Anushilan Samiti
Encyclopedia
Anushilan Samiti was an armed anti-British organisation in Bengal
and the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in the region in the opening years of the 20th century. This association, like its offshoot the Jugantar
, operated under the guise of suburban fitness club. The members were committed towards the path of armed revolution for independence of India
from British
rule. Kolkata
and, later, Dhaka
were the two major strongholds of the association. However, the group succeeded in penetrating rural Bengal
and had branches all over Bengal and also other parts of India
.
Its activities included robbery, making of bombs, arms training and assassination of British officials and Indians who they viewed as "traitors".
, led to a growing sense of "Indian" identity. The refinement of this perspective fed a rising tide of nationalism in India in the last decades of the 19th century. Its speed was abetted by the creation of the Indian National Congress
in India in 1885 by A.O. Hume. The Congress developed into a major platform for the demands of political liberalisation, increased autonomy and social reform. However, 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.
and Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das as the vice-presidents, Suren Tagore the treasurer. Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami
), Jatindra Nath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin
), Bhupendra Nath Datta (Swami Vivekananda
's brother), Barindra Ghosh younger brother of Aurobindo Ghose, were among other initial leaders. By 1906, the works of Aurobindo and his brother Barindra Ghosh allowed Anushilan Samity to spread through Bengal. The controversial 1905 partition of Bengal had a widespread political impact: it stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in the Bhadralok
community in Bengal, and helped Anushilan acquire a support base amongst of educated, politically conscious and disaffected young in local youth societies of Bengal. The Dhaka
branch of the Anushilan Samiti was formed by Pulin Behari Das
, who was once a teacher in the Dhaka Government College and, later, a founding headmaster of 'National School' (Dhaka), along with his followers, in 1906. He, like Barindra Ghosh, believed in a highly centralised one-leader organisation. Under their leadership, respectively in Dhaka and elsewhere, in a spirit of a boastful showdown, Anushilan Samiti slowly adopted untimely terrorism programmes during the first decade of 20th century, with 1905 Partition of Bengal
acting as a major catalyst. The Dhaka
branch of Anushilan was led by Pulin Behari Das
and spread branches through East Bengal and Assam. Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal
, a Bengali politician, began in 1907 the radical Bengali nationalist publication of Jugantar
(Lit:Change), and its English counterpart Bande Mataram
. Among the early recruits who emerged noted leaders where Rash Behari Bose
, Jatindranath Mukherjee, and Jadugopal Mukherjee
.
one of his associates by the name of Hem Chandra Kanungo (Hem Chandra Das), he was to learn the art of bomb making from Nicholas Safranski, a Russian revolutionary in exile in the French Capital. Paris was also home at the time Madam Cama who was amongst the leading figures of the Paris Indian Society
and the India House
in London. The bomb manual later found its way through V.D. Savarkar to the press at India House for mass printing. In the meantime, in December 1907 the Bengal revolutionary cell derailed the train carrying the Bengal Lieutenant Governor Sir Andrew Fraser. A few days later, on 23 December, they attempted to assassinate Mr. Allen, formerly District Magistrate of Dhaka.
Anushilan also engaged at this time in a number of notable incidences of political assassinations and dacoities
to obtain funds.
This was, however, the crest for Anushilan.
and Prafulla Chaki
were sent on a mission to Muzaffarpur
to assassinate the Chief Presidency Magistrate D.H. Kingford. The duo bombed a carriage they mistook as Kingsford's, killing two English women in it. In the aftermath of the murder, Khudiram Bose was arrested while attempting to flee, while Chaki took his own life. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, then a member of the group, shot dead Nandalal Bannerjee, the officer who had arrested Khudiram. Police investigations into the murders revealed the organisations quarters in Manicktala suburb of Calcutta and led to a number of arrests, opening the famous Alipore Conspiracy trial. Some of its leadership were executed or incarcerated, while others went underground. Aurobindo Ghosh himself retired from active politics after serving a prison sentence, his brother Barin was imprisoned for life.
The result of the trial was a division of the Anushilan Samiti. Two main groups that remained were the Jugantar
itself and the Dhaka
Anushilan Samiti, in the western and the eastern parts of the Bengal
, respectively. The initial Anushilan disappeared. Jatindra Nath Mukherjee escaped arrest in the Alipore case, and took over the leadership of the secret society, to be known as the Jugantar
Party. He revitalised the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over Bengal, Bihar
, Orissa
and several places in U.P.
