Review: INDIAN REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE: A Review Article

Reviewed Work(s): Indian Revolutionary Movement Abroad, 1905-1921 by Tilak Raj

Sareen: Freedom Struggle and the Anushilan Samiti, Vol. I by Buddhadeva
Bhattacharyya
Review by: Shivaji Ganguly
Source: India Quarterly , October-December 1983, Vol. 39, No. 4 (October-December
1983), pp. 463-476
Published by: Sage Publications, Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/45071867

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 BOOK REVIEWS

INDIAN REVOLUTIONARY STRUGGLE

A Review Article

INTRODUCTION

IN India*
India*
someregarding
ways, regarding
the dedication
even the
andtosacrifices
this dedication
of the Indian
day, therevolution-
and story sacrifices of the of revolutionary the Indian revolution- struggle in
aries in the pursuit of national liberation has remained by and large half-
told. The basic focus of the chroniclers of the Indian freedom movement
has been the Gandhian non-violent struggle under the Indian National
Congress. This seems to have created an imbalance in the writings of
India's struggle for emancipation. Evidently, this apparent distortion may
be adduced to the overwhelming success of the Gandhian movement in
ending the British Raj in India. Much less has been known or written
about the role of the foreign-based Indian revolutionaries in India's fight
for freedom. No wonder then, any publication on the subject of Indian
revolutionary struggle is likely to generate absorbing interest for the
specialists as well as for the lay reader.
Indian revolutionaries were at the forefront of India's struggle for
national emancipation. At the outset, they looked for inspiration not only
from India's rich religio-cultural heritage but also from sources outside.
While they received guidance and inspiration from different quarters they
also readily adjusted their action techniques in accordance with the circum-
tances. In this context, T.R. Sareen's Indian Revolutionary Movement
Abroad and Buddhadeva B h attach ary a' s edited anthology on Freedom
Struggle and the Anushilan Samiti provide a balanced picture of the Indian
revolutionary movement at home and abroad. Before one goes into their
basic themes, some introductory remarks would be in order at this point.
What was the basic purpose and rationale behind the activities of the
revolutionaries ? Generally speaking, their whole aim was to achieve India's
national emancipation. To this end, they were prepared to subvert by
violent means the British Raj in India, to assassinate as many government
officials, to secure necessary possible help from the Indian Armed Forces
as well as external sources. They also intended to make use of propaganda
and other political organizational methods in pursuance of their aim.
In many ways, the Indian revolutionary movement was characterised by
a dual, interlinked, simultaneous process, though varying in the sources of
action (either directed from within or outside). Since the turn of the
century Indian revolutionaries had been looking for direct or indirect help
from abroad to achieve India's independence. Initially, their attempts were
* Tilak Raj Sareen, Indian Revolutionary Movement Abroad , 1905-1921 (Sterling
Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1979), xx, 300p. , Rs. 80. Buddhadeva Bhatta
charyya (Ed.), Freedom Struggle and the Anushilan Samiti , Vol. I (Anushilan Samiti,
Calcutta, 1979), xxiv, 335 p., Rs. 25.

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 464 BOOK REVIEWS

designed to influence
ries. During the perio
largely operated fro
some Southeast Asian
their activities tended
with Britain and Fran
were to send arms an
Bolshevik Revolution
secure moral and material sustenance from them.
Any way, the prospects of a successful revolution with outside help were
not so bright after the war. Britain was at peace with the world. Soviet
Union was a discontented nation but trying to come to terms with the world
outside. Indeed, there were obvious contexual constraints which did not
permit the Indian revolutionaries to operate effectively in pursuance of their
goal of India's independence. First, there were numerical limitations ; only
a small segment of the Indian bourgeoisie actively participated in their
endeavour, or morally supported them. Neither the peasants nor the work-
ers had as yet joined the ongoing struggle. At the same time, the feudal and
capitalist elements by and large remained aloof from them. From this
perspective they seemed to be in a less enviable position than the Irish
Sinn Finns or the Russian Nihilists. Secondly, the Indian revolutionaries'
bases of operation abroad were quite far off from the Indian borders.
Needless to say in contrast to most Western revolutionaries or the later-
day national revolutionaries in Asia, Africa or Latin America, Indian
armed activists did not have many friends abroad who could be depended
upon for moral if not more tangible support to their cause.
If Britain ruled the high seas with its mighty navy - that inhibited any
likely external assistance to the Indian revolutionaries- there was also
absence of any broadbased popular support within India for the revolution-
ary cause. Revolutionaries could secure only ill-coordinated, half-hearted
sympathy and help from limited external sources. As if this was not
bad enough, the Indian activists' efforts for help at home and abroad were
complicated by personal and group rivalires ; they not only lacked proper
discipline and organization but also the requisite training to maintain sec-
recy about their activities. It is however undeniable that the activities of re-
volutionaries did have certain symbolic significance, especially in generating
an electrifying effect on the Indian political scene.
However, revolutionary methods were abandoned subsequently because
of several factors. By the end of the 20's, it may be recalled, the Indian
people were involved in a different form of political action. On paper,
revolutionary parties were wound up ; the Jugantar group incidentally, was
dissolved in July 1937. Many of the Jugantar group members joined the
Congress, because it became quite revolutionary in its political demands.
The entry of Gandhi on the Indian political scene after World War I

