Bhavabhushan Mitra
Encyclopedia
Bhavabhushan Mitra, or Bhaba Bhusan Mitter, alias Swami Satyananda Puri (1881–1970) was a Bengali
India
n freedom fighter
and an influential social worker.
He represented the link between two radical trends: the highly centralised spirit of showdown personified by Barindra Kumar Ghose; and the decentralised loose federation of regional units advancing in a progressive revolution, as practised by the Jugantar
movement under Bagha Jatin
.
in Jhenaidah District
, now in Bangladesh
, Bhavabhushan was son of Shyamacharan Mitra. As a student at Jhenaidah Government High School, Bhavabhushan excelled in sports. During a rough football match in about 1900 he crashed into an adversary, who was Bagha Jatin
. Bhavabhushan later wrote: "In those days, colliding with the opponents and fracturing each other’s legs were not considered as foul play."
Jatin and Bhavabhushan became close friends. Bhavabhushan discovered Swami Vivekananda
’s teachings, which had inspired the physical fitness programme in which Jatin was assisted by his boyhood friend, Kunjalal Saha of Kushtia. Soon, Jatin’s club came to include other future celebrities like Baladev Ray (Kushtia), Phani Ray (Kushtia), Deviprasad Ray alias Khuro (Kushtia), Sisirkumar Ghosh (Sagardari, Jessore), Jyotish Majumdar alias Chandi (Jessore), Amaresh Kanjilal (Jessore), Suresh Majumdar alias Paran (Krishnagar
), Atulkrishna Ghose (Jadu-Bayra) and his cousin Nalinikanta Kar (Etmampur), Kshitish Sanyal (Pabna), Satish Sarkar (Natore), Jnan Mitra (Kolkata), Charu Ghose (Chetla), Nanigopal Sengupta (Howrah).
Jatin introduced Bhavabhushan to Suren Tagore, a nephew of Rabindranath Tagore
. While looking after their estates at Silaidaha, the Tagores often consulted their solicitor Basantakumar Chatterjee, Jatin’s maternal uncle and father of Phanibhushan and Nirmalkumar. And, like Rabindranath and Basantakumar, Suren not only held classes for the members of Jatin’s club, but also practised riding, rowing and self-defence with them. Fond of Jatin and his friends, Suren taught them to think not only in terms of India’s freedom but, especially, of Asian unity.
In 1900, invited by Suren at his Kolkata
residence, Jatin and Bhavabhushan attended a meeting where Kakuzo Okakura, the Japanese
dreamer of the movement "Asia is One," was presented to dignitaries like Sister Nivedita
, the barrister P. Mitter, Shashibhushan Raychaudhury
including members of the Tagore family (Sarala Devi Tagore, Rabindranath, Abanindranath Tagore
). Like other patriots, too, Bhavabhushan was to be impressed by the Japanese victory over Russia
in 1905, and admired Japan as an Asiatic power. Even in 1937, as a tribute to the Japanese admiral, he christened one of Jatin’s grandsons as Togo. At Kolkata, Bhavabhushan noticed young Jatin’s popularity among the seasoned personalities. Especially he found Mitter encouraging Jatin in his mission of preparing youths for an extremist uprising against the colonial rulers. As soon as the Kolkata Anushilan Samiti
was inaugurated in 1902, with the help of Bhavabhushan and other associates, Jatin opened its branches in Kushtia and neighbouring towns. As Jatin’s messengers, on several occasions Bhavabhushan and Chandi Majumdar used to meet Sarala Devi, Nivedita, P. Mitter, Bipin Chandra Pal
, Krishnakumar Mitra.
From the beginning of Bagha Jatin’s collaboration with Sri Aurobindo
, in 1903, some of Jatin’s recruits went to assist the former’s brother Barin Ghose till Jatin and Barin decided to manufacture bombs jointly in Deoghar and Barin alone in Kolkata. The Police Who’s Who mentions as one of Jatin’s addresses Carstaris Town, Deoghar
, Sonthal Parganas where, momentarily, lived his family. In Nadia, Kolkata and Deoghar, Bhavabhushan grew as much familiar with Jartin’s relatives as with those of Barin’s.
and Sushil Sen.
