bengal and to have flourished particularly at Kushtia, where Jatindra Nath Mukharji [ sic !] was leader." Bhavabhushan Mitra 's written notes precise his presence along with Jatindra Nath during the first meeting. A branch of this organisation ( Anushilan Samiti ),
656-455: A Small dagger (Khukuri) on the tiger's neck, killing it instantly. The famous surgeon of Calcutta, Suresh Prasad Sarbadhikari , "took upon himself the responsibility for curing ... [Jatin,] whose whole body had been poisoned by the tiger's nails." Impressed by Jatin's exemplary heroism, Dr. Sarbadhikari published an article about Jatin in the English press. The Government of Bengal awarded him
820-641: A better effect than the prosecution of 46 misguided youths." On 28 May 1911, Hardinge recognized: "The 10th Jats case was part and parcel of the Howrah Gang Case; and with the failure in the latter, the Government of Bengal realised the futility of proceeding with the former... In fact, nothing could be worse, in my opinion, than the condition of Bengal and Eastern Bengal. There is practically no Government in either province ..." Jatin Mukherjee
984-681: A bigger body, to form the Berlin Committee , or the Indian Independence Committee , led by Virendranath Chattopadhyaya alias Chatto: it gained the support of the German government and had as members prominent Indian revolutionaries abroad, including leaders of the Ghadar Party . Freedom fighters of the Ghadar Party started leaving for India, to join the proposed uprising inside India during World War I, with
1148-661: A bomb was thrown into Tegart's car at Dalhousie Square but Tegart managed to shoot the revolutionary and escaped unhurt. His efficient curbing of the revolutionary movement earned praise from Lord Lytton and he was awarded the King's medal. In 1937 Tegart was sent to the British Mandate of Palestine , then in the throes of the Arab Revolt , to advise the Inspector General on security. In its fight against
1312-627: A civil servant, H.L. Salkeld, uncovered the eastern branch of Anushilan Samiti, producing a four-volume report and placing 68 suspects under surveillance. However the Samiti evaded detailed intrusion by adopting the model of Russian revolutionaries. Until 1909, the police were unclear whether they were dealing with a single organisation or with a conglomeration of independent groups. The visit of King George V to India in 1911 catalyzed improvements in police equipment and staffing in Bengal and EBA. In 1912,
1476-580: A concession to the desire of young men to act out romantic drama. Less is known about the Jugantar network, which took the place of the Manicktala society after the Alipore bomb case . It faced divisions similar to the Samiti. Historian Leonard Gordon notes that at least in the period between 1910 and 1915, the dals in the Jugantar network were separate units, led by a dada (lit: elder brother). The dada
1640-535: A condolence resolution after his death, as did Congress when Bhagat Singh was executed. As the Congress-led movement picked up its pace during the early 1930s, some former revolutionaries identified with the Gandhian political movement and became influential Congressmen (notably Surendra Mohan Ghose ). Many Bengali Congressmen also maintained links with the Samiti. Simultaneously with the nonviolent protests of
1804-535: A contract business constructing the Jessore – Jhenaidah railway line. This provided him with a valid pretext and an ample scope to move about on horse-back or on the bicycle to consolidate not only the district units in Bengal, but also to revitalise those in other provinces. Jatin with his family set out on a pilgrimage , and at Haridwar visited his Guru, Bholananda Giri . Jatin went on to Brindavan where he met Swami Niralamba (who had been Jatindra Nath Banerjee ,
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#17327805364251968-459: A deal with the German authorities concerning financial aid and the supply of arms. Through the German consul, Naren met Theodore, brother of Karl Helfferich , who assured him that a cargo of arms and ammunition was already on its way, "to assist the Indians in a revolution". A network of Czech and Slovak revolutionaries and emigrants had a role in the uncovering of Jatin's plans. Its members in
2132-401: A death sentence for Barin (later commuted to life imprisonment). The case against Aurobindo Ghosh collapsed after Naren Gosain, who had turned crown witness, was shot in Alipore jail by Satyendranath Basu and Kanailal Dutta , who were also being tried. Aurobindo retired from active politics after being acquitted. This was followed by a 1909 Dhaka conspiracy case, which brought 44 members of
2296-579: A fight with a group of English military officers headed by Captain Murphy and Lt Somerville, leading to legal proceedings, widely covered by the press. On observing the gleeful animosity created by the news of a few Englishmen thrashed single-handed by an Indian, Wheeler advised the officers to withdraw the case. Warned by the Magistrate to behave properly in the future, Jatin regretted that he would not refrain from taking similar action in self-defence or in
2460-679: A firefight with police at Balasore , in present-day Orissa, which brought Jugantar to a temporary end. The Defence of India Act 1915 led to widespread arrests, internments, deportations and executions of members of the revolutionary movement. By March 1916, widespread arrests helped Bengal police crush the Dacca Anushilan Samiti in Calcutta. Regulation III and the Defence of India Act were enforced throughout Bengal in August 1916. By June 1917, 705 people were under house arrest under
2624-637: A great admiration for him. He died in an open fight." Later in life, Tegart admitted: "Their driving power (...) immense: if the army could be raised or the arms could reach an Indian port, the British would lose the War ". Professor Tripathi analysed the added dimensions revealed by the Howrah Case proceedings: acquire arms locally and abroad; raise a guerrilla; create a rising with Indian soldiers; Jatin Mukherjee's action helped improve (especially economically)
2788-424: A large number of police and army armed with modern rifles. The incident known as Battle of Balasore ended with an unrecorded number (25 as per local eye witnesses) of casualties on the Government side. On the other hand, revolutionary Chaudhuri died on the spot, Jatin and Jyotish Pal were seriously wounded, and Manoranjan Sengupta and Niren were captured after their ammunition ran out. Jatindranath Mukherjee died at
2952-693: A leopard with a dagger, putting his left elbow in the leopard's mouth and with his right hand thrusting the knife through the brute's eye deep into its brain? He was a very great man and our first leader. He could think of God ten days at a stretch, but he was doomed when the Government found out that he was our head." Right since 1907, Jatin's emissary, Taraknath Das had been organising, with Guran Ditt Kumar and Surendramohan Bose , evening schools for Indian immigrants (a majority of them Hindus and Sikhs) between Vancouver and San Francisco, through Seattle and Portland: in addition to learning how to read and write simple English, they were informed about their rights in
3116-531: A mission to Muzaffarpur to assassinate chief presidency magistrate D. H. Kingsford. They bombed a carriage they mistook for Kingsford's, killing two Englishwomen. Bose was arrested while attempting to flee and Chaki committed suicide. Police investigation of the killers connected them with Barin's country house in Manicktala (a suburb of Calcutta) and led to a number of arrests, including Aurobindo and Barin. The ensuing trial, held under tight security, led to
3280-534: A pilgrimage and recovered their inner peace by receiving initiation from the saint Bholanand Giri of Haridwar. Aware of his disciple's revolutionary commitments, the holy man extended to him his full support. Upon returning to his native village Koya in March 1906, Jatin learned about the disturbing presence of a tiger in the vicinity; while scouting in the nearby jungle, he came across a Royal Bengal tiger and fought hand-to-hand with it. Wounded, he managed to strike with
3444-680: A plot led by the Ghosh brothers. In the same month, the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti assassinated former Dhaka district magistrate D. C. Allen. The following year, the Samiti engineered eleven assassinations, seven attempted assassinations and explosions and eight dacoities in West Bengal. Their targets included British police officials and civil servants, Indian police officers, informants, public prosecutors of political crimes, and wealthy families. Under Barin Ghosh's direction,
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#17327805364253608-458: A politically independent India – indispensable for the spiritual progress of humanity – had a great influence on Jatin. The Swami taught him the art of conquering libido before raising a batch of young volunteers "with iron muscles and nerves of steel", to serve miserable compatriots during famines, epidemics and floods and running clubs for "man-making" in the context of a nation under foreign domination. They soon assisted Sister Nivedita ,