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 BOOK REVIEWS 465

presaged the gradu

achieving independen
on novel techniques o
by Gandhi.

SALIENT FEATURES OF REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

Here an attempt is being made to highlight some salient features of th

Indian revolutionary movement abroad and the birth and evolution of on
important revolutionary party in India- the legendary Anushilan Samiti o
Bengal. Starting with the last point first, it is not definitively known as t
when the Anushilan Samiti started. There have however been no two
opinions about its close-knit organizational effectiveness and its highly
selective recruitment procedures. In contrast, the Jugantar Party of Bengal
remained largely a loose federation of revolutionary groups. With the
exception of a limited period (1914-19; 1925-28) the two revolutionary
organizations seldom worked together. In some ways, this may be adduced
to the personality clashes or rivalry for leadership.
Revolutionary violence reached its peak between 1910-1915. The British
colonial rulers in response mobilised all the resources at their disposal to
crush it. It was not till December 1919 that the government felt secure
enough to declare a royal amnesty. The early months of 1923 again saw
renewed political violence. In eastern India there was a resurgence of re-
volutionary activities. This invited the imposition of the infamous Bengál
Ordinance in 1924. A reign of terror was virtually let loose on the people;
it led to political harassment and large-scale arrests in suppression of the
revolutionary upsurge.
It is worth noting that even among the adherents of the politics of non-
violence (connected with the Congress) there were some, as in Bengal, who
believed in the use of violence under certain circumstances. What is how-
ever ironic, if the revolutionary groups were struggling for a free India, they
were at the same time feuding among themselves regarding the proper
course of action. Be that as it may, of these groups the Anushulian Samiti
of Bengal seems to have had maintained the most well-knit organisation
with a committed cadre of action squads.

Indian Revolutionaries Abroad

All these varied facets, among other related issues, concerning the
Anushilan Samiti have been well brought out in the volume edited by
Buddhadeva Bhattacharyya. We will talk more on this later. Sareen's
publication, in contrast, is a balanced narrative of the activities of the
Indian revolutionaries outside India. In the first four chapters he has
focused on the evolution of the Indian revolutionary movement abroad
with reference to Britain, France and the United States. This phase-

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 466 BOOK REVIEWS

ending with the estab

marked by the efforts
from India without a
Sareen's focus is on the activities of the revolutionaries abroad in the back-
drop of their unending search for arms assistance from Imperial Germany
with a view to bringing about political change in India. Here the author un-
folds the story of the logistics of an Indian armed revolution with reference
to the schemes for the procurement and shipment of arms and ammunition
for armed action against the British in India.
In the following pages, aside from studying the episode of the Indo-
German connection and the American persecution of the Indian revolution-
aries, Sareen has also highlighted the futile Indian efforts to secure Soviet
help. In a sense, this was their bid for an armed overthrow of British rule
in India. Winding up this study, Sareen provides a sort of an overview of
his basic theme in the concluding chapter as to how Indian revolutionaries
abroad sought to achieve a gigantic task such as the attainment of India's
independence with limited resources at their disposal.
Methodologically Sareen's approach is historical ; he has based his re-
search on authentic archival materials and official records. Admittedly,
the attempts of the foreign-based revolutionaries had often been countered
by the policies pursued by the British colonial rulers. Nevertheless, their
struggle against heavy ( dds had been a source of great excitement to those
who carried on their struggle within India.