One of the strangers who visited the Sil’s Lodge “was dressed like a sadhu
and it was given locally that he was ill (…) This man was taken periodically in a palki to Digripahar, a hill nearby, for open air treatment; under this cloak the party carried out their experiments with explosives in the jungles. Previous to the search at Sil’s Lodge one Bhaba Bhusan Mitra used to frequent Mani Basu’s akhara
. He was known as the wanderer on account of his roving habits.” Nolinikanta Gupta, member of the expedition, has narrated the episode how, in January 1908, Prafulla Chakravarti, son of Ishan Chakravarti, the Rangpur leader, lost his life while trying a picric acid
bomb. In the same month, Barin and a party of seven including Bhavabhushan and Bijoykumar Nag of Khulna committed a hold-up in Rampore Boalia, according to Indra Nandi’s statement. He mentioned, further: “There was a man called Jyotish [Majumdar, alias Chandi] in the garden who had been deputed by Bhaba Bhusan Mitra; he had in his possession a dynamite bomb which he took to throw at a padre somewhere in Jessore.”
Correspondence found at 134 Harrison Road, showed Prakash Chandra Basu (Barindra Kumar Ghose) renting the Sil’s Lodge at Rohini, via Baidyanath, Deoghar from its owner Devendranath Sil, in 1907. Also the Police seized in Deoghar and at the Muraripukur garden “sketches of relative positions of Baidyanath, Madhupur
and Deoghar
, one with a *mark near Deoghar, and in the corner white and very small pucca house.” Searched on 28 May 1908, Sil’s Lodge disclosed, among other materials, the presence of: (a) “9 small pieces of metal similar to a quantity found at the ‘garden’ and ready for melting.” (b) “A label of the London chemists, Hewlett & Sons, similar to others found in Calcutta.” This led Sealy to the conclusion: “Sil’s Lodge was therefore clearly connected with the conspiracy (…) where members were sent for instruction and where explosives were made.”
Among visitors to this centre were Sri Aurobindo
alias Bara Karta, Subodh Chandra Mullick
, V.B. Lele, Upen Banerjee, Ullaskar Dutta
, Prafulla Chaki
(the brave companion of Khudiram Bose
in the Muzaffarpur
expedition), three of Sri Aurobindo's cousins from Sagardari in Jessore (Birendra Nath,Sishir Kumar and Hemendra Prasad Ghose), Krishna Jiban Sanyal, Narendra Nath Bakshi, Sudhir Bagchi alias Sarkar (recruited by Sishir Kumar who learnt self-defence from Jatin Mukherjee alias Bagha Jatin
). Sealy mentions also among Barin’s friends two brothers, Narendra (supra) and Phanindra Chakravarti, grandsons of Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan
of Changripota, both of them educated at Deoghar also. In 1915, Phanindra will accompany Naren Bhattacharya alias M.N. Roy as Jatindranath Mukherjee’s emissaries to the Far East. As a link between Jatin and Barin, Bhavabhushan shuttled between Kushtia, Deoghar and Kolkata.
, Baladeb Ray and some other young men visited the Missionary
. On 4 March 1908, the Missionary was killed late in the evening. Baladeb, Ganesh Das and two others were arrested. The case was tried by Ashutosh Biswas, Public Prosecutor. The jury acquitted the accused. Whereas this outrage is believed to have been committed by Barin’s party, a confidential deponent informed Denham that this was the work of the Kushtia Society, of which “Jatindra Nath Mukharji was the leading spirit.”
Later, on 25 June 1908, the approver Naren Gossain told the Magistrate of Alipore that Barin and Upen Banerjee had informed him of this murder and he had learnt that “Bhavabhushan [Mitra] of Jessore or Khulna, and Kshitish [Sanyal], both residing at Kushtia, were concerned in it.” Bhaba Bhusan Mitra “was very much mixed up with the Deoghar
conspirators.”. While searching Sri Aurobindo’s house, in May 1908, the Police discovered there a bicycle from Kushtia, belonging probably to Bhavabhushan.
In April 1908, Bhavabhushan accompanied Bagha Jatin and his family to Darjeeling. Jatin had founded there active branches of the Kolkata Anushilan Samiti
. Bhavabhushan has left a first-hand account of the way, at the Siliguri
railway station, Jatin taught a substantial lesson to four conceited British army officers : the legal proceedings drawn up against Jatin had turned into such a sensation in the written press that the officers withdrew their complaint.