3772-476: A presence in Bengal, was founded in 1948 by Anushilan members. The revolutionaries of the Samiti became household names in Bengal. Many of these educated and youthful men were widely admired and romanticised throughout India. Ekbar biday de Ma ghure ashi (Bid me farewell, mother), a 1908 lament written by Bengali folk poet Pitambar Das that mourns the execution of Khudiram Bose , was popular in Bengal decades after Bose's death. The railway station where Bose
3936-461: A reputation for physical bravery and great strength; charitable and cheerful by nature, he was fond of caricature and enacting religious plays, himself playing the roles of god-loving characters like Prahlad, Dhruva, Hanuman , Râja Harish Chandra as well as courageous personalities like Pratapaditya . He not only encouraged several playwrights to produce patriotic pieces for the urban stage, but also engaged village bards to spread nationalist fervour in
4100-609: A satellite linking Asia with the American West Coast. Familiar with the doctrine of Sri Aurobindo and an erstwhile follower of Rasbehari Bose , in 1913, invited by Das, Har Dayal resigned from his teaching job at the University of Berkeley, coaxed by Jiten Lahiri (one of Jatin's emissaries) of wasting his time in daydreaming, Har Dayal set out on a lecture tour covering the major centres of Indian immigrants; enlivened by their patriotism, he preached open revolt against
4264-663: A significant populace at this time. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar , the founder of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was an alumnus of the Anushilan Samiti. He was sent to Calcutta by B. S. Moonje in 1910 to study medicine, and to learn techniques of violent nationalism from secret revolutionary organizations in Bengal. There he lived with independence activist Shyam Sundar Chakravarty , and had contacts with revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil . James Popplewell, writing in 1995, noted that
4428-580: A silver shield with the scene of him killing the tiger engraved on it. The title 'Bagha', meaning 'Tiger' in Bengali, became associated with him since then. Several sources mention Jatin as being among the founders of the Anushilan Samiti in 1902, and as a pioneer in creating its branches in the districts. According to Daly's Report: "A secret meeting was held in Calcutta about the year 1900 [...] The meeting resolved to start secret societies with
4592-465: A special tribunal composed of three high-court judges. In December 1908 the Criminal Law amendments were passed under the terms of Regulation III of 1818, with the goal of suppressing associations formed for seditious conspiracies. The act was first applied to deport nine Bengali revolutionaries to Mandalay prison in 1908. Despite these measures however, the high standards of evidence demanded by
4756-402: Is a heterogeneous one, with several advisers and petty chiefs... From the information we have on record we may divide the gang into four parts: (1) Gurus, (2) Influential supporters, (3) Leaders, (4) Members." J.C. Nixon's report is more explicit: "Although a separate name and a separate individuality have been given to these various parties in this account of them, and although such a distinction
4920-493: Is believed to have influenced members of the Samiti by talking about their duties to the motherland and providing literature on revolutionary nationalism. She was a correspondent of Peter Kropotkin , a noted anarchist. A major section of the Anushilan movement had been attracted to Marxism during the 1920s and 1930s, many of them studying Marxist–Leninist literature whilst serving long jail sentences. A majority broke away from
5084-610: Is thought to have been influenced by the Bengali Samiti. The novel was banned by The Raj as "seditious", but acquired wild popularity. It formed the basis of a 1977 Bengali language film, Sabyasachi , with Uttam Kumar playing the lead role of the protagonist. Jatindranath Mukherjee Bagha Jatin ( lit. ' Tiger Jatin ' ; pronounced [ˈbaɡʰa ˈd͡ʒot̪in] ) or Baghajatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee ( pronounced [ˈd͡ʒot̪ind̪roˌnatʰ ˈmukʰoˌpaddʰaj] ); 7 December 1879 – 10 September 1915)
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5248-602: The 10th Jat Regiment , garrisoned at Fort William in Calcutta, and Narendra Nath committed a number of robberies to raise money. Shamsul Alam, a Bengal police officer preparing a conspiracy case against the group, was assassinated by Jatin associate Biren Dutta Gupta. His assassination led to the arrests which precipitated the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case . In 1911, Dhaka Anushilan members shot dead Sub-inspector Raj Kumar and Inspector Man Mohan Ghosh, two Bengali police officers investigating unrest linked to
5412-705: The 1912 attempt on the life of the Viceroy of India, led by Rash Behari Bose and Basanta Kumar Biswas , and the Seditious conspiracy during World War I, led by Jatindranath Mukherjee . The organisation moved away from its philosophy of violence in the 1920s due to the influence of the Indian National Congress and the Gandhian non-violent movement . A section of the group, notably those associated with Sachindranath Sanyal , remained active in
5576-525: The Alipore Case , Jatin organized a series of what author Arun Chandra Guha describes as "daring" actions in Calcutta and in the districts, "to revive the confidence of the people in the movement ... These brought him into the limelight of revolutionary leadership although hardly anybody outside the innermost circle ever suspected his connection with those acts. Secrecy was absolute in those days – particularly with Jatin". Almost contemporaneous with
5740-714: The Ardhodaya Yog in Calcutta and the Kumbha Mela , or the annual celebration of Ramakrishna 's birth, Jatin was suspected of utilising these as pretexts for group discussions with regional leaders and recruiting new freedom fighters to fight the supporters of the British . In May 1907 he was deputed as a shorthand writer to Mr. O'Malley's Office in Darjeeling for the Gazetteer work. "From early youth he had
5904-539: The Bhagavat Gita , were strong influences on the strain of nationalism that inspired the early societies that later became Anushilan Samiti. A search of the Dacca Anushilan Samiti library in 1908 showed that Bankim's Bhagavat Gita was the most widely read book in the library. The philosophies and teachings of Swami Vivekananda were later added to this philosophy. The "Rules of Membership" in
6068-497: The Calcutta High Court , insufficient investigations by police, and at times outright fabrication of evidence, led to persistent failures to tame nationalist violence. The police forces felt unable to deal with the operations of secretive nationalist organisations, leading to demands for special powers. The Indian press opposed these demands strenuously, arguing against any extension of the already wide powers enjoyed by
6232-773: The Communist International , helping to found the Communist Party of India. The majority of the Anushilanite Marxists hesitated to join the Communist Party. Instead, they joined the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), but kept a separate identity within the party as the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). The RSP held a strong influence in parts of Bengal. The party sent two parliamentarians to
6396-526: The Damodar flood in 1913, mainly in the districts of Burdwan and Midnapore , relief work brought together leaders of various groups: Jatin "never asserted his leadership, but the party members in the different districts acclaimed him as their leader." Meeting with Jatin increased Rasbehari Bose 's revolutionary zeal: in Jatin, he discovered "a real leader of men". At the close of 1913, they met to discuss
6560-919: The Howrah Gang Case . The major charge against Jatin Mukherjee and his party during the trial (1910–1911) was "conspiracy to wage war against the King-Emperor" and "tampering with the loyalty of the Indian soldiers" (mainly with the 10th Jats Regiment ) posted in Fort William , and soldiers in Upper Indian Cantonments. While held in Howrah jail, awaiting trial, Jatin made contact with a few fellow prisoners, prominent revolutionaries belonging to various groups operating in different parts of Bengal, who were all accused in this case. He
6724-513: The Indian National Congress came out in favour of independence from Britain. Bengal had quietened over a four-year period, and the government released most of those interned under the Act of 1925 despite an unsuccessful attempt to forge an alliance between Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti. Some younger radicals struck out in new directions, and many (young and old) took part in Congress activities such as
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6888-768: The Indian National Congress in 1885 by A.O. Hume provided a major platform for the demands of political liberalisation, increased autonomy and social reform. The nationalist movement became particularly strong, radical and violent in Bengal and, later, in Punjab . Notable, if smaller, movements also appeared in Maharashtra , Madras and other areas in the South. The movement in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Poona, preceded most revolutionary movements in
7052-595: The Jugantar group (centred in Calcutta ). From its foundation to its dissolution during the 1930s, the Samiti challenged British rule in India by engaging in militant nationalism, including bombings, assassinations, and politically motivated violence. The Samiti collaborated with other revolutionary organisations in India and abroad. It was led by the nationalists Aurobindo Ghosh and his brother Barindra Ghosh , influenced by philosophies like Italian Nationalism , and