THE ANUSHILAN SAMITI

Using a differentunit of analysis, Buddhadeva Bhattacharyya has br

out a well-edited volume on the Anushilan Samiti's role in the figh
India's freedom. This publication comprises contributions from
participant observers as well as interested analysts. The anthology br
out some exciting facets of the heroic story of the Indian revoluti
movement. The framework of this volume has been spelt out by T
Chaudhuri- a RSP member of the Lok Sabha- in an introductory
While there is no need to overstress the point, the sacrifice of the r
tionaries in India's struggle for independence has been recognised som
belatedly. Even to this day, it is not widely known in this country that l
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's attempts to free India from abroad d
the Second World War (through the formation of the Azad Hind Go
ment in Southeast Asia), similar efforts had been made earlier by o
such as Jatin Mukherjee, Savarkar, Madam Cama, Krishnavarma
dayal, M.N. Roy, Abinash Mukherjee, Raja Mahendra Pratap, Barkat
Surya Sen, Bhagat Singh, etc.
In many ways, the Indian Independence Committee in Berlin, the G
Party in the United States and Canada, provisional Indian governme
Kabul, etc., were symbolic of the extent of India's armed revolutio

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BOOK REVIEWS 467

struggle. Admittedly, re
course of negotiated tran
their activities during the
power after World War
relevance of the Anush
struggle. The Samiti was
in Punjab, Bengal, UP,
revolutionary cause.
While the focus of Bhat
contributors to this pub
ary groups which often,
it, played a significant r
tions such as Jugantar,
Hindustan Socialist Repu
groups in their own way
there is no need to ove
during the five decades o
itsemergence as the nurs
subsequent period. But th
proved to be a recruiting

Birth and Evolution

Of the four contributo

spells out in the opening
genesis of militant nati
basis of the Anushilan S
in Bengal and Maharas
economy and the tradit
have generated two diff
subsequent evolution o
rule produced a western
paradoxically characteris
who looked to India's pa
dated socio-religious tho
bolic of a new conscious
opposed to this trend an
looking ideas. Despite
colonial rule reflected, c
the Indian sub-continent
Secret societies starte
nineteenth century. The
pursuit to end colonial
of the Shivaji festival an
and Russian secret societ

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 468 BOOK REVIEWS

over the Russians in

by an Asian country
Indian militant nationalism. The main stands of the militant nationalists
were Swadeshi and Boycott movements. More tangible manifestations of
this militancy were the use of arms.
In some ways militant nationalism was a reaction to the moderate policy
then pursued by the Indian National Congress. It was one P. Mitra, a
barrister, who seemed to have laid the foundations of the Anushilan
Samiti of Bengal. The Samiti's advocacy of open revolt and armed action,
along with indulgence in political assessinations, underlined the growing
spirit of militant nationalism. A similar line of action was endorsed by the
Jugantar Party. One however finds Ray's essay concluding on a rather
abrupt note.
Militant nationalism evolved slowly in India as if to integrate within
itself the traditional traits of Indian culture. The tempo of militancy of
the revolutionaries went on increasing with the gradual discovery of India's
splendid past; to them the past became the motive force for radical
political change. They were imbued with a pride about India's history and
culture.
It produced a psyche of an aggressive nationalist posture vis-a-vis British
colonial rule. The struggle for freedom for the revolutionaries became what
may be called the manifestations of Indian vigour and manhood in thought
and deed. For one thing, this led to the development of a growing spirit of
self-assertion and self-identity among various social groups. And for
another, repressive measures (e.g. 1905 Bengal Partition, etc.) of the Raj in
particular produced in reaction a brand of militant nationalism, especially
in Bengal that resulted in Swadeshi and Boycott movements along with
political assasinations and robbery. Needless to add, it had tremendous
appeal among the educated middle/lower middle class that threw up most
of the radical elements.
It is important to note that the radical elements had an overlapping
class character. This constitutes the broad reference frame of Sarai
Chatterjee's treatment in Chapter II about the Anushilan Party's evolution
as a revolutionary party. The Samiti was the principal architect of the
politics of violenee since the early years of this century. Chatterjee's
contribution covers a period from 1905 to 1913. It was the failure of the
moderates to prevent the Bengal partition (1905) that seemed to have
encouraged the spread of the cult of violence in eastern India. The Samiti
revolutionaries made effective use of the media for developing revolu-
tionary consciousness. In this context, the vernacular press played an
important role in rousing the spirit of nationalism; organs such as Sandhya
and Jugantar gave a tremendous boost to the revolutionary upsurge. The
Samiti had its headquarters in Dacca with branches in the remotest parts
of the country. These latter were expected to expand the base of its
activities. The Samiti was functionally divided into several units dealing