Sealy came to be informed that in April 1908 Barin had sent some machinery from Sil’s Lodge to his mother’s bungalow
: believed to be deranged, she, Swarnalata Devi, “used to rush out with a sword whenever anyone approached the Raidih house.” Once Sri Aurobindo commented: “I am the insane son of an insane mother.” While her servants were busy burying the machinery under the direction of a “Bengali gentleman” (identified as Bhavabhushan), Swarnalata kept watch at the door. Moreover, one can easily evaluate his importance in the party hierarchy when Sealy records: “Mani Basu, Bhaba Bhusan, Subodh Mullick and two other Bengalis were seen in secret conversation in the compound of a ruined house.” Subodh “took a prominent part in the early revolutionary propaganda and was a staunch friend of Arabinda Ghosh,” and was to be one of the 1908 deportees. His wife was a friend of Hemangini Devi.
Sealy held that Bhababhusan was traced at Deoghar, and he was proved to have been at the Kolkata ‘garden’ as an active member. He secured 78 Russa Road for the use of the conspirators and was an associate of Barin, Ullaskar Dutta
, Sushil Ghosh, Sailendra Nath Das and others. Meanwhile, Tilak published two papers (“The Country’s Misfortune” and “These Remedies are not Lasting”) in his Kesari, supporting the extremist challenge in Bengal since the Muzaffarpore incident; he advised the Government to appreciate the changed psychology of the people. With his new identity as Swami Bhumananda, on 22 July 1908, Bhavabhushan joined a group of revolutionaries who, disguised as fierce monks, created a panic by attacking the armed Police to protest against Tilak’s trial : the Leader was accused of fomenting hatred and contempt, exciting disloyalty to HM’s Government. In the bomb factory in Kolkata, the Police also found some letters from the Chandmari post office of Darjeeling by the above-mentioned Krishnananda, addressed to one Birkumar Mukherjee. The Judge Birley during the Alipore Case did identify them to be, respectively, Bagha Jatin
and Bhavabhushan.
“Following the arrest of the Manicktola conspirators and the legal onslaught on the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti
(1908–1909), (…) [Jatin Mukherjee’s] appearance on the scene just at this juncture was a god-send to the revolutionary workers. Very soon he plunged himself deeply into politics, secretly undertaking missionary tours through the districts of Howrah, Nadia
, Khulna
, Jessore, Rajsahi and 24 Parganas and setting up secret societies in each district under the command of a local leader.”.
Two days after the searches in Kolkata, on 4 May 1908, Bhavabhushan arrived suddenly at Deoghar dressed in ochre and stayed about 15 days with Sarada Charan, “an attorney of the Calcutta High Court
, a most suspicious gentleman who was undoubtedly in league with the revolutionaries.” Later Bhababhushan gave out that the revolutionary Shyamji Krishna Varma
had asked him to join the group in Paris. He was holding a valid passport when the Police arrested him in Mumbai
. Bhababhushan had been in jail during the trial of the main case, 1908–1909, and was convicted in a supplementary case connected with the Howrah case in June 1910.
and went straight to Mani Basu. Also he “had immediately taken up with old confederates and members of the Alipore
gang, notably Bijoy Chakravarti, Pramatha Bhattacharji, Amaresh Kanjilal in Jessore, from which place he suddenly disappeared on 8 January. While there he also, as he admitted later, met the notorious Jatindra Nath Mukherji. In Deoghar he gave out his intention of leading an ascetic’s life, but it was soon obvious that he was there for no good purpose, and he was very carefully watched.”
From 2 March 1916, according to Sealy’s Report, Bhababhushan assumed the name of Satyananda Puri, left Sarada Datta and made a show of renouncing the world. He inserted an advertisement in the Amrita Bazar Patrika
regarding a nursing home he intended setting up. Later on he wanted to build himself an ashram
. The police took their opportunity and through secret agents got him installed in a house, where they watched him and, apparently, gained his confidence. The place was known as the Girish Ashram. Bhababhushan gave out that money was needed by the revolutionaries to defray the expenses of active workers, to maintain the families of those killed or imprisoned and to collect arms and ammunition for the sending of emissaries to the Straits and the Far East where there were German Consuls.