7216-551: The Pan-Asianism of Kakuzo Okakura . Ullaskar Dutta used to be the Jugantor group's principal bomb maker until Hemchandra Quanungo returned from Paris having learned bomb making and explosive chemistry. The Samiti was involved in a number of noted incidents of revolutionary attacks against British interests and administration in India, including early attempts to assassinate British Raj officials. These were followed by
7380-522: The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were organised on different lines, reflecting their divergence. The Samiti was centrally organised, with a rigid discipline and vertical hierarchy. Jugantar was more loosely organised as an alliance of groups under local leaders that occasionally coordinated their actions. The prototype of Jugantar's organisation was Barin Ghosh's organisation set up in 1907, in
7544-586: The Sunderbans for members who had gone underground. The group slowly reorganised, aided by Amarendra Chatterjee , Naren Bhattacharya and other younger leaders. Some of its younger members, including Taraknath Das , left India. Over the next two years, the organisation operated under the cover of two apparently-separate groups: Sramajeebi Samabaya (the Labourer's Cooperative) and S.D. Harry and Sons. Around this time Jatin attempted to establish contacts with
7708-803: The Swadeshi movement to that of political terrorism. The organisation's political views were expressed in the journal Jugantar , founded in March 1906 by Abhinash Bhattacharya , Barindra, Bhupendranath Dutt and Debabrata Basu . It soon became an organ for the radical views of Aurobindo and other Anushilan leaders, and led to the Calcutta Samiti group being dubbed the "Jugantar party". Early leaders were Rash Behari Bose , Bhavabhushan Mitra , Jatindranath Mukherjee and Jadugopal Mukherjee . Aurobindo published similar messages of violent nationalism in journals such as Sandhya , Navashakti and Bande Mataram . The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti broke with
7872-512: The Swadeshi movement to the dedicated aim of political terrorism. The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti embarked on a radical program of political terrorism. It broke with the Jugantar group due to differences with Aurobindo's approach of slowly building a base for a revolution with a mass base. The Dhaka group saw this as slow and insufficient and sought immediate action and results. It was responsible for several political assassinations, most notably
8036-553: The Tagore family of Calcutta financed the establishment of Indian-owned banks and insurance companies. The 1906 Congress session in Calcutta established the National Council of Education as a nationalist agency to promote Indian institutions with their own independent curriculum designed to provide skills in technical and technological education that its founders felt would be necessary for building indigenous industries. With
8200-484: The United Provinces , including those later connected to Har Dayal . During the 1912 transfer of the imperial capital to New Delhi, Viceroy Charles Hardinge 's howdah was bombed; his mahout was killed, and Hardinge was seriously injured. As war between Germany and Britain began to seem likely, Indian nationalists at home and abroad decided to use the war for the nationalist cause. Through Kishen Singh,
8364-509: The "certain amount of success" in the contact that exists between the revolutionaries and the Sikh soldiers posted at Dakshineshwar gunpowder magazine; Jatin Mukherjee in company of Satyendra Sen was seen interviewing these Sikhs. Sen "is the man who came to India with Pingle . Their mission was specially to tamper with the troops. Pingle was captured in Punjab with bombs and was hanged, while Satyen
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#17327805364258528-436: The 1920s and 1930s, many members of the Samiti began identifying with Communism and leftist ideologies. Many of them studied Marxist–Leninist literature while serving long jail sentences. A minority section broke away from the Anushilan movement and joined the Communist Consolidation , and later the Communist Party of India. Former Jugantar leader Narendranath Bhattacharya, now known as M. N. Roy , became an influential member of
8692-502: The 1928 anti- Simon Commission protests. Congress leader Lala Lajpat Rai died of injuries received when police broke up a Lahore protest march in October, and Bhagat Singh and other members of the HSRA avenged his death in December; Singh also later bombed the legislative assembly. He and other HSRA members were arrested, and three went on a hunger strike in jail; Bengali bomb-maker Jatindra Nath Das persisted in his strike until his death in September 1929. The Calcutta Corporation passed
8856-452: The 1952 Lok Sabha elections, both previously Samiti members. In 1969, RSP sympathizers in East Pakistan formed the Shramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal (SKSD). RSP and SKSD have maintained close ties ever since. The RSP is currently a minor partner in the Left Front , which ruled the Indian state of West Bengal for 34 uninterrupted years. It also holds influence in South India, notably in parts of Kerala . The SUCI , another left-wing party with
9020-415: The Act and 99 were imprisoned under Regulation III. In Bengal, revolutionary violence fell to 10 incidents in 1917. According to official lists, 186 revolutionaries were killed or convicted by 1918. After the war, the Defence of India Act was extended by the Rowlatt Act , the passage of which was a prime target of the protests of M. K. Gandhi 's non-cooperation movement. Many revolutionaries released after
9184-520: The Alipore trial, Jatin took over the leadership of the secret society to be known as the Jugantar Party, and revitalised the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over Bengal , Bihar , Odisha and several places in Uttar Pradesh . Through Justice Sarada Charan Mitra, Jatin leased from Sir Daniel Hamilton lands in the Sundarbansto shelter revolutionaries not yet arrested. Atul Krishna Ghosh and Jatindranath Mukherjee founded Pathuriaghatat Byam Samity which
9348-437: The Anushilan Samiti and joined the Communist Consolidation the Marxist group in Cellular Jail , and they later the Communist Party of India (CPI). Some of the Anushilan Marxists were hesitant to join the Communist Party, few joined the RSP however, since they distrusted the political lines formulated by the Communist International . They also did not embrace Trotskyism , although they shared some Trotskyist critiques of
9512-427: The Balasore district hospital on 10 September 1915. Senguptan and Niren were hanged at Balasore district jail. Inspired by Swami Vivekananda , Jatin expressed his ideals in simple words: " Amra morbo, jagat jagbe " — "We will die, the world will awaken". It is corroborated in the tribute paid to Jatin by Charles Tegart , the Intelligence Chief and Police Commissioner of Bengal: "Though I had to do my duty, I have
9676-407: The Bengal Samiti cell was introduced to Har Dayal when Dayal visited India in 1908. Dayal was associated with India House, then headed by V. D. Savarkar. By 1910, Dayal was working closely with Rash Behari Bose. After the decline of India House, Dayal moved to San Francisco after working briefly with the Paris Indian Society . Nationalism among Indian immigrants (particularly students and
9840-443: The Bengalis. Physical fitness was symbolic of the recovery of masculinity, and part of a larger moral and spiritual training to cultivate control over the body, and develop national pride and a sense of social responsibility and service. Peter Heehs, writing in 2010, notes the Samiti had three pillars in their ideologies: "cultural independence", "political independence", and "economic independence". In terms of economic independence,
10004-500: The C.I.D. (known as the "Special Department") was developed in September 1909, staffed by 23 officers and 45 men. The government of India allocated Rs 2,227,000 for the Bengal Police alone in the reforms of 1909–1910. By 1908 a Special Officer for Political Crime was appointed from the Bengal Police, with the Special Branch of Police working under him. This post was first occupied by C.W.C. Plowden and later by F.C. Daly. Godfrey Denham, then Assistant Superintendent of Police, served under
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#173278053642510168-400: The Dacca library strongly recommended reading his books. These books emphasised "Strong muscles and nerves of steel", which some historians consider to be strongly influenced by the Hindu Shakta Philosophy . This interest in physical improvement and proto-national spirit among young Bengalis was driven by an effort to break away from the stereotype of effeminacy that the British had imposed on
10332-420: The Defence of India Act (as the Rowlatt Act ) to thwart any possible revival of the Samiti in Bengal and the Ghadarite movement in Punjab. After the war, the activities of the party led to the implementation of the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment in the early 1920s, which reinstated the powers of incarceration and detention from the Defence of India Act. However, the Anushilan Samiti gradually disseminated into