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 BOOK REVIEWS 469

with arms procurement,

were put in charge of
highly selectie and rec
and pledges before th
Samiti also suffered fr
assassinations and dac
nonetheless they were
the British Government.
With the annulment of the Bengal partition a serious debate started
within the Samiti as to whether there was any further need for political
violence. There were some key members who wanted to convert the Samiti
into a purely socio-cultural organisation. Ultimately however, the hard-
liners won their point; by 1913 the Anushilan Samiti had entered into
cooperative relations with other political groups. In a certain sense, there
had already been an interrelationship between the militant nationalism
(as represented by political groups such as the Anushilan Samiti, Jugantar
Party, Ghadr Party, Hindustan Republican Party, etc.) and the Gandhian
Passive Resistance Movement. In fact many of the revolutionaries were
using the Indian National Congress as a legitimate forum for establishing
or maintaining mutual contacts amongst themselves for working out a
common programme on an all India basis. Hence, there was a growing
apprehension within the British administration that perhaps non-violence
was a cover for covert political violence. The Quit India Movement seems
to have been perceived in this light, though the subject calls for a separate
study.
Despite the internal crisis following the annulment of the Bengal
partition, the Samiti as a group remained one of the most organized of all
secret societies. By 1912, compulsions for revolution saw the spread of its
activities outside Bengal, such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar and other
provinces of British India. Also, about this time Germany was perceived
as a major source of supply of arms for revolutionary activities in Jndia.
The Samiti conceived a countrywide revolution for the overthrow of
British rule in India. As political dacoities and assasinations went on
unabated the British Government imprisoned several key Samiti members
and also instituted a number of conspiracy cases against them. Between
1912 and 1914 the Anushilan Samiti went through a phase of reorganisa-
tion and expansion. This constitutes the broad theme of Pradyut K. Ghosh's
essay.
The period also marks the establishment of the Jugantar Party -
which was essentially a federation of several political factions, the Samiti
apart. Under the leadership of Jatin Mukherjee, the Jugantar Party
kept itself available for cooperation and help in joint revolutionary
activities. There was one key difference between the Jugantar Party and
the Anushilan Samiti; the activities of the former were more or less con-
fined to Benga1 that of the latter w^re extended to other parts of India,

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470 BOOK REVIEWS

especially in the nor

tively an all-India b
Chandernagore group
themes come up agai
understandable reason
ficance of the Anush
Perhaps, a more bala
to the value of this a
armed revolutionary
Thematically, the es
Chapter III. By 1915
great heights, but un
Anushilan Samiti an
launch an all-India ar
of Rashbehary Bose
have it in Bengal not
that the Jugantar Pa
cooperation in the pr
The basic problem o
their enthusiasm wa
the necessary suppor
outset many of the
with a view to procur
be recalled that since
as well as others, wh
with persons such
were organising revo
broke out in Europe
many. One Raja Mah
vernment to Kabul t
of free India under
ments, while Jatin M
Rashbehary Bose pr
armed uprising on
because of the mach
managed to get into th
This led to the instit
the hanging and imp
terror was let loose
Anushilan leader fled
A notable incident
German mauser pisto
of Roda Co. in Calcut
by the Bengal revolu

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 BOOK REVIEWS 471

his associates hiding

encountered by a po
Jatin and his four
sentenced to transpo
commonly known th
his associates were r
arms from a German
Though the rebelli
governmental measur
by 1916. Paradoxicall
the party, it did not
mism. The Samiti-po
were exceptions rath
repressions perpetrat
the extent of the pr
India's freedom.
As a result of British repressive measures and false promises the post-
World War I decade was marked by growing political turbulence. But
unlike the Indian National Congress of the pre-Gandhian era the Indian
revolutionaries did not believe that India could attain its independence
through a policy of gradualism, i.e. through the politics of appeals and
prayers. However, the announcement of the Montagu- Chelmsford Reforms
scheme in June 1918 belied the expectations of even the moderates and the
constitutionalists. The British scheme hardly satisfied the Indian urge for
self-rule. It started the phase of a more broad-based mass movement
which ultimately paved the way to India's independence. The activities
of the revolutionary groups in this context were not contrary but supple-
mentary to these movements.
The enactment of the infamous Rowlatt Act- that violated the civil rights
of the people of India- made the Indians more angry against the British
Government. The chain of protests and demonstrations that this act trig-
gered off ultimately led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April
1919. The reign of terror in Punjab brought to an end the era of limited
constitutional agitation and petitions. It led to the demand for full in-
dependence. In the background of these dramatic developments, Lahiri
deals with the politically eventful period between 1920 to 1929 in his paper
(Chapter V).
As the call for non-cooperation was given by Gandhi in conjunction
with the Khilafat agitation -over the abolition of the Caliphate in Turkey
- the Anushilan Samiti was apparently confronted by a difficult policy
problem. There was apprehension among some Samiti members that
Gandhian stress on non-violence or peaceful struggle could retard revolu-
tionary activities. After several rounds of discussions the Samiti members
decided to struggle irrespective of the mode of its operation (though some