, and opened hideouts in the Sunderbans for members who had gone underground The group slowly reorganised guided Mukherjee's efforts of aided by an emerging leadership which included Amarendra Chatterjee
, Naren Bhattacharya and other younger leaders. Some of its younger members including Taraknath Das left India. Through the next two years, the organisation operated under the covers of two seemingly detached organisations, Sramajeebi Samabaya (The Labourer's cooperative) and Harry & Sons. At around this time, Jatin began attempts to establish contacts with the 10th Jat Regiment
then garrisoned at Fort William in Calcutta. Narendra Nath carried out through this time a number of robberies to obtain funds. In the meantime, However, a second blow came in 1910 when Shamsul Alam, a Bengal Police officer then preparing a conspiracy case against the group, was assassinated by an associate of Jatindranath by the name of Biren Dutta Gupta. The assassination led to the arrests which ultimately precipitated the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case.
Further investigations led the police to a small scale bomb manufacturing unit in Maniktala
of Kolkata
. Barindra Ghosh and several other members of Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar
were arrested and tried in the famous Alipore Bomb Conspiracy case. Many were deported for life to Port Blair
in the Andaman Islands
.
was in charge of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti that maintained regular contact with the Kolkata
group.
Due to the police activities, the Kolkata
group curbed its terrorist activities and the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti soon overshadowed the parent Kolkata
organization. The Anushilan Samiti opened several branches all across the eastern Bengal
and by 1932 it had 500 branches. The members of these samitis were mostly school and college students coming from Hindu middle-class educated families.
The members were trained in traditional arms like Lathi
and sword
as well as firearms. However, firearms were not easily available. The revolutionaries looted wealthy families that were loyal to the British Raj to maintain funding.
created chaos among the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
which had to go underground temporarily. His successor, Makhanlal Sen, was attached to the social welfare and spiritual development taught by Vivekananda, disagreeing with gratuitous violence. Spending most of his time in Kolkata since 1910, in company of the Jugantar
people and visiting regularly the Ramakrishna Mission, Makhanlal Sen let Narendra Mohan Sen assume the leadership of the Dhaka Anushilan. Soon, working by his side, Trailokyanath Chakraborty and Pratul Chandra Ganguli
took charge and the rebels were united again. The famous Barisal Conspiracy Case of 1913 established the fact that there were hundreds of revolutionary followers of the Samiti in the Barisal district alone. Informed about the Indo-German plot, desirous to determine the part his party could play therein, Pratul Chandra became close to Atul Krishna Ghosh, Jatin Mukherjee's intimate associate, going to the extent of discussing terms with Jatin. For unknown reasons, the Dhaka party decided not to collaborate in this revolutionary programme.
party increased. However, during the Non-Cooperation Movement
the Jugantar party supported Gandhi as the representative of the revolutionary tide, while the Dhaka faction continued the violent activities. Planning to oppose the Non-cooperation Movement, the Government offered a large sum of money : the Jugantar
rejected it, while the Anushilan agreed to the proposal. (Source: Aurobindo and Jugantar, by Arun Chandra Guha, p44.) The police increased vigilance and arrested many leaders.
were brought close by the joint leadership of Narendra Mohan Sen
of Anushilan, represented by Rabindra Mohan Sen, and Jadugopal Mukherjee
of Jugantar
, represented by Bhupendra Kumar Datta
.
However, this merger failed to revive the revolutionary activities up to the expected level.
were frustrated by the failure of the attempted merger. This led to the formation of a new confederation in 1929, called the Neo-Violence party or the Revolt group. On the forefront were Pratul Bhattacharya and Niranjan Sen Gupta
of the Barisal Anushilan, Satish Chandra Pakrashi and Satya Gupta of the Dhaka
Anushilan, Binoy Raychaudhuri and Jatin Das of the South Calcutta Anushilan, Panchanan Chakrabarti and Jatin Bhattacharya of the Madaripur Jugantar, Ananta Singh
and Ganesh Ghosh
of the Chittagong
Jugantar party, who enlarged the movement. (Source: Panchanan, pp16–17.)