For the recruiting and training of boys in political work and that this last-named branch was the part that was being organised in Deoghar, one Santi Bakshi, a teacher in the H.E. School being the chief local recruiter. The three brothers, Jogi, Hara and Jyoti Prasad Chaudhuri from Ranaghat, associates of Santi Bakshi and Barin, were also constantly in Bhababhushan’s company, as well as Alokenath Chakravarti, a cousin of Phanindra Chakravarti. Among Bhababhushan’s other immediate associates were two brothers, Gangadhar and Shashadhar Chatterji; boasting that “he would turn out a second Jatin Mukherjee,” Bhababhushan had sent Gangadhar to Benares.
Another youth found at the ashram was Kiran Chandra Chatterji, an acquaintance of Hemangini Devi and the monk Thakurdas Babaji : according to Sealy, “the Sadhu was the religious preceptor of these dangerous persons” such as Dr Jnanendra Nath Mitra of Patna, Kedarnath Banerjee, a pleader from Kolkata, practising in Bankipore and the latter’s wife, Hemangini who, believed Sealy, was “used by Dr Mitra in furtherance of his plans in much the same way as the notorious [sic!] Sarala Devi in Bengal.” Satish Chandra Sarkar of Natore, an associate of Jatindranath Mukherjee and Phani Mitra of Kolkata (the future printer of the seditious Jugantar) were on the staff of the Motherland edited by Dr Mitra.
During 1906-1907, they had received the visit of Upendranath Banerjee, Bibhutibhushan Sarkar, Ullaskar Datta and Prafulla Chaki
, four important associates of Barin, and they had been to see Thakurdas at Dhaniapahari. Since Kedarnath’s death in 1914, Hemangini lived in Deoghar.
Sealy considered the sequel to Bhababhushan’s stay in Deoghar to be interesting : first of all, it afforded light on the workings of the revolutionaries; it showed, moreover, how the various branches of the conspiracy were interconnected and the extraordinary manner in which all known workers and sympathisers were marked down and made use of when opportunity offered. The organisations “are so closely connected and the ramifications so wide, it is often impossible to grasp the issues; the deeper one goes into their plotting the more interesting do the connections become.” Ananta Haldar, an active member of the party, had lived in Deoghar in 1911-1912. In June 1916, he visited Deoghar and, directed by Sarada Datta, went to Satyananda’s ashram. Immediately after the man left, when the police visited Bhababhushan, they found the doors bolted from inside and noticed smell of burning paper.
After Ananta’s arrest, a search made of the latter’s belongings led to important discoveries : whereabouts of the absconding associates of Jatindranath Mukherjee such as Atulkrishna Ghose and Nolinikanta Kar, “two dangerous and important absconders,” Ashutosh Ray and Anukul Mukherjee of Rodda’s Theft case, Gopendra Ray, Ashutosh Lahiri; notes on Abinash Chandra Chakravarti, the ex-munsiff of Pabna
and Monghyr, Jyotish Pal of the Balasore case, “32 Haritakibagan, 10 Abhoy Haldar’s Lane, the headquarters of the Sibpur gang... Enquiries in Bengal
showed that the youth was known as a member of the gang and was in close touch with Makhan Ghose, Atul Ghose, Nolini Kanta Kar, Debendra Chaudhuri of the Jajpur dakaiti case and Jatin Mukherjee, and that he had been lost sight of.”
Ananta and his brother Jatin Haldar had been in close touch with Jatindranath Mukherjee. After Ananta’s visit, Bhababhushan warned Mani Basu through Santi Bakshi that there would be a search. Ananta admitted his connection with Gopen Ray, Nolini Kar, Atul Ghose and others, and had been sent by Atul to Bhababhushan, “who was one of the trusted men of the party.” An influential leader of youths in Deoghar, Santi Bakshi had known Sri Aurobindo’s family very well, especially the latter’s sister Sarojini Ghose, maternal uncle Mani Basu, uncle Krishnakumar Mitra, his daughter Kumudini Mitra and her fiancé Sachindraprasad Basu, before joining Bhababhushan and his party, since 1908. Santi had been to the Damodar Flood relief in 1913. Daily he visited Subodh Mullick, who was Sri Aurobindo’s intimate friend.