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 472 fcOOK REVIEWS

sources contend that

movement). Incidenta
cooperation movement
the non-cooperation m
dent-in which 20 polic
of militant nationalism.
Despite the non-cooperation movement's setback, it should be viewed
as a part of the wider struggle carried on by the Indian freedom fighters
on multiple fronts to dislodge British rule from India. The euphoria of
mass struggle that it generated all over India had a bearing on the subse-
quent political developments in India. What is more important, the Indian
National Congress increasingly became the major platform of anti-impe-
rialist struggle in India. It underwent a major transformation in its charac-
ter ; the Congress no longer remained a mere deliberating or petitioning
body - looking for British goodwill and grace -as initially conceived by
the founding fathers. Under these circumstances the Congress call for boy-
cott of British goods and educationai institutions evoked an enthusiastic
public response. Also the Bolshevik Revolution, which overthrew the
authoritarian Czarist regime in Russia, had its own tremendous impact on
the Indian political scene. Here Lahiri's point is well taken, but then would
it be a lack of perspective to overstress the impact of the Lenin-Roy
political debate on the development of the Indian revolutionary movement.
The author himself has noted how Roy's analysis was based on bookish
knowledge. In the process Roy rather mechanistically projected a rather
exaggerated revolutionary situation in India. He sought to raise a libera-
tion army of Muhajirs (who left India during the Kilafat Movement). The
project failed to take off because of the conclusion of the Anglo-Soviet
Agreement (1921) ; the Agreement had inhibited Moscow from engaging
in anti-British activities especially relating to India. Roy's control over
communist activities declined after the Fifth Congress of the Comintern.
It in fact marked the introduction of the Communist Party of Great
Britain as the chief political consultant to the Indian Communist Party.
Here one also comes up with the names of personalities such as Abani
Mukherjee and Virendra Chattopadhayaya ; both of them contested Roy's
views and made a différent projection about the communist movement in
India.

Neither the British Governments institution of conspiracy cases, nor-

their repressive measures could curb the activities of the Indian nationa-
lists. The Non-cooperation Movement was followed by a period of inter-
mittent mass movements such as the Simon Commission Boycott Move-
ment (1927), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930 and 1931), the left-
oriented class movements of 1937-41, the Quit India Movement and
finally, the Azad Hind Movement (1944-46). Needless to add, these were
indicative of the growing ferment within Indian policies for emancipation

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 BOOK REVIEWS 473

from British rule.

Going back to the An
that the idea of revol
an extent influenced b
fails to understand th
enter into closer rela
platform. The author
from pursuing a polic
assessment of the bal
leadership regarding t
selves from the Indian
Samiti members suffe
militant nationalism i
ration from India's pa
struggles of Garibald
than by the ideas of
how, in view of the p
nalism and communism
indecisiveness.
It is difficult to say if organizationally the Hindustan Republican Asso-
ciation (HRA) was one of the constituent units of the Samiti. The HRA
was subsequently renamed Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (under
Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad), claims Lahiri. While in specific
cases there might have been operational links between these groups, there
are no reasons to believe that organizationally HRA or HSRA operated
under the guidance of the Samiti. It would be a claim quite out of pro-
portion to the Samiti's actual strength or organizational base.
Still then, the much publicised Kakori Mail Van Robbery Case (1925)
underlined the growing cooperation between various revolutionary groups
for joint action. One significant development of the period was the unity
forged between the Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar Party, thanks to
the initiative taken by Subhash Bose (though he did not belong to any
revolutionary group). A high water-mark of the period was the massive
labour rally in support of India's independence staged in Calcutta in 1928.
After the Kakori episode the British Government was determined to
crush the HRA. Senior members of the party were arrested ; the leadership
of the association was now assumed by Bhagat Singh of the Punjab and
Chandrasekhar Azad of UP. They propagated socialist philosophy amongst
the HRA.
In passing, it is worth noting here that due to the lack of a mass base,
the Communist Party did not play any important role in the labour move-
ment till the early 1930's. Prior to that the Communist Party tended to
remain more or less on paper. It was the historic Meerut Conspiracy Case
(1929) that highlighted the Communist Party's role in political activism.