On 9 September 1938, the Jugantar
members issued a statement not to reorganise their separate party headquarters and to avow full allegiance to the Congress. (Source: Guha, p70.) Some of the members chose, however, the trend led by Subhas Bose; some followed M. N. Roy; and a few joined the Communists but most joined a band of revolutionaries led by the illustrious Supraja Sharma.
The Anushilan Samiti evolved into the Revolutionary Socialist Party
. The wing in East Pakistan
evolved into the Shramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal
in current day Bangladesh
.
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and the principal secret revolutionary organisation operating in the region in the opening years of the 20th century. This association, like its offshoot the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
, operated under the guise of suburban fitness club. The members were committed towards the path of armed revolution for independence of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rule. Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and, later, Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
were the two major strongholds of the association. However, the group succeeded in penetrating rural Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and had branches all over Bengal and also other parts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Its activities included robbery, making of bombs, arms training and assassination of British officials and Indians who they viewed as "traitors".
Background
The growth of the Indian middle class during the 18th century, amidst competition among regional powers and the ascendancy of the British East India CompanyEast India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, led to a growing sense of "Indian" identity. The refinement of this perspective fed a rising tide of nationalism in India in the last decades of the 19th century. Its speed was abetted by the creation of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in India in 1885 by A.O. Hume. The Congress developed into a major platform for the demands of political liberalisation, increased autonomy and social reform. However, the nationalist movement became particularly strong, radical and violent in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and, later, in Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
. Notable, if smaller, movements also appeared in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Madras and other areas in the South.
Beginnings
Political activities began taking an organised form in Bengal at the beginning of the 20th century. By 1902, Calcutta had three societies working under the umbrella of Anushilan Samity, a society earlier founded by a Calcutta barrister by the name of Pramatha Mitra. These included Mitra's own group, another led by a Bengalee lady by the name of Sarala Devi, and a third one led by Aurobindo Ghosh- one of the strongest proponents of militant nationalism of the time. The Anushilan Samiti had Sri AurobindoSri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
and Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das as the vice-presidents, Suren Tagore the treasurer. Jatindra Nath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami
Niralamba Swami
The period between 1871 and 1910 during the Indian freedom struggle saw the dramatic rise of two great Indian nationalists and freedom fighters. One was Aurobindo Ghosh and the other was Jatindra Nath Banerjee . But the metamorphosis of both these persons from great active freedom fighters to great...
), Jatindra Nath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
), Bhupendra Nath Datta (Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
's brother), Barindra Ghosh younger brother of Aurobindo Ghose, were among other initial leaders. By 1906, the works of Aurobindo and his brother Barindra Ghosh allowed Anushilan Samity to spread through Bengal. The controversial 1905 partition of Bengal had a widespread political impact: it stimulated radical nationalist sentiments in the Bhadralok
Bhadralok
Bhadralok is a Bengali term used to denote the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during colonial times in Bengal. It is still used to indicate members of the upper middle and middle classes of Bengal.-Caste and Class makeup:...
community in Bengal, and helped Anushilan acquire a support base amongst of educated, politically conscious and disaffected young in local youth societies of Bengal. The Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
branch of the Anushilan Samiti was formed by Pulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das was an Indian revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.- Early life :...
, who was once a teacher in the Dhaka Government College and, later, a founding headmaster of 'National School' (Dhaka), along with his followers, in 1906. He, like Barindra Ghosh, believed in a highly centralised one-leader organisation. Under their leadership, respectively in Dhaka and elsewhere, in a spirit of a boastful showdown, Anushilan Samiti slowly adopted untimely terrorism programmes during the first decade of 20th century, with 1905 Partition of Bengal
Partition of Bengal
Partition of Bengal may refer to the partition of the Bengal region during two separate occasions:*Partition of Bengal *Partition of Bengal...
acting as a major catalyst. The Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
branch of Anushilan was led by Pulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das was an Indian revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.- Early life :...
and spread branches through East Bengal and Assam. Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal
Bipin Chandra Pal was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.-Early life and background:...
, a Bengali politician, began in 1907 the radical Bengali nationalist publication of Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
(Lit:Change), and its English counterpart Bande Mataram
Bande Mataram (publication)
For other uses of the term Bande Mataram, see Bande Mataram .The Bande Mataram was an English language newspaper founded in 1905 by Bipin Chandra Pal and later edited by Sri Aurobindo. It was first published on 6th August, 1906....