10496-442: The Defence of India Act for a further three years with the removal of habeas corpus provisions. However this was met with universal opposition by the Indian members of the Viceroy's council, as well as the population in general, and Gandhi called the proposed act "The Black Bills". Mohammed Ali Jinnah left the Viceroy's council in protest, after having warned the council of the danger of enacting such an unpopular bill. Nevertheless,
10660-517: The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti to trial. Nandalal Bannerjee (the officer who arrested Khudiram) was shot and killed in 1908, followed by the assassinations of the prosecutor and informant for the Alipore case in 1909. After Aurobindo's retirement, the western Anushilan Samiti found a more prominent leader in Bagha Jatin and emerged as the Jugantar . Jatin revitalised links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its branches in Bengal , Bihar , Orissa and Uttar Pradesh , establishing hideouts in
10824-401: The English rulers of India. Welcomed by the Indian militants of San Francisco, in November, he founded his journal Ghadar ('Revolt') and the Yugantar Ashram, as a tribute to Sri Aurobindo . The Sikh community also became involved in the movement. Shortly after when World War I broke out, in September 1914, an International Pro-India Committee was formed at Zürich . Very soon it merged into
10988-399: The Gandhi-led Salt March , in April 1930, a group led by Surya Sen raided the Chittagong Armoury. In 1930 eleven British officials were killed, notably during the Writer's Building raid of December 1930 by Benoy Basu , Dinesh Gupta and Badal Gupta . Three successive district magistrates in Midnapore were assassinated, and dozens of other actions were carried out during the first half of
11152-425: The Gandhian movement. Some of its members left for the Indian National Congress then led by Subhas Chandra Bose , while others identified more closely with Communism . The Jugantar branch formally dissolved in 1938. The growth of the Indian middle class during the 19th century led to a growing sense of Indian identity that fed a rising tide of nationalism in India in the last decades of the 1800s. The creation of
11316-435: The Howrah Gang (...) worked directly under the orders of Aurobindo Ghosh ." In 1905, during a procession to celebrate the visit of the Prince of Wales at Calcutta, Jatin decides to draw the attention of the future Emperor on the behaviour of HM's English officers. Not far from the royal coach, he singles out a cabriolet on a side-lane, with a group of English military men sitting on its roof, their booted legs dangling against
11480-481: The Indian National Congress. Kolkata – formerly Calcutta was at the time the most prominent centre for organised politics, and some of the students who attended the political meetings began to organise "secret societies" that cultivated a culture of physical strength and nationalist feelings. By 1902, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) had three secret societies working toward the violent overthrow of British rule in India: one founded by Calcutta student Satish Chandra Basu with
11644-420: The Indian independence movement, including the revolutionary conspiracies of World War I , involved the Samiti, as noted in the Rowlatt report . Later the ascendant left-wing of the Congress, particularly Subhas Chandra Bose , was suspected of having links with the Samiti. Heehs argued that the actions of the revolutionary nationalists exemplified by the Samiti forced the government to parley more seriously with
11808-572: The Indian political movement. The British war effort had received popular support within India and the act received support on the understanding that the measures enacted were necessary in the war situation. These measures enabled the arrest, internment, transportation, and execution of a number of revolutionaries linked to the organisation, which crushed the East Bengal branch of the Samiti. Its application led to 46 executions, as well as 64 life sentences given to revolutionaries in Bengal and Punjab in
11972-512: The Indian rising. To facilitate transmission of information to Jatin, a business house under the name "Universal Emporium" was set up, as a branch of Harry & Sons in Calcutta, which had been created for keeping contacts with revolutionaries abroad. Jatin, therefore, moved to a hideout outside Kaptipada village in the native state of Mayurbhanj , more than thirty miles away from Balasore. In April 1915, after meeting with Jatin, Naren Bhattacharya (the future M. N. Roy ) went to Batavia , to make
12136-523: The Jugantar group in West Bengal due to disagreements with Aurobindo's approach of slowly building a mass base for revolution. The Dhaka group instead sought immediate action and results through political terrorism. The two branches of the Samiti engaged in dacoity to raise money, and performed a number of political assassinations. In December 1907, the Bengal branch derailed a train carrying Bengal Lieutenant Governor Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser in
12300-548: The Lahore Conspiracy Trial and Benares Conspiracy Trial, and in tribunals in Bengal, effectively crushing the revolutionary movement. By March 1916, widespread arrests had helped Bengal Police crush the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti in Calcutta. The power of preventive detention was used extensively in Bengal, and revolutionary violence in Bengal plummeted to 10 incidents in 1917. By the end of
12464-493: The Maharashtrian Vishnu Ganesh Pingle and Sikh militants planned simultaneous troop uprisings for February 1915. In Bengal, Anushilan and Jugantar launched what has been described by historians as "a reign of terror in both the cities and the countryside ... [which] ... came close to achieving their key goal of paralysing the administration". An atmosphere of fear severely affected morale in both
12628-509: The Prince of Wales, "on his return from the Indian tour had a long conversation with Morley [10/5/1906] (...) He spoke of the ungracious bearing of Europeans to Indians." Jatin, together with Barindra Ghosh , set up a bomb factory near Deoghar , while Barin was to do the same at Maniktala in Calcutta. Whereas Jatin disapproved of all untimely terrorist action, Barin led an organisation centred around his own personality: his aim was, aside from
12792-630: The Prosecutor Ashutosh Biswas (on 10 February 1909) by Charu Chandra Bose, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Samsul Alam (on 24 January 1910): both these officers had been determined to get all the accused condemned. Arrested, outwitted by the Police, Biren Datta Gupta , the latter's assassin, disclosed Jatin's name as his leader. On 25 January 1910, "with the gloom of his assassination hanging over everyone",
12956-458: The Raj perceived the Samiti in its early days as a serious threat to its rule. However, historian Sumit Sarkar noted that the Samiti never mustered enough support to offer an urban rebellion or a guerrilla campaign. Both Peter Heehs and Sumit Sarkar have noted that the Samiti called for complete independence over 20 years before the Congress adopted this as its aim. A number of landmark events early in
13120-679: The Raj, the Samiti ' s members who turned approvers (i.e. gave evidence against their colleagues) and the Bengal Police staff who were investigating the Samiti were consistently targeted. A number of assassinations were carried out of approvers who had agreed to act as crown witnesses. In 1909 Naren Gossain, crown witness for the prosecution in Alipore bomb case , was shot dead within Alipore Jail by Satyendranath Boseu and Kanai Lal Dutt. Ashutosh Biswas, an advocate of Calcutta High Court in charge of prosecution of Gossain murder case,
13284-668: The Samiti also included prominent participation from women, including Pritilata Waddedar who led a Jugantar attack during the Chittagong Armoury raid , and Kalpana Dutta who manufactured bombs at Chittagong. The Samiti was influenced by the writings of the Bengali nationalist author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay . The name of the organisation, Anushilan, is derived from Bankim's works espousing hard work and spartan life. Bankim's cultural and martial nationalism, exemplified in Anandamath , along with his reinterpretation of
13448-495: The Samiti diverged from the Swadeshi movement, which they decried as a "trader's movement". When the Samiti first came into prominence following the Muzaffarpur killings, its ideology was felt to be influenced by European anarchism . Lord Minto resisted the notion that its action might be the manifestation of political grievance by concluding that: Murderous methods hitherto unknown in India ... have been imported from
13612-557: The Samiti included the Japanese artist Kakuzo Okakura and Margaret Noble, an Irish woman known as Sister Nivedita . Okakura was a proponent of Pan-Asianism . He visited Swami Vivekananda in Calcutta in 1902, and inspired Pramathanath Mitra in the early days of the Samiti. However the extent of his involvement or influence is debated. Nivedita was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She had contacts with Aurobindo, with Satish Bose and with Jugantar sub-editor Bhupendranath Bose. Nivedita