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 474 BOOK REVIEWS

In contrast, where d
what was the pattern
and that of the Samit
cooperation era revolu
the broad masses. But
thing most of these r
generally inhibited th
context of their class
more as secret societi
trying to involve the
There are however no reasons to doubt that the Anushilan Samiti was a
party of dedicated revolutionaries who had not only acquired knowledge
of mass struggles but also the ability to jointly work with similar groups
elsewhere in the country. Even their religious orientations did not come in
the way of pursuing socialist economic programmes. But then lacking in a
systematic comprehension of marxism, the Samiti revolutionaries seemed
to have been attracted more by its ideals of equality and justice then by its
utility as a rigourous ideology for a political change based on class war-
fare. This aspect naturally generated a certain ambivalence in the attitude
of the Samiti revolutionaires.
True, the Samiti believed in socialism ; it did not support M.N. Roy's
opposition to the nationalist movement or accept his rejection of the
Indian National Congress. It may be recalled that the National Congress
had by then emerged as the only all-India based anii-imperialist platform.
It is significant, while the Fifth Congress of the Comintern had instruct-
ed the communists to cooperate with the Indian National Congress and
the left wing of the Swarajya Party, the Sixth Congress (under Stalin) was
opposed to national liberation movements under the leadership of the
National Congress. Obviously, this must have posed a dilemma for the
Samiti revolutionaries. They could either start a communist party out-
side the orbit of the Comintern or could announce its endorsement of
the communist ideology though remaining attached to the National
Congress.
In many ways, an atmosphere of populism had been generated by the
non-cooperation movement. In the context of this political environ,
the Anushilan Samiti seems to have switched on to the concept of "mass
rebellion" from its earlier strategy of sporadic violence. The British
Government sought to handle the situation with repressive measures. Be
that as it may, it is amazing that Lahiri should ma ntain that the Samiti
functioned on the principles of democratic centralism. On the contrary,
most non-communist revolutionary parties in India have been rather
personality-oriented than well structured organizations based on the prin-
ciples of accountability and a cobesive ideology. These were the basic
drawbacks of most of the revolutionary groups in India.

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BOOK REVIEWS 475

From the early 20's t

remained imprisoned
were released by 193
of them formally acce
ing as an independent
cided to join the Comm
In the Appendix one
Sareen. But then the A
thought to round off
connections with fore
chapter on the subje
tion ! Evidently, this
or, maybe, they were
Revolutionary groups
only intermittently inv
Lahiri provides only a
based Indians in Indi
Indians became involv
others - sometimes wi
arms or learning th
revolutionary activiti
India House (UK), Ind
and Ghadr Party (US
Regarding the person
Cama, Rashbehary B
Lala Hardayal, Cham
The foreign-based rev
British feelings amo
cause appreciated bett
promoting the cause o
the period was the mu
Japanese naval suppor
mutiny. The activitie
greatest heights dur
Anushilan elements w
also involved in a sign
Thus, the volume edit
tion, five historical a
the context of the In
note on the activities
crucial era in India's p
and known about In
violence, satyagraha
dience movements; lit

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 476 BOOK REVIEWS

rather limited for u

tionary movement
unlike the Gandhian
the adequate backing
mobilize the people i
Chittagong Armour
armed action in purs
till the episode of th
Quit India Movemen
that had the backing
It may be noted in
Bagh tragedy that on
action necessitated b
cherished goal of sec
ed this technique o
Africa he had realise
as a technique for m
British rule in India
this technique were
movements and the
Be that as it may, a
movement calls for u
of the revolutionari
of the subsequent pe
charyaya seem to hav
in the subject. While
thing pioneering, no
interest on a fascina
have been the rule
suggest that in the p
shake the very found
Shivaji Ganguly

•Dr. Ganguly is Research Associate at the Indian Council of World Affai

New Delhi. '

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