. Among the early recruits who emerged noted leaders where Rash Behari Bose
Rash Behari Bose
Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
, Jatindranath Mukherjee, and Jadugopal Mukherjee
Jadugopal Mukherjee
Jadu Gopal Mukherjee was an eminent Bengali Indian revolutionary who, as the successor of Jatindranath Mukherjee or Bagha Jatin, led the Jugantar members to recognise and accept Gandhi’s movement as the culmination of their own aspiration.-Early life:Jadugopal or Jadu was born at Tamluk in the...
.
Revolutionary activities
Anushilan, notably from early on, established links with foreign movements and Indian nationalism abroad. In 1907, Barin Ghosh arranged to send to ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
one of his associates by the name of Hem Chandra Kanungo (Hem Chandra Das), he was to learn the art of bomb making from Nicholas Safranski, a Russian revolutionary in exile in the French Capital. Paris was also home at the time Madam Cama who was amongst the leading figures of the Paris Indian Society
Paris Indian Society
The Paris Indian Society was an Indian nationalist organisation founded in 1905 at Paris under the patronage of Madam Bhikaji Rustom Cama, B.H. Godrej and S. R. Rana...
and the India House
India House
India House was an informal Indian nationalist organisation based in London between 1905 and 1910. With the patronage of Shyamji Krishna Varma, its home in a student residence in Highgate, North London was launched to promote nationalist views among Indian students in Britain...
in London. The bomb manual later found its way through V.D. Savarkar to the press at India House for mass printing. In the meantime, in December 1907 the Bengal revolutionary cell derailed the train carrying the Bengal Lieutenant Governor Sir Andrew Fraser. A few days later, on 23 December, they attempted to assassinate Mr. Allen, formerly District Magistrate of Dhaka.
Anushilan also engaged at this time in a number of notable incidences of political assassinations and dacoities
Dacoity
Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in India. The spelling is the anglicized version of the Hindi word and as a colloquial Anglo-Indian word with this meaning, also appears in the Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases Banditry is criminal activity involving robbery by groups of...
to obtain funds.
This was, however, the crest for Anushilan.
Alipore conspiracy case
In April 1908, two young recruits, Khudiram BoseKhudiram Bose
Khudiram Bose was a Bengali revolutionary, one of the youngest revolutionaries early in the Indian independence movement...
and Prafulla Chaki
Prafulla Chaki
Prafulla Chaki was a Bengali revolutionary associated with the Jugantar group of revolutionaries who carried out assassinations against British colonial officials in an attempt to secure Indian independence.- Early life :...
were sent on a mission to Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur Town is a town in Muzaffarpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of Muzaffarpur district and Tirhut division....
to assassinate the Chief Presidency Magistrate D.H. Kingford. The duo bombed a carriage they mistook as Kingsford's, killing two English women in it. In the aftermath of the murder, Khudiram Bose was arrested while attempting to flee, while Chaki took his own life. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, then a member of the group, shot dead Nandalal Bannerjee, the officer who had arrested Khudiram. Police investigations into the murders revealed the organisations quarters in Manicktala suburb of Calcutta and led to a number of arrests, opening the famous Alipore Conspiracy trial. Some of its leadership were executed or incarcerated, while others went underground. Aurobindo Ghosh himself retired from active politics after serving a prison sentence, his brother Barin was imprisoned for life.
The result of the trial was a division of the Anushilan Samiti. Two main groups that remained were the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
itself and the Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
Anushilan Samiti, in the western and the eastern parts of the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, respectively. The initial Anushilan disappeared. Jatindra Nath Mukherjee escaped arrest in the Alipore case, and took over the leadership of the secret society, to be known as the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
Party. He revitalised the links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its several branches spread all over Bengal, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
and several places in U.P.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, and opened hideouts in the Sunderbans for members who had gone underground The group slowly reorganised guided Mukherjee's efforts of aided by an emerging leadership which included Amarendra Chatterjee
Amarendra Chatterjee
Amarendranath Chatterjee was an Indian independence movement activist. In charge of raising funds for the Jugantar movement, his activities largely covered revolutionary centres in Bihar, Orissa and the United Provinces....