In May 1916, Santi with his nephew Jyotiprasad Chaudhuri went for an “alleged” holiday trip and stayed finally for three weeks at Simla
. Two letters from Nikhileswar Ray Mullick, a key figure of the Jugantar, dated Simla 3 and 14 June, addressed to Jitendranath Basu, nephew of Atul Ghose, “one of the most dangerous members of the gang”, according to Sealy, were found during a house search at 11 Mahendra Gossain Lane (a meeting place of Atul’s men), in which references to the need of concealment were made and to Santi’s presence there. Santi Bakshi was arrested.
Sealy mentioned: “Looking at them in all their complicated details, these connections seem to point without doubt to a well organised attempt at Deoghar to further the objects of the conspiracy(…) Bhava Bhusan must undoubtedly have been sent to Deoghar with some definite orders by one of the leaders.(…)” Persuaded that Patna
and Deoghar were connected with the Alipore
case and subsequently with the gun-running conspiracy, Sealy mentioned: “Jatin Mukherjee visited the place also and left his family there on one occasion.” Deoghar was a convenient refuge for suspects tracked down at Bhagalpur
, Bankipur
, Muzzafarpur, Purnea and elsewhere.
In August 1916, Bhavabhushan was interned under the Defence of India Act. He was released on personal recognisance in January 1920.
and Bengal admit having consulted him and followed his advice in critical situations. In Bihar, behind the scene, he was as much involved in the Non Cooperation Movement in 1922, as in the mass agitation organised by Sahajananda Sarasvati’s Kishan Sabha (“Peasants’ Guild’) in the districts like Champaran, Saran
, Monghyr, Madhubani to protest against the rampant unemployment, where “social banditry” prevailed, followed by a refusal to pay taxes.
Accused by the Congress Party
of forsaking the precepts of Non-violence, Sahajananda was expelled and, out of sympathy for him, Jayprakash Narayan resigned from the Congress
Working Committee. During the Quit India Movement in 1942, Bhavabhushan’s men disrupted under the leadership of Jayprakash Narain and Ramanand Mishra all means of communication. Escaping from the prison of Hazaribagh
, Jayprakash could launch a guerrilla, supported by the revolutionaries of the area, before shifting his headquarters to Nepal
. Some of Bhavabhushan’s followers like Dr Lambodar Mukherjee of Motihari were useful also to Hari Vishnu Kamath during the latter’s trial in Bihar, in 1942. Kamath shared with Bhavabhushan his admiration for Sri Aurobindo.
In these regions, “Swamiji” has left a profound household memory of someone who shunned the limelight, faithful to his past commitment at the secret society. Thanks to a wide range of connections, he availed of them for those who deserved help. It was his passion to guide promising young men and introduce them to acquaintances like Subhas Chandra Bose, Bidhan Roy, Abanindranath Tagore
or Nandalal Bose
, to arrange suitable schooling. He found matches for girls of needy families. His Ashrams at Deoghar and elsewhere remained a reference for their charitable activities, especially concerned with women’s place in the society. He admired the Mother’s effort for women’s emancipation at Sri Aurobindo
Ashram in Pondicherry.
In the late 1940s, Sri Aurobindo was informed that a great yogi had come down from the Himalayas
to visit his Ashram. When the visitors filed past him, Sri Aurobindo smiled at the sadhu in a significant way. Later he exclaimed: “That is our Bhavabhushan. He is even younger than Barin!” Acquainted with traditional modes of Nature cure and Ayurvedic remedies, he applied them with success. Fond of wandering, Bhababhushan had visited shrines all over North and North-West India, under very hard conditions. After 1947, when Bhupendra Kumar Datta
was appointed by the Jugantar
workers to write an authentic biography of Bagha Jatin
or Jatindranath Mukherjee, Bhababhushan sent him a series of written notes and, in 1963, granted interviews to Prithwindra Mukherjee (Datta’s assistant. ), adding supplementary facts on the agniyuga ('Fiery Epoch') that preceded and prepared the Gandhian freedom movement.
Feats of paranoia were aggravated by the frustration caused by the ominous partition of India in 1947. Younger than Bagha Jatin
, towards the end of life, Bhavabhushan lived the illusion of having brought up Jatin and guided him across critical choices. A batch of devotees, thrilled by fascinating revelations made by the Swami,encouraged him in his pathology. Having detected this tendency in several other former revolutionaries like Jadugopal Mukherjee
and Satish Sarkar, Bhupendra Kumar Datta
, Bagha Jatin's loyal follower, warned them individually, in the name of History.