13776-507: The Samiti spread its influence to other parts of the country, particularly north India, it began to draw in people of other religions and of varying religious commitments. For example, many who joined the Hindustan Republican Socialist Association were Marxists and many were militant atheists . By the late 1930s, members with a more secular outlook were beginning to participate. Some components of
13940-816: The Samiti to acquire the support of educated, politically conscious and disaffected members of local youth societies. The Samiti's program emphasized physical training, training its recruits with daggers and lathis (bamboo staffs used as weapons). The Dhaka branch was led by Pulin Behari Das , and branches spread throughout East Bengal and Assam. More than 500 branches were opened in eastern Bengal and Assam , linked by "close and detailed organization" to Pulin's headquarters at Dhaka. This branch soon overshadowed its parent organisation in Calcutta. Branches of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti emerged in Jessore , Khulna , Faridpur , Rajnagar , Rajendrapur, Mohanpur, Barvali and Bakarganj, with an estimated membership of 15,000 to 20,000. Within two years, Dhaka Anushilan changed its aims from those of
14104-599: The Samiti were among the leading luminaries of Bengal at the time, advocating for social change in ways far removed from the violent nationalist works that identified the Samiti in later years. The young men of Bengal were among the most active in the Swadeshi movement , prompting R.W. Carlyle to prohibit the participation of students in political meetings on the threat of withdrawal of funding and grants. Bengali intellectuals were already calling for indigenous schools and colleges to replace British institutions, and seeking to build indigenous institutions. Surendranath Tagore , of
14268-542: The Samiti's members also attempted to assassinate French colonial officials in Chandernagore who were seen as complicit with the Raj. Anushilan Samiti established early links with foreign movements and Indian nationalists abroad. In 1907 Hem Chandra Kanungo (Hem Chandra Das) went to Paris by selling his land property to learn bomb-making from Nicholas Safranski, a Russian revolutionary in exile. In 1908, young recruits Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki were sent on
14432-725: The Special Officer. Denham was credited with uncovering the Manicktala safe house of the Samiti, raiding it in May 1908, which ultimately led to the Manicktala conspiracy case. This case led to further expansion of the Special Branch in Bengal. The CID in Eastern Bengal and Assam (EBA) were founded in 1906 and expanded from 1909 onwards. However, the EBA police's access to informers and secret agents remained difficult. In EBA,
14596-881: The Swami's Irish disciple, in this venture. According to J. E. Armstrong, Superintendent of the colonial Police, Jatin "owed his preeminent position in revolutionary circles, not only to his qualities of leadership, but in great measure to his reputation of being a Brahmachari with no thought beyond the revolutionary cause." Noticing his desire to die for a cause, Vivekanand sent Jatin to the Gymnasium of Ambu Guha where he himself had practised wrestling. Jatin met here, among others, Sachin Banerjee, son of Yogendra Vidyabhushan (a popular author of biographies like Mazzini and Garibaldi ), who turned into Jatin's mentor. In 1900, his uncle Lalit Kumar married Vidyabhushan's daughter. Fed up with
14760-669: The USA and their duty towards Mother India: two periodicals – Free Hindustan (In English, sponsored by local Irish revolutionaries) and Swadesh Sevak ('Servants of the Motherland', in Gurumukhi) ;– became increasingly popular. In regular contact with Calcutta and London (where the organisation was managed by Shyamji Krishnavarma ), Das wrote regularly to personalities throughout the world (like Leo Tolstoy and Éamon de Valera ). In May 1913, Kumar left for Manilla to create
14924-569: The United States, headed by E. V. Voska , were, as Habsburg subjects, presumed to be German supporters, but were actually involved in spying on German and Austrian diplomats. Voska had begun working with Guy Gaunt , who headed Courtenay Bennett 's intelligence network, at the outbreak of the war and on learning of the plot from the members of the network in Europe, passed on the information to Gaunt and to Tomáš Masaryk who further passed on
15088-498: The United States. Jatin's influence was international. The Bengali bestseller Dhan Gopal Mukerji, settled in New York and, at the summit of his glory, was to write : "Before 1914 we succeeded in disturbing the equilibrium of the government... Then extraordinary powers were given to the police, who called us anarchists to prejudice us forever in the eyes of the world... Dost thou remember Jyotin, our cousin – he that once killed
15252-636: The Viceroy Minto declared openly: "A spirit hitherto unknown to India has come into existence (...), a spirit of anarchy and lawlessness which seeks to subvert not only British rule but the Governments of Indian chiefs..." On 27 January 1910, Jatin was arrested in connection with this murder, but was released, to be immediately re-arrested along with forty-six others in connection with the Howrah-Sibpur conspiracy case , popularly known as
15416-500: The West, ... which the imitative Bengali has childishly accepted. However others disagreed. John Morley was of the opinion that the political violence exemplified by the Samiti was a manifestation of Indian antagonism to the government, although there were also influences of European nationalism and philosophies of liberalism. In the 1860s and 1870s, large numbers of akhras (gymnasiums) arose in Bengal that were consciously designed along
15580-704: The act successfully curtailed a resurgence in nationalist violence in Bengal, at a time when the Hindustan Republican Association was rising in the United Provinces. After the 1920s, the Anushilan Samiti gradually dissolved into the Gandhian movement. Some of its members left for the Indian National Congress, then led by Subhas Chandra Bose, while others identified more closely with Communism . The Jugantar branch formally dissolved in 1938. In independent India,
15744-634: The act, including Subhas Chandra Bose , curtailing the resurgence of nationalist violence in Bengal. Branches of Jugantar formed in Chittagong and Dhaka, in present-day Bangladesh. The Chittagong branch, led by Surya Sen , robbed the Chittagong office of the Assam-Bengal Railway in December 1923. In January 1924 a young Bengali, Gopi Mohan Saha, shot dead a European he mistook for Calcutta police commissioner Charles Tegart . The assassin
15908-595: The activities of the Samiti in Bengal during World War I , along with the threat of a Ghadarite uprising in Punjab , led to the passage of Defence of India Act 1915 . These measures enabled the arrest, internment, transportation and execution of a number of revolutionaries linked to the organisation, which crushed the East Bengal Branch. In the aftermath of the war, the Rowlatt committee recommended extending
16072-506: The agreement, it sponsored no major actions between 1920 and 1922. During the next few years, Jugantar and the Samiti became active again. The resurgence of radical nationalism linked to the Samiti during the 1920s led to the passage of the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance in 1924. The act restored extraordinary powers of detention to the police; by 1927 more than 200 suspects were imprisoned under
16236-538: The anarchist Bonnot Gang well known in France, Jatin invented and introduced in India bank robbery on automobile taxi-cabs, " a new feature in revolutionary crime. " Several outrages were committed: for instance, in 1908, on 2 June and 29 November; an attempt to assassinate the Lt Governor of Bengal on 7 November 1908; in 1909, on 27 February 23 April 16 August 24 September and 28 October; two assassinations – of
16400-583: The colonial administration of British India. Shortly after its inception, the organisation became the focus of an extensive police and intelligence operation which led to the founding of the Special branch of the Calcutta Police . Notable officers who led the police and intelligence operations against the Samiti at various times included Sir Robert Nathan , Sir Harold Stuart , Sir Charles Stevenson-Moore and Sir Charles Tegart . The threat posed by
16564-871: The colonial system of education, Jatin left for Muzaffarpore in 1899, as secretary of barrister Pringle Kennedy , founder and editor of the Trihoot Courrier . He was impressed by this historian; through his editorials and from the Congress platform, he showed how urgent it was to have an Indian National Army and to react against the British squandering of Indian budget to safeguard their interests in China and elsewhere. In 1900, Jatin married Indubala Banerjee of Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia ; they had four children: Atindra (1903–1906), Ashalata (1907–1976), Tejendra (1909–1989), and Birendra (1913–1991). Struck by Atindra's death, Jatin, with his wife and sister, set out on
16728-527: The country. This movement was supported ideologically by Bal Gangadhar Tilak , who may also have offered covert active support. The Indian Association was founded in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in 1876 under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjee . The Association became the mouthpiece of an informal constituency of students and middle-class gentlemen. It sponsored the Indian National Conference in 1883 and 1885, which later merged with