, Naren Bhattacharya and other younger leaders. Some of its younger members including Taraknath Das left India. Through the next two years, the organisation operated under the covers of two seemingly detached organisations, Sramajeebi Samabaya (The Labourer's cooperative) and Harry & Sons. At around this time, Jatin began attempts to establish contacts with the 10th Jat Regiment
Jat Regiment
The Jat Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army and is one of the longest serving and most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment has won 19 battle honours between 1839 to 1947 and post independence 5 battle honours, Two Ashok Chakras, eight Mahavir Chakras, eight Kirti...
then garrisoned at Fort William in Calcutta. Narendra Nath carried out through this time a number of robberies to obtain funds. In the meantime, However, a second blow came in 1910 when Shamsul Alam, a Bengal Police officer then preparing a conspiracy case against the group, was assassinated by an associate of Jatindranath by the name of Biren Dutta Gupta. The assassination led to the arrests which ultimately precipitated the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case.
Further investigations led the police to a small scale bomb manufacturing unit in Maniktala
Maniktala
-Location:The Maniktala crossing is the intersection of Vivekananda Road and Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road — two main thoroughfares in north Kolkata. The adjacent area is known as Maniktala.-Landmarks:...
of Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. Barindra Ghosh and several other members of Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
were arrested and tried in the famous Alipore Bomb Conspiracy case. Many were deported for life to Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
in the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
.
Some notable Jugantar members
- Jatindranath Mukherjee alias Bagha JatinBagha JatinBagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
(1879–1915) - Rash Behari BoseRash Behari BoseRashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
(1885–1945) - Taraknath Das
- Nanigopal Sengupta
- Hemendrakishore Acharya Chaudhuri (1881–1938)
- Narendra Bhattacharya alias M.N. Roy (1887–1954)
- Atulkrishna GhoshAtulkrishna GhoshAtulkrishna Ghosh was an Indian revolutionary, member of the Anushilan Samiti, and a leader of the Jugantar movement involved in Hindu German Conspiracy during World War I.-Early life:...
- Amarendra Nath Chatterjee (1880–1957)
- Jadugopal MukherjeeJadugopal MukherjeeJadu Gopal Mukherjee was an eminent Bengali Indian revolutionary who, as the successor of Jatindranath Mukherjee or Bagha Jatin, led the Jugantar members to recognise and accept Gandhi’s movement as the culmination of their own aspiration.-Early life:Jadugopal or Jadu was born at Tamluk in the...
(1886–1976) - Bhavabhushan MitraBhavabhushan MitraBhavabhushan Mitra, or Bhaba Bhusan Mitter, alias Swami Satyananda Puri was a Bengali Indian freedom fighter and an influential social worker....
(1888–1965) - Bipin Behari GanguliBipin Behari GanguliBipin Behari Ganguli was a member of Indian independence movement. He was born in Hoogli, now in West Bengal, in 1887.Bipin Behari Ganguli joined the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement and became the secretary of Bengal Congress in 1923....
(1887–1954) - Purnachandra Das
- Nolinikanta Kar
- Bhupendra Kumar DattaBhupendra Kumar DattaBhupendra Kumar Dutta was a Indian militant and revolutionary who fought for Indian independence from British rule...
(1894–1979) - Bhupati Majumdar (1890–1970)
- Shibdas GhoshShibdas GhoshShibdas Ghosh was an Indian communist politician. He was the founding general secretary of Socialist Unity Centre of India.Ghosh was born in the Dhaka District of British India, to a lower middle class family...
(1923–1976)
- Nihar MukherjeeNihar MukherjeeNihar Mukherjee was the General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Centre of India [SUCI]. He is a founder member of the party and became the General Secretary after the death of Shibdas Ghosh in 1976. He was also the Editor-in-Chief of the Proletarian Era, the official newspaper of the...