), adding supplementary facts on the agniyuga ('Fiery Epoch') that preceded and prepared the Gandhian freedom movement.
On 27 January 1970, Bhababhushan died in Kolkata.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
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...
n freedom fighter
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
and an influential social worker.
He represented the link between two radical trends: the highly centralised spirit of showdown personified by Barindra Kumar Ghose; and the decentralised loose federation of regional units advancing in a progressive revolution, as practised by 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...
movement under Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
.
Education
Born in the village of BalarampurBalarampur
Balarampur is a census town in Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Geography:Balarampur is located at . It has an average elevation of .Distance from district head quarter Purulia is 32 km and near about 60 km from Jamshedpur....
in Jhenaidah District
Jhenaidah District
Jhenidah is a district in South-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Khulna Division. It is an area 1949.62 km². On the norther it borders the Kushtia District on the north, to the south by Jessore District and West Bengal , to the east by Rajbari District and Magura District and to the...
, now in 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...
, Bhavabhushan was son of Shyamacharan Mitra. As a student at Jhenaidah Government High School, Bhavabhushan excelled in sports. During a rough football match in about 1900 he crashed into an adversary, who was Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
. Bhavabhushan later wrote: "In those days, colliding with the opponents and fracturing each other’s legs were not considered as foul play."
Jatin and Bhavabhushan became close friends. Bhavabhushan discovered 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 teachings, which had inspired the physical fitness programme in which Jatin was assisted by his boyhood friend, Kunjalal Saha of Kushtia. Soon, Jatin’s club came to include other future celebrities like Baladev Ray (Kushtia), Phani Ray (Kushtia), Deviprasad Ray alias Khuro (Kushtia), Sisirkumar Ghosh (Sagardari, Jessore), Jyotish Majumdar alias Chandi (Jessore), Amaresh Kanjilal (Jessore), Suresh Majumdar alias Paran (Krishnagar
Krishnagar
Krishnanagar is a municipality and administrative headquarters of Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Krishnanagar is located at . It has an average elevation of 14 metres...
), Atulkrishna Ghose (Jadu-Bayra) and his cousin Nalinikanta Kar (Etmampur), Kshitish Sanyal (Pabna), Satish Sarkar (Natore), Jnan Mitra (Kolkata), Charu Ghose (Chetla), Nanigopal Sengupta (Howrah).
Jatin introduced Bhavabhushan to Suren Tagore, a nephew of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
. While looking after their estates at Silaidaha, the Tagores often consulted their solicitor Basantakumar Chatterjee, Jatin’s maternal uncle and father of Phanibhushan and Nirmalkumar. And, like Rabindranath and Basantakumar, Suren not only held classes for the members of Jatin’s club, but also practised riding, rowing and self-defence with them. Fond of Jatin and his friends, Suren taught them to think not only in terms of India’s freedom but, especially, of Asian unity.
In 1900, invited by Suren at his 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...
residence, Jatin and Bhavabhushan attended a meeting where Kakuzo Okakura, the Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
dreamer of the movement "Asia is One," was presented to dignitaries like Sister Nivedita
Sister Nivedita
- A benediction to Sister Nivedita by Swami Vivekananda Sister Nivedita ; ; , born as Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was a Scots-Irish social worker, author, teacher and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She met Vivekananda in 1895 in London and travelled to Calcutta, India in 1898...
, the barrister P. Mitter, Shashibhushan Raychaudhury
Shashibhushan Raychaudhury
Shashibhushan Raychaudhuri , also known as Shashida, was a patriotic educationist connected with the radical revolutionary activities that had their origins in Bengal...
including members of the Tagore family (Sarala Devi Tagore, Rabindranath, Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children...
). Like other patriots, too, Bhavabhushan was to be impressed by the Japanese victory over Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1905, and admired Japan as an Asiatic power. Even in 1937, as a tribute to the Japanese admiral, he christened one of Jatin’s grandsons as Togo. At Kolkata, Bhavabhushan noticed young Jatin’s popularity among the seasoned personalities. Especially he found Mitter encouraging Jatin in his mission of preparing youths for an extremist uprising against the colonial rulers. As soon as the Kolkata Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti
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...
was inaugurated in 1902, with the help of Bhavabhushan and other associates, Jatin opened its branches in Kushtia and neighbouring towns. As Jatin’s messengers, on several occasions Bhavabhushan and Chandi Majumdar used to meet Sarala Devi, Nivedita, P. Mitter, 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:...
