Revolutionary

Movement
By – Dr.Mahipal Singh Rathore
The Revolutionary ‘’Terrorist’’ Movements:
• The revolutionary terrorist movement was largely the outcome of the same set of
causes which gave rise to the extremist wing in the national politics.
• Only the revolutionaries wanted quicker results and discounted the value of
persuasion and low-grade pressure.
• The revolutionaries believed that the British rule was destructive of all that is
worthwhile in national life- political liberties, religious freedom, morality and
Indian culture.
• Though it is difficult to pinpoint the political philosophy of the revolutionary
terrorist in different parts of India, but their one common aim was freedom from
the British rule.
• Methods – Western methods of Violence – Bombs and revolvers

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2 phases of Revolutionary movement broadly speaking :
1. Phase 1 – 1890s- 1918
2. Phase 2 – 1920s onwards

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PHASE 1

• In the early part of the 20th century, revolutionary groups sprang up mainly in
Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab and Madras.
• The revolutionaries were not satisfied with the methods of both the moderates
and extremists.
• Hence, they started many revolutionary secret organizations.
• In Bengal Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were established.
• In Maharashtra Savarkar brothers had set up Abhinava Bharat.
• In the Madras Presidency, Bharathmatha Association was started by Nilakanta
Bramachari.

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• In Punjab , Ajit Singh set up a secret society to spread revolutionary ideas among
the youth.
• In London, at India House, Shyamji Krishna Verma gathered young Indian
nationalists like Madan Lal Dhingra, Savarkar, V.V.S. Iyer and T.S.S.Rajan.
• Lala Hardayal set up the ‘Ghadar Party’ in USA to organise revolutionary
activities from outside India.

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Revolutionaries activities in Maharashtra
• Following were the highlights of the revolutionary activities in Maharashtra:
• Started by Chitpavan Brahmins of Poona (Peshwa link??)

Assassination of Rand and Ayerst by Chapekar Brothers

• On June 22, 1897, Damodar Chapekar and Balkrishna Chapekar- famous as
Chapekar Brothers - assassinated two British officials named Rand and Ayerst at
Poona.
• The Chapekar brothers were disillusioned with the British administration for its
indifferent attitude towards plague at Pune.

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• In 1899, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar organised a
secret society Mitramela at Nashik
• In 1904, V.D. Savarkar organised the Abhinava Bharat, a secret society of
revolutionaries.

• In 1909, Anant Kanhare of Abhinava Bharat, assassinated Jackson, the judge of

Nasik, Jackson had sentenced Ganesh Savarkar to deportation to Andaman on the
charge of sedition. Ganesh’s crime was that he had composed some patriotic
songs.

©DrMahipalRathore
Revolutionaries activities in Bengal
• The youth of Bengal found peaceful protests and political actions getting no
results and they no longer believed that passive resistance could achieve the
nationalist aims.
• They fell back upon individual action and the cult of bomb.
• In 1902, Pramatho Mitra, Jatindranath Banerjee and Barindra kumar Ghosh
founded the Anushilan Samiti, a secret society and promoting revolutionary
activities.
• Decca Anushilan Samiti was founded by Pulin Das in East Bengal.
• Yuganter group - in Calcutta
• Apart from Decca Anushilan Samiti, there were four other prominent samities in
Mymensingh, Faridpur, Bakargunj and Burisal in East Bengal.

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• In 1905, Barindra Kumar Ghosh published Bhavani Mandir.
• In 1906, Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Bhupendranath Dutta started the
paper Yuganter, in which they had inspired country's youth to begin an
armed revolution.
• On December23, 1907, the revolutionaries shot the magistrate of Dacca at
the Faridpur railway station.
• They even tried to assassinate the Lt.Governors of Bengal

• In April 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb at a

carriage which they believed was occupied by Kingsford, the unpopular
judge of Muzzaffarpur (now in Bihar).But the bomb killed two ladies.
• Khudiram was hanged, while Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead.
• The Ghosh brothers, along with others were arrested and tried (Alipore
Conspiracy case) for the act

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Revolutionaries activities in Punjab and Delhi
• Punjab was not far behind Bengal.
• In 1904, J.M. Chaterjee set up an organisation with Lala Hardayal ,Ajit Singh and
Sufi Amba Prasad to spread revolutionary activities in Punjab. They protested for
farmers rights
• After his release from jail in 1907, Sardar Ajit Singh began establishing
revolutionary outfits in many places.
• In November 1908, the deputy superintendent of police of Lyallpur and his
orderly were assassinated. It was perhaps the first political incident of its kind in
Punjab.
• In December 1909, a bomb was exploded in the house of the deputy collector of
Ambala.