(1919–2010)
- Surendra Mohan Ghosh alias Madhu Ghosh (1893–1976)
- Satish Chandra MukherjeeSatish Chandra MukherjeeSatish Chandra Mukherjee was a pioneer in establishing a system of national education in India, along with Sri Aurobindo.-The positivist background:...
alias Swami Prajnanananda (1884–1921) - Manoranjan Gupta (1890–1976)
- Arun Chandra Guha (1892 born)
- Narendra Ghosh Chaudhuri (1894–1956)
- Kiran Chandra Mukherjee (1883–1954)
- Harikumar Chakrabarti (1882–1963)
- Gopen Ray
- Jibanlal Chatterjee
- Debabrata Bose, later Swami Pragyananda
- Ullaskar DuttaUllaskar DuttaUllaskar Dutta was an Bengali Indian revolutionary who manufactured bombs intended for use against British colonial officials.-Early life:...
Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
Pulin Behari DasPulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das was an Indian revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.- Early life :...
was in charge of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti that maintained regular contact with the Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
group.
Due to the police activities, the Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
group curbed its terrorist activities and the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti soon overshadowed the parent Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
organization. The Anushilan Samiti opened several branches all across the eastern Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and by 1932 it had 500 branches. The members of these samitis were mostly school and college students coming from Hindu middle-class educated families.
The members were trained in traditional arms like Lathi
Lathi
Lathi means stick and also refers to an Indian martial art based on cane-fighting. The word is used in Hindi, Bengali and various other Indian languages. The lathi typically measures 6 to and may be tipped with metal. It commonly used as a crowd control device by the Indian Police and other South...
and sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
as well as firearms. However, firearms were not easily available. The revolutionaries looted wealthy families that were loyal to the British Raj to maintain funding.
Notable Members of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
- Makhanlal Sen
- Jogesh Chandra Chattopadhyay (1898–1969)
- Narendra Mohan SenNarendra Mohan SenNarendra Mohan Sen was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary.-Short biography:Narendra joined Anushilan Samiti - a revolutionary outfit.He played a major role in unifying Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti in the 1920s, after both the parties suffered major setback as most of the senior leaders...
(1887–1963) - Niranjan Sen GuptaNiranjan Sen GuptaNiranjan Sengupta was a Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Revolutionary activities:Niranjan was a leader of the Barisal branch of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti...
- Pratul Chandra GanguliPratul Chandra GanguliPratul Chandra Ganguli was a Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Short biography:Pratul hailed from Narayanganj, now in Bangladesh. He was a member of the Anushilan Samiti. Following the arrest of Pulin Behari Das , Pratul and Trailokyanath Chakraborty took charge of the Anushilan Samiti and reorganized...
(1884–1957) - Promode Das Gupta (1910–1985)
- Rabindra Mohan Sen (1892–1971)
- Sachindra Nath SanyalSachindra Nath SanyalSachindra Nath Sanyal was a famous Indian revolutionary and the founder of Hindustan Republican Association that was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India. He was the mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh...
(1892–1971) - Satish Chandra Pakrashi (1893–1931)
- Troilokya Nath Chakrobarty (1889–1970)
Arrest of Pulin Das
The arrest and deportation of the leader Pulin Behari DasPulin Behari Das
Pulin Behari Das was an Indian revolutionary and the founder-president of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti.- Early life :...
created chaos among the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
Dhaka Anushilan Samiti
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...
which had to go underground temporarily. His successor, Makhanlal Sen, was attached to the social welfare and spiritual development taught by Vivekananda, disagreeing with gratuitous violence. Spending most of his time in Kolkata since 1910, in company of the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
people and visiting regularly the Ramakrishna Mission, Makhanlal Sen let Narendra Mohan Sen assume the leadership of the Dhaka Anushilan. Soon, working by his side, Trailokyanath Chakraborty and Pratul Chandra Ganguli
Pratul Chandra Ganguli
Pratul Chandra Ganguli was a Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Short biography:Pratul hailed from Narayanganj, now in Bangladesh. He was a member of the Anushilan Samiti. Following the arrest of Pulin Behari Das , Pratul and Trailokyanath Chakraborty took charge of the Anushilan Samiti and reorganized...
took charge and the rebels were united again. The famous Barisal Conspiracy Case of 1913 established the fact that there were hundreds of revolutionary followers of the Samiti in the Barisal district alone. Informed about the Indo-German plot, desirous to determine the part his party could play therein, Pratul Chandra became close to Atul Krishna Ghosh, Jatin Mukherjee's intimate associate, going to the extent of discussing terms with Jatin. For unknown reasons, the Dhaka party decided not to collaborate in this revolutionary programme.