16892-593: The countryside. After passing the Entrance examination in 1895 from Krishnanagar Anglo-vernacular School (A.V. School), Jatin joined the Calcutta Central College (now Khudiram Bose College), to study Fine Arts . At the same time, he took lessons in steno typing with Mr. Atkinson. This was a new qualification opening the possibility of a coveted career. Soon he started visiting Swami Vivekananda , whose social thought, and especially his vision of
17056-429: The decade. By 1931 a record 92 violent incidents were recorded, including the murders of the British magistrates of Tippera and Midnapore. However, soon afterwards, in 1934, the revolutionary movement in Bengal ended. A large portion of the Samiti movement was attracted to left-wing politics during the 1930s, and those who did not join left-wing parties identified with Congress and the Congress Socialist Party . During
17220-412: The division of the organisation in Bengal, which largely followed British administrative divisions. Samiti membership was predominantly made up of Hindus, at least initially, which was ascribed to the religious oath of initiation being unacceptable to Muslims. Each member was assigned to one or more of three roles: collection of funds, implementation of planned actions and propaganda. In practice, however,
17384-501: The financial backing of Subodh Chandra Mallik , the Bengal National College was established with Aurobindo as Principal. Aurobindo participated in the Indian National Congress at the time. He used his platform in the Congress to present the Samiti as a conglomeration of youth clubs, even as the government raised fears that it was a revolutionary nationalist organisation. During his time as Principal, Aurobindo started
17548-753: The fundamental division was between military work and civil work. Dals (teams) consisting of five or ten members led by a dalpati (team leader) were grouped together in local Samiti led by adhyakshas (executive officers) and other officers. These reported to district officers appointed by and responsible to the central Dhaka organization, commanded by Pulin Das and those who deputised for him during his periods of imprisonment. Samitis were divided into four functional groups: violence, organisation, keepers of arms, and householders. Communications were carried by special couriers and written in secret code. These practices and others were inspired by literary sources and were partly
17712-461: The general production of terror, the elimination of certain Indian and British officers serving the Crown. Side by side, Jatin developed a decentralised federated body of loose autonomous regional cells. Organising relentless relief missions with a paramedical body of volunteers following almost a military discipline, during natural calamities such as floods or epidemics, and religious pilgrimages such as
17876-632: The government finally repealed the Rowlatt act and its component sister acts. A resurgence of radical nationalism linked to the Samiti after 1922 led to the implementation of the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment in 1924, which reinstated the powers of incarceration and detention from the Defence of India Act. The act re-introduced extraordinary powers of detention to the police, and by 1927 more than 200 suspects had been imprisoned, including Subhas Chandra Bose . The implementation of
18040-691: The group, in Mymensingh and Barisal . This was followed by the assassination of CID head constable Shrish Chandra Dey in Calcutta. In February 1911, Jugantar bombed a car in Calcutta, mistaking an Englishman for police officer Godfrey Denham. Rash Behari Bose (described as "the most dangerous revolutionary in India") extended the group's reach into north India , where he found work in the Indian Forest Institute in Dehra Dun . Bose forged links with radical nationalists in Punjab and
18204-547: The groups were interconnected with a vast web of secret societies throughout British India. However, historian Peter Heehs concluded that the links between provinces were limited to contacts between a few individuals like Aurobindo who was familiar with leaders and movements in Western India, and that relationships among the different revolutionary groups were more often competitive than co-operative. An internal document of circa 1908 written by Pulin Behari Das describes
18368-539: The help of arms, ammunition, and funds promised by the German government. Advised by Berlin, Ambassador Bernstorff in Washington arranged with Von Papen, his military attaché, to send cargo consignments from California to the coast of the Bay of Bengal, via Far East. These efforts were directly connected with the Jugantar , under Jatin's leadership, in its planning and organising an armed revolt. Rash Behari Bose assumed
18532-539: The information the Americans. Jatin was informed of British action by Niren and was requested to leave his hiding place, but his insistence on taking Nirendranath (Niren) Dasgupta and Jyotish Pal with him delayed their departure by a few hours, by which time a large force of police, headed by top British officers from Calcutta and Balasore, reinforced by the army unit from Chandabali in Bhadrak district , had reached
18696-524: The investigation in the aftermath of the Dalhi-Lahore Conspiracy and identified Chandernagore as the main hub for the Samiti. Tegart remained in the Bengal police until at least the 1930s, earning notoriety amongst the Samiti for his work, and was subjected to a number of assassination attempts. In 1924, Ernest Day, an Englishman, was shot dead by Gopinath Saha at Chowringhee Road in Calcutta, due to being mistaken for Tegart. In 1930,
18860-484: The latter's 1912 visit to Calcutta and obtained an assurance that arms and ammunition would be supplied to them. Jatin learned about Bose's work from Niralamba Swami on a pilgrimage to Brindavan . Returning to Bengal, he began reorganising the group. Bose went into hiding in Benares after the 1912 attempt on Hardinge but he met Jatin towards the end of 1913, outlining prospects for a pan-Indian revolution. In 1914 Bose,
19024-491: The leaders of the legitimate movement, and that Gandhi was always aware of this. "At the Round Table Conference of 1931, the apostle of non-violence declared that he held 'no brief for the terrorists', but added that if the government refused to work with him, it would have the terrorists to deal with. The only way to 'say good-bye to terrorism' was 'to work the Congress for all it is worth'". The founders of
19188-439: The leadership of Joseph Stalin . Shortly after its inception, the Samiti became the focus of extensive police and intelligence operation. Notable officers who led the police and intelligence operations against them at various times included Sir Robert Nathan , Sir Harold Stuart , Sir Charles Stevenson-Moore and Sir Charles Tegart . The CIDs of Bengal and the provinces of Eastern Bengal and Assam were founded in response to
19352-561: The lines of the Italian Carbonari . These were influenced by the works of Italian nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini and his Young Italy movement . Aurobindo himself studied the revolutionary nationalism of Ireland, France and America. Hem Chandra Das , during his stay in Paris, is also noted to have interacted with European radical nationalists in the city, returning to India an atheist with Marxist leanings. Foreign influences on
19516-519: The mass detentions of the 1930s surrounding the civil-disobedience movement, many members joined Congress. Jugantar was formally dissolved in 1938; many former members continued to act together under Surendra Mohan Ghose, who was a liaison between other Congress politicians and Aurobindo Ghose in Pondicherry. During the late 1930s, Marxist-leaning members of the Samiti in the CSP announced the formation of
19680-665: The murder of D.C. Allen. However, it reached a temporary halt after the arrest and deportation of Pulin Das and the Barisal Conspiracy Case in 1913. Dhaka Anushilan decided not to participate in the German plot of World War I. After the war, it continued in its violent movement, and some of its members went on to form the Neo-violence group. Anushilan Samiti Anushilan Samiti ( Bengali : অনুশীলন সমিতি , lit. 'Practice Association')
19844-569: The nationalist publications Jugantar , Karmayogin and Bande Mataram . The student's mess at the college was frequented by students of East Bengal who belonged to the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti, and was known to be a hotbed of revolutionary nationalism, which was uncontrolled or even encouraged by the college. Students of the college who later rose to prominence in the Indian revolutionary movement include M. N. Roy . The Samiti ' s ideologies further influenced patriotic nationalism. Post-independence and Cold War Contemporary history Through
20008-452: The neighborhood. Jatin and his companions walked through the forests and hills of Mayurbhanj, and after two days reached Balasore Railway Station. The police had announced a reward for the capture of five fleeing "bandits", so the local villagers were also in pursuit. With occasional skirmishes, the revolutionaries, running through jungles and marshy land in torrential rain, finally took up position on 9 September 1915 in an improvised trench in
20172-422: The newly appointed Viceroy Lord Hardinge wrote more explicitly to Earl Crewe (H.M.'s Secretary of State for India): "As regards prosecution, I (...) deprecate the net being thrown so wide; as for example in the Howrah Gang Case , where 47 persons are being prosecuted, of whom only one is , I believe, the real criminal . If a concentrated effort had been made to convict this one criminal , I think it would have had
20336-473: The object of assassinating officials and supporters of Government [...] One of the first to flourish was at Kushtea, in the Nadia district. This was organised by one Jotindra Nath Mukherjee [ sic !].". Nixon reports further: "The earliest known attempts in Bengal to promote societies for political or semi-political ends are associated with the names of the late P. Mitter, Barrister-at-Law, Miss Saralabala Ghosal and
20500-577: The party in West Bengal evolved into the Revolutionary Socialist Party , while the Eastern Branch later evolved into the Sramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal (Workers and Peasants Socialist Party) in present-day Bangladesh . The nationalist publication Jugantar , which served as the organ of the Samiti, inspired fanatical loyalty among its readers. By 1907 it was selling 7,000 copies, which later rose to 20,000. Its message
20664-582: The patronage of Calcutta barrister Pramatha Mitra , another led by Sarala Devi , and the third founded by Aurobindo Ghose . Ghose and his brother Barin were among the strongest proponents of militant Indian nationalism at the time. Nationalist writings and publications by Aurobindo and Barin, including Bande Mataram and Jugantar Patrika (Yugantar) , had a widespread influence on Bengal youth and helped Anushilan Samiti to gain popularity in Bengal. The 1905 partition of Bengal stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in Bengal's Bhadralok community, helping
20828-452: The people's status . "He had indeed an ambitious dream." Informed about his death, M. N. Roy wrote: "I could not forget the injunction of the only man I ever obeyed almost blindly[...] Jatinda's heroic death [...] must be avenged. Only a year had passed since then. But in the meantime, I had come to realise that I admired Jatinda because he personified, perhaps without himself knowing it, the best of mankind. The corollary to that realisation
20992-526: The police and courts. In August 1914, Jugantar seized a large amount of arms and ammunition from the Rodda company , a Calcutta arms dealer, and used them in robberies in Calcutta for the next two years. In 1915, only six revolutionaries were successfully tried. Both the February 1915 plot and a December 1915 plot were thwarted by British intelligence. Jatin and a number of fellow revolutionaries were killed in
21156-500: The police forces in India, which they claimed were already being used to oppress the Indian people. The threat posed by the activities of the Samiti in Bengal during World War I , along with the threat of a Ghadarite uprising in Punjab , led to the passage of Defence of India Act 1915 . The act received universal support from Indian non-officiating members in the Governor General's council and from moderate leaders within
21320-598: The political branch of the Bengal CID was renamed the Intelligence Branch, staffed with 50 officers and 127 men. The branch had separate sections dealing with explosives, assassinations, and robberies. It was headed by Charles Tegart , who built up a network of agents and informers to infiltrate the Samiti. Tegart would meet his agents under cover of darkness, at times disguising himself as a pathan or kabuliwallah . Assisting Denham and Petrie, Tegart led
21484-409: The possibilities of an armed rising of the 1857 type. Impressed by Jatin's "fiery energy and personality", Bose sounded out non-commissioned officers posted at the Fort William of Calcutta, the nerve centre of the various regiments of the colonial army, before returning to Benares "to organise the scattered forces." There were also attempts to organise expatriate Indian revolutionaries in Europe and
21648-411: The province and soon overshadowed its parent organization in Calcutta . Branches of Dhaka Anushilan emerged in the towns of Jessore , Khulna , Faridpur , Rajnagar , Rajendrapur , Mohanpur, Barvali , Bakarganj and other places. Estimates of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti 's reach show a membership of between 15,000 and 20,000 members. Within another two years, Dhaka Anushilan would devolve its aims from
21812-810: The recommendations were enacted in the Rowlatt Bills . Gandhi then led a protest, the Rowlatt Satyagraha , one of the first civil disobedience movements that would become the Indian independence movement . The protests included hartals in Delhi, public protests in Punjab, and other protest movements across India. In Punjab, the protests culminated in the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre in April 1919. After nearly three years of agitation,
21976-637: The renowned revolutionary, before leading a sanyasi 's life); he had continued preaching in North India Sri Aurobindo's doctrine of a revolution. Niralamba gave Jatin complementary information about, and links to, the units set up by him in Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab . An important part of revolutionary activities in these regions were led by Rasbehari Bose and his associate Lala Hardayal . On returning from his pilgrimage, Jatin started reorganising Jugantar accordingly. During
22140-567: The reputation of a local Sandow and he soon attracted attention in Darjeeling in cases in which (...) he tried to measure the strength with Europeans. In 1908 he was leader of one of several gangs that had sprung up in Darjeeling, whose object was the spreading of disaffection, and with his associates he started a branch of the Anushilan Samiti , called the Bandhab Samiti ." In April 1908, in Siliguri railway station, Jatin got involved in
22304-427: The revolutionary movement led by the Samiti. By 1908, political crime duties took the services of one deputy Superintendent of Police, 52 Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors, and nearly 720 constables. Foreseeing a rise in the strength of the revolutionary movement, Sir Harold Stuart (then Secretary of State for India ) implemented plans for secret service to fight the menace posed by the Samiti. A Political Crime branch of
22468-703: The revolutionary movement, founding the Hindustan Republican Association in north India. A number of Congress leaders from Bengal, especially Subhash Chandra Bose , were accused by the British Government of having links with the organisation during this time. The Samiti's violent and radical philosophy revived in the 1930s, when it was involved in the Kakori conspiracy , the Chittagong armoury raid , and other actions against
22632-436: The run-up to the Manicktala conspiracy. It sought to emulate the model of Russian revolutionaries described by Frost. The regulations of the central Dhaka organization of the Samiti were written down, and reproduced and summarised in government reports. According to one estimate, the Dacca Anushilan Samiti at one point had 500 branches, mostly in the eastern districts of Bengal, and 20,000 members. Branches were opened later in
22796-426: The task of carrying out the plan in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. This international chain work conceived by Jatin came to be known as the German Plot, the Hindu–German Conspiracy , or the Zimmermann Plan. Jugantar started to collect funds by organising a series of dacoities (armed robberies) known as "Taxicab dacoities" and "Boat dacoities". Charles Tegart, in his "Report No. V" on the seditious organisations mentions
22960-401: The trial, and Jugantar responded with defiant editorials. Jugantar was repeatedly prosecuted, leaving it in financial ruins by 1908. However, the prosecutions brought the paper more publicity and helped disseminate the Samiti ' s ideology of revolutionary nationalism. Historian Shukla Sanyal has commented that revolutionary terrorism as an ideology began to win at least tacit support amongst
23124-400: The undergrowth on a hillock at Chashakhand in Balasore. Chittapriya Ray Chaudhuri and his companions asked Jatin to leave and go to safety while they guarded the rear. Jatin, however, refused to leave them. The contingent of Government forces approached them in a pincers movement. A gunfight ensued, lasting seventy-five minutes, between the five revolutionaries armed with Mauser pistols and
23288-413: The vindication of the rights of his countrymen. One day, in a pleasant mood, Wheeler asked Jatin, "With how many can you fight all alone ?" The prompt reply was, "Not a single one, if it is a question of honest people; otherwise, as many as you can imagine!" In 1908 Jatin was not one of over thirty revolutionaries accused in the Alipore Bomb Case following the incident at Muzaffarpur . Hence, during
23452-443: The war escaped to Burma to avoid repeated incarceration. The first non-cooperation movement, the Rowlatt Satyagrahas led by Gandhi, was active from 1919 to 1922. It received widespread support from prominent members of the Indian independence movement. In Bengal, Jugantar agreed to a request by Chittaranjan Das (a respected leader of the Indian National Congress) to refrain from violence. Although Anushilan Samiti did not adhere to