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• Bombing of Lord Hardinge II and the Delhi Conspiracy Case : On December 23,
1912 Rash Behari Bose and Sachin Sanyal threw bomb on Viceroy Lord Hardinge
II who was leading a procession in Delhi to celebrate the occasion of the city
becoming the new capital of India.
• Lord Hardinge escaped with minor injuries but his attendant died on the spot.

13 people were arrested and tried in what is known as Delhi Conspiracy Case.
Dina Nath, one of the arrested, became government approver under pressure.
Four persons-Master Amir Chand, Awadh Bihari, Bal Mukund and Basant Kumar
Biswas were hanged.
• Rash Behari Bose succeeded in fleeing to Japan.

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Revolutionaries Activities in the
West

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 England
• The revolutionaries also established centres of activity abroad.
• In London the lead was taken by Shyamji Krishnavarma, V.D Savarkar
and Lala Har Dayal.
• In 1905, Shyamji Krishnavarma setup the India Home Rule
Society popularly known as the India House(after the house where
they lived and HQ of the society)
• He also published a monthly journal of the society, called The Indian
Sociologist.
• 6 scholarships of Rs 1000 for Indians

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• On July 1, 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Mr. Curzon Wyllie, the
Assistant of the Secretary for State for India in London.
• Dhingra was sentenced to death on August 16, 1909 and India House
activities were cracked down upon by British Police.
• Savarkar was deported to India and Shyamji Krishnavarma fled and
settled in Paris

©DrMahipalRathore
GHADAR Movement
• During early 1900s, Canadian govt. had started imposing restriction on the
immigration and political rights of South Asians.
• Ghadar Party was established at San Francisco, USA in 1913 by the efforts
of Lala Hardayal, Ramchandra, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba,
Barkatulla & Bhai Parmanand. Sohan singh Bhakna – first pres.
• To carry out revolutionary activities, the earlier activists had set up a
‘Swadesh Sevak Home’ at Vancouver and ‘United India House’ in Seattle.
• They started weekly journal “Ghadar”, in English and vernacular languages
to expose British exploitation of Indian economy and promote Nationalism
among masses. Thus, became famous as “Ghadar” party.

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• Kartar Singh Saraba, one of the founders of the party, wrote in the
first issue:

"Today there begins 'Ghadar' in foreign lands, but in our country's

tongue, a war against the British Raj.
What is our name? Ghadar.
What is our work? Ghadar.
Where will be the Revolution? In India.
The time will soon come when rifles and blood will take the place of
pens and ink."

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• During WW1, Lala Hardayal and others moved to Berlin, Germany because of USA
Govt stopping their activities.
• They tried to start a rebellion in India with German assistance.
• They sought the help of Anushilan Samiti and Bagha Jatin in this effort .
• Rash Bihari Bose (based in Japan now) also tried to wage an armed revolt but
failed.

• Ultimately the plan failed due to intelligence officers of USA and UK getting the
details of their plan

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Komagata Maru Incident
• The importance of this event lies in the fact that it created an explosive situation
in the Punjab.
• Komagata Maru was the name of a ship which was carrying 370 passengers,
mainly Sikh and some Punjabi Muslim would-be immigrants, from Singapore to
Vancouver , Canada
• They were turned back by Canadian authorities after two months of privation &
uncertainty.
• It was generally believed that the Canadian authorities were influenced by British
Government.

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• The ship finally anchored at Calcutta in September 1914 but the inmates refused
to board the Punjab-bound train.
• In the ensuing confrontation with police near Calcutta, 22 persons died.
• Inflamed by this and with the outbreak of the War, the Ghadar leaders decided to
launch violent attack on British rule in India.
• They urged fighters to go to India.
• Bengal revolutionaries were contacted; Political dacoities were committed to
raise funds mainly in Punjab.
• Thus, an explosive situation was created in Punjab

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• GHADARITES also setup “Kirti Kisan Party” for workers and peasants
in Punjab; Revolutionary Party of India in Bengal and UP.

• Despite their repeated failures and oppression under British, Ghadar

party created feelings of unity, sacrifice, nationalism and
internationalism among the masses within India and abroad.

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The Berlin Committee
• The Berlin Committee for Indian Independence was established in 1915
• Founded by Virendranath Chattopadhyay, Bhupendranath Dutta, Lala Hardayal &
foreign office under Zimmerman Plan (Hindu – German conspiracy).
• These revolutionaries mobilised the Indian settlers abroad to send volunteers and
arms to India
• Mainly aimed to incite rebellion among Indian troops there & to organize an
armed invasion of British India to liberate the country.

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Mutiny in Singapore
• Among the scattered mutinies during this period, the most notable was in
Singapore on February 15, 1915
• Started by Punjabi Muslim 5th Light Infantry and the 36th Sikh battalion under
Jamadar Chisti Khan, Jamadar Abdul Gani and Subedar Daud Khan.
• It was crushed after a fierce battle in which many were killed.