, Krishnakumar Mitra.
From the beginning of Bagha Jatin’s collaboration with Sri Aurobindo
Sri 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...
, in 1903, some of Jatin’s recruits went to assist the former’s brother Barin Ghose till Jatin and Barin decided to manufacture bombs jointly in Deoghar and Barin alone in Kolkata. The Police Who’s Who mentions as one of Jatin’s addresses Carstaris Town, Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
, Sonthal Parganas where, momentarily, lived his family. In Nadia, Kolkata and Deoghar, Bhavabhushan grew as much familiar with Jartin’s relatives as with those of Barin’s.
Sedition
In 1904-1905, Barin and his maternal uncle Manindra Basu had been members of the “Golden League” club which furthered “the boycott and Swadeshi movement.” The promoters were an Inspector of Schools named Baldeo Ram Jha and several local teachers, pleaders and other law-court officials. Among Barin’s other friends were Sarada Charan Datta alias Bandar Babu and Shivakali Shome. After the death of his illustrious grandfather, Rajnarain Basu, Barin opened a club for self-defence where recruits from Kolkata, Kushtia and Dhaka came and it was regularly attended by Satyen Chaudhuri, Jyoti Prasad Chaudhuri, Naren Chakravarti and the brothers SailendraSailendra
Sailendra is the name of an influential Indonesian dynasty that emerged in 8th century Java.The Sailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.The Sailendras are considered to be a...
and Sushil Sen.
One of the strangers who visited the Sil’s Lodge “was dressed like a sadhu
Sadhu
In Hinduism, sādhu denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣa , the fourth and final aśrama , through meditation and contemplation of brahman...
and it was given locally that he was ill (…) This man was taken periodically in a palki to Digripahar, a hill nearby, for open air treatment; under this cloak the party carried out their experiments with explosives in the jungles. Previous to the search at Sil’s Lodge one Bhaba Bhusan Mitra used to frequent Mani Basu’s akhara
Akhara
In Hinduism, Akhara is an organization of the different sects of Sadhus Vairaghis yogis or Hindu Renunciates....
. He was known as the wanderer on account of his roving habits.” Nolinikanta Gupta, member of the expedition, has narrated the episode how, in January 1908, Prafulla Chakravarti, son of Ishan Chakravarti, the Rangpur leader, lost his life while trying a picric acid
Picric acid
Picric acid is the chemical compound formally called 2,4,6-trinitrophenol . This yellow crystalline solid is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other highly nitrated compounds such as TNT, picric acid is an explosive...
bomb. In the same month, Barin and a party of seven including Bhavabhushan and Bijoykumar Nag of Khulna committed a hold-up in Rampore Boalia, according to Indra Nandi’s statement. He mentioned, further: “There was a man called Jyotish [Majumdar, alias Chandi] in the garden who had been deputed by Bhaba Bhusan Mitra; he had in his possession a dynamite bomb which he took to throw at a padre somewhere in Jessore.”
Correspondence found at 134 Harrison Road, showed Prakash Chandra Basu (Barindra Kumar Ghose) renting the Sil’s Lodge at Rohini, via Baidyanath, Deoghar from its owner Devendranath Sil, in 1907. Also the Police seized in Deoghar and at the Muraripukur garden “sketches of relative positions of Baidyanath, Madhupur
Madhupur
Madhupur is a city and a municipality in Deoghar district in the Indian state of JharkhandIt has a crockery factory named La Opala.Ltd which is only one of it's own types in India .-Geography:Madhupur is located at . It has an average elevation of...
and Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
, one with a *mark near Deoghar, and in the corner white and very small pucca house.” Searched on 28 May 1908, Sil’s Lodge disclosed, among other materials, the presence of: (a) “9 small pieces of metal similar to a quantity found at the ‘garden’ and ready for melting.” (b) “A label of the London chemists, Hewlett & Sons, similar to others found in Calcutta.” This led Sealy to the conclusion: “Sil’s Lodge was therefore clearly connected