23616-401: The war there were over 800 detainees under the act in Bengal under the act. However, indiscriminate application of the act made it increasingly unpopular with the Indian public. The 1915 act was designed to expire in 1919, and the Rowlatt Committee was appointed to recommend measures to continue to suppress the revolutionary movement. The committee recommended an extension of the provisions of
23780-409: The western districts, Bihar , and the United Provinces . Shelters for absconders were established in Assam and in two farms in Tripura. Organisational documents show a primary division between the two active leaders, Barin Ghosh and Upendranath Bannerjee, and the rank-and-file. Higher leaders such as Aurobindo were supposed to be known only to the active leaders. Past members of the Samiti asserted that
23944-578: The windows, seriously disturbing the livid faces of a few native ladies. Stopping beside the cab, Jatin asks the fellows to leave the ladies alone. In response to their cheeky provocation, Jatin rushes up to the roof and fell them with slaps till they drop on the ground. The show is not innocent. Jatin is well aware that John Morley, the Secretary of State, receives regularly complaints about the English attitude towards Indian citizens, "The use of rough language and pretty free use of whips and sticks, and brutalities of that sort..." He will be further intimated that
24108-418: The working class) was gaining ground in the United States. Taraknath Das, who left Bengal for the United States in 1907, was among the Indian students who engaged in political work. In California, Dayal became a leading organiser of Indian nationalism amongst predominantly-Punjabi immigrant workers and was a key member of the Ghadar Party . With Naren Bhattacharya , Jatin met the crown prince of Germany during
24272-449: Was aimed at elite politically conscious readers and was essentially a critique of British rule in India and justification of political violence. Several young men who joined the Samiti credited Jugantar with influencing their decisions. The editor of the paper, Bhupendranath Datta , was arrested and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment in 1907. The Samiti responded by attempting to assassinate Douglas Kingsford, who presided over
24436-528: Was also guru , teaching those under his command practical skills, revolutionary ideology, and strategy. Gordon suggests that the dada system developed out of pre-existing social structures in rural Bengal. Dadas both co-operated and competed with each other for men, money, and material. Many members of the Samiti came from upper castes. By 1918, nearly 90% of the revolutionaries killed or convicted were Brahmins , Kayasthas or Vaidyas ; rests are from agricultural or pastoral castes like Mahishya or Yadav . As
24600-419: Was also informed by his emissaries abroad that very soon Germany was to declare war against England. Jatin counted heavily on this war to organise an armed uprising along with Indian soldiers in various regiments. The case failed because of lack of proper evidence thanks to Jatin's policy of a loose decentralised organisation federating scores of regional units, as observed by F.C. Daly more than once: "The gang
24764-515: Was an Indian independence activist . He was one of the principal leaders of the Jugantar party that was the central association of revolutionary independence activists in Bengal . Jatin was born in a Brahmin family to Sharatshashi and Umeshchandra Mukherjee in Kayagram, a village in Kushtia , the then part of Nadia district , in what is now Khulna , Bangladesh , on 7 December 1879. He grew up in his ancestral home at Sadhuhati, P.S. Rishkhali, Jhenaidah until his father's death when Jatin
24928-478: Was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it supported revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India . The organisation arose from a conglomeration of local youth groups and gyms (akhara) in Bengal in 1902. It had two prominent, somewhat independent, arms in East and West Bengal , Dhaka Anushilan Samiti (centred in Dhaka ), and
25092-400: Was an important centre of armed revolution of the Indian national movement. They were engaged in night schools for adults, homeopathic dispensaries, workshops to encourage small scale cottage industries, and experiments in agriculture. Since 1906, with the help of Sir Daniel, Jatin had been sending meritorious students abroad for higher studies as well as for learning military craft. After
25256-409: Was arrested is now named Khudiram Bose Pusa Railway Station in his honour. The 1926 nationalist novel Pather Dabi (Right of the way) by Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay tells the story of a secret revolutionary nationalist organisation fighting the Raj. The protagonist of the novel, Sabyasachi, is believed to have been modelled after Rash Behari Bose , while the revolutionary organisation
25420-463: Was aware of the social and political transformations of her times. Her brother Basanta Kumar Chattopadhyay (father of Indian revolutionary and politician Haripada Chattopadhyay ) taught and practised law, and counted among his clients the poet Rabindranath Tagore . Since the age of 14, Tagore had claimed in meetings organised by his family members equal rights for Indian citizens inside railway carriages and in public places. As Jatin grew older, he gained
25584-453: Was five years old. Well versed in Brahmanic studies, his father liked horses and was respected for the strength of his character. Sharatshashi settled in her parents' home in Kayagram with her son and his elder sister Benodebala (or Vinodebala). A gifted poet, she was affectionate and stern in her method of raising her children. Familiar with the essays by contemporary thought leaders like Bankimchandra Chatterjee and Yogendra Vidyabhushan , she
25748-433: Was founded in Benares by Sachindranath Sanyal and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee , helping to radicalise north India. It soon had branches from Calcutta to Lahore . A series of successful dacoities in Uttar Pradesh were followed by a train robbery in Kakori, and subsequent investigations and two trials broke the organization. Several years later, it was reborn as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). In 1927,
25912-443: Was interned under Regulation III in the Presidency Jail." With Jatin's written instructions, Pingle and Kartar Singh Sarabha met Rasbehari in North India. Preoccupied by the increasing police activities to prevent any uprising, eminent Jugantar members suggested that Jatin should move to a safer place. Balasore on the Odisha coast was selected as a suitable place, being very near the spot where German arms are to be landed for
26076-465: Was not involved in the Alipore Bomb case. Jatin was acquitted in February 1911 and released. Immediately, he suspended armed revolution. This stalemate proved Jatin's full command of violence as an antidote, contrary to the Chauri Chaura incident after him. During the German Crown Prince's visit to Calcutta, Jatin met him and received a promise about arms supply. Having lost his government job – and home interned, he managed to leave Calcutta, to start
26240-422: Was praised by the Bengali press and, to Gandhi's chagrin, proclaimed a martyr by the Bengal branch of the Congress. Around this time, Jugantar became closely associated with the Calcutta Corporation , headed by Das and Subhas Chandra Bose, and terrorists (and ex-terrorists) became significant factors in local Bengali government. In 1923 another group linked to Anushilan Samiti, the Hindustan Republican Association,
26404-468: Was probably observed amongst the minor members, it is very clear that the bigger figures were in close communication with one another and were frequently accepted members of two or more of these samitis . It may be taken that at some time these various parties were engaged in anarchical crime independently, although in their revolutionary aims and usually in their origins they were all very closely related." Several observers pinpointed Jatin so accurately that
26568-416: Was shot dead within Calcutta High Court in 1909. In 1910, Shamsul Alam, Deputy Superintendent of Bengal Police responsible for investigating the Alipore bomb case, was shot dead on the steps of Calcutta High Court. The failures of a number of prosecutions of violence linked to the Samiti under the Criminal Procedures Act of 1898 led to a special act that provided for crimes of nationalist violence to be tried by
26732-479: Was that Jatinda's death would be avenged if I worked for the ideal of establishing a social order in which the best in man could be manifest." In 1925, Gandhi told Charles Tegart that Jatin, generally referred to as "Bagha Jatin" (translated as Tiger Jatin), was "a divine personality". Tegart himself is purported to have told his colleagues that if Jatin were an Englishman, then the English people would have built his statue next to Nelson's at Trafalgar Square . In
26896-427: Was to be inaugurated in Dacca . In 1903, on meeting Sri Aurobindo at Yogendra Vidyabhushan 's place, Jatin decides to collaborate with him and is said to have added to his programme the clause of winning over the Indian soldiers of the British regiments in favour of an insurrection. W. Sealy in his report on "Connections with Bihar and Orissa" notes that Jatin Mukherjee "a close confederate of Nani Gopal Sen Gupta of
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