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British Response
Repressive legislation :
• Prevention of seditious meetings act 1907
• Explosive substances act 1908
• Criminal law amendment act 1908
• Newspaper (incitement to offences) act 1908
• Press act 1910
• Defence of India Act 1915**

Decline in revolutionary activity after 1918 due to

Tough laws, crackdown by police, talk of self rule/responsible govt,
Arrival of Gandhiji and non violent methods
©DrMahipalRathore
PHASE 2
• Mid 1920s
• Started due to failure of Non Co- operation movement and other peaceful
methods of National leaders
• Punjab- UP – Delhi were the epicentre

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• Two separate strands of revolutionary terrorist groups emerged during this
period –

1. Punjab-UP-Bihar

2. Bengal

• Novels and books such as Bandi Jiwan by Sachin Sanyal and Pather Dabi by Sharatchandra
Chatterjee (a Government ban only enhanced its popularity) also enhanced revolutionary
terrorism

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Revolutionary Terrorism in Punjab-UP-Bihar

• The revolutionary terrorist activity in this region was dominated by the Hindustan
Republican Association/Army or HRA
• The HRA was founded in October 1924 after a meeting of revolutionaries from all over
India in Kanpur
• Imp. Leaders - Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal
• Later renamed Hindustan Socialist Republican Association or HSRA (by Bhagat Singh)

AIMS :
• To awaken people of India to the futility of the non violent methods
• to organise an armed revolution to overthrow the colonial government
• establish in its place a Federal Republic of United States of India whose basic principle
would be adult franchise
Kakori Train Robbery (August 1925)

• The most important “action” of the HRA was the Kakori train robbery.
• The men held up a train at Kakori, an obscure village near Lucknow, and looted its official
railway cash.
• Government crackdown after the Kakori robbery led to arrests of many.
• Of whom 17 were jailed, four transported for life and four— Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Roshan
Singh and Rajendra Lahiri—were hanged.
• Hence, Kakori proved to be a setback.

©DrMahipalRathore
Saunders’ Murder (Lahore, December 1928)

• Bhagat Singh and others shot dead Saunders instead of SP Scott, the police official
responsible for the lath charge on Lala ji in Lahore.

Bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly (April 1929)

• Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on
April 8, 1929 against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill.
• The bombs had been deliberately made harmless and were aimed at making ‘the deaf
hear’.

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• Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were tried in the Lahore conspiracy case for
Saunders murder
• In jail, these revolutionaries protested against the horrible conditions through a fast,
and demanded honourable and decent treatment as political prisoners.
• Bhagat Singh wrote a pamphlet “Why am I an Atheist” while in jail.
• Azad was involved in a bid to blow up Viceroy Irwin’s train near Delhi in December
1929.
• Azad was killed in a police encounter in a park in Allahabad in February 1931.
• Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on March 23, 1931.

©DrMahipalRathore
• NOTE –
• Yellow paper constitution – name and aims of HSRA
• The Manifesto
• ‘’Philosophy of the bomb’’ – written by Bhagvati charan Vora

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Revolutionary Terrorism in Bengal

• After ‘Deshbandhu’ Chittaranjan Das’s death (1925), the Bengal Congress broke up into
two factions
• One led by M. Sengupta (Anushilan group joined forces with him)
• the other led by Subhash Bose (Yuganter group backed him)
• Actions of the reorganised groups included an assassination attempt on the notorious
Calcutta Police Commissioner, Charles Tegart (another man named Day got killed) by
Gopinath Saha in 1924.
• Government, armed with a new ordinance, came down heavily on revolutionaries.
• Many including Subhash Bose were arrested.
• Gopinath Saha was hanged.

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Chittagong Armoury Raid (April 1930)

• Surya Sen, a school teacher, popularly called ‘Master da’, decided to organise
an armed rebellion along with his associates.
• They had planned to occupy two main armouries in Chittagong to seize and
supply arms to the revolutionaries
• They also aimed to destroy telephone and telegraph lines and to dislocate
the railway link of Chittagong with the rest of Bengal.
• The raid was conducted in April 1930 and involved 65 activists under the
banner of Indian Republican Army— Chittagong Branch.

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• The raid was quite successful; Sen hoisted the national flag, took salute and
proclaimed a provisional revolutionary government.
• Later, they dispersed into neighbouring villages and raided government
targets.
• British army killed many revolutionaries while they hid in jungles and
ultimately Master da was also captured in 1933

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Impact of revolutionaries:

• Difference of opinion among imperial and Indian historians

• Gandhi and INC disapproved their methods but appreciated their
patriotism and spirit of selfless service

• Could they bring any real change – questionable

• Spirit of nationalism and love for motherland invigorated in the youth
– definitely yes

©DrMahipalRathore
THANK YOU

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