After the first World War
After the first World War, the communication between the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti and the JugantarJugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
party increased. However, during the Non-Cooperation Movement
Non-cooperation movement
The non-cooperation movement was a significant phase of the Indian struggle for freedom from British rule which lasted for years. This movement, which lasted from September 1920 to February 1922 and was led by Mohandas Gandhi, and supported by the Indian National Congress. It aimed to resist...
the Jugantar party supported Gandhi as the representative of the revolutionary tide, while the Dhaka faction continued the violent activities. Planning to oppose the Non-cooperation Movement, the Government offered a large sum of money : the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
rejected it, while the Anushilan agreed to the proposal. (Source: Aurobindo and Jugantar, by Arun Chandra Guha, p44.) The police increased vigilance and arrested many leaders.
Unification and failure
Following these major setbacks, there was an attempt to unify the revolutionary activists in Bengal. Anushilan Samiti and JugantarJugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
were brought close by the joint leadership of Narendra Mohan Sen
Narendra Mohan Sen
Narendra Mohan Sen was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary.-Short biography:Narendra joined Anushilan Samiti - a revolutionary outfit.He played a major role in unifying Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti in the 1920s, after both the parties suffered major setback as most of the senior leaders...
of Anushilan, represented by Rabindra Mohan Sen, and Jadugopal Mukherjee
Jadugopal Mukherjee
Jadu Gopal Mukherjee was an eminent Bengali Indian revolutionary who, as the successor of Jatindranath Mukherjee or Bagha Jatin, led the Jugantar members to recognise and accept Gandhi’s movement as the culmination of their own aspiration.-Early life:Jadugopal or Jadu was born at Tamluk in the...
of Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
, represented by Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Dutta was a Indian militant and revolutionary who fought for Indian independence from British rule...
.
However, this merger failed to revive the revolutionary activities up to the expected level.
Neo-violence or the Revolt Group
The younger leaders of the revolutionaries belonging to the Anushilan as well as to the JugantarJugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
were frustrated by the failure of the attempted merger. This led to the formation of a new confederation in 1929, called the Neo-Violence party or the Revolt group. On the forefront were Pratul Bhattacharya and Niranjan Sen Gupta
Niranjan Sen Gupta
Niranjan Sengupta was a Bengali Indian revolutionary.-Revolutionary activities:Niranjan was a leader of the Barisal branch of Dhaka Anushilan Samiti...
of the Barisal Anushilan, Satish Chandra Pakrashi and Satya Gupta of the Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
Anushilan, Binoy Raychaudhuri and Jatin Das of the South Calcutta Anushilan, Panchanan Chakrabarti and Jatin Bhattacharya of the Madaripur Jugantar, Ananta Singh
Ananta Singh
Ananta Lal Singh was an Indian independence movement activist, who participated in the Chittagong armoury raid in 1930. Later, he founded a far-left radical communist group, the Revolutionary Communist Council of India....
and Ganesh Ghosh
Ganesh Ghosh
Ganesh Ghosh was a Bengali Indian independence activist, revolutionary and politician.-Biography:Ganesh Ghosh hailed from Chittagong, now in Bangladesh. In 1922, he took admission in the Bengal Technical Institute in Calcutta. Later, he became a member of the Chittagong Jugantar party...
of the Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
Jugantar party, who enlarged the movement. (Source: Panchanan, pp16–17.)
Later years
The scenario changed with the years. The British were planning to quit India, while communal and religious politics came into play. The basic political background on which revolutionary ideas were founded seemed to evolve towards a new direction. The Revolutionary Movement can thus be said to have come to an end by 1936.On 9 September 1938, the Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
members issued a statement not to reorganise their separate party headquarters and to avow full allegiance to the Congress. (Source: Guha, p70.) Some of the members chose, however, the trend led by Subhas Bose; some followed M. N. Roy; and a few joined the Communists but most joined a band of revolutionaries led by the illustrious Supraja Sharma.
The Anushilan Samiti evolved into the Revolutionary Socialist Party
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)
Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...
. The wing in East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
evolved into the Shramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal
Shramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal
Shramik Krishak Samajbadi Dal , a small Marxist-Leninist political party in Bangladesh. SKSD was formed in 1969 by sympathizers of the Revolutionary Socialist Party of India in East Pakistan....
in current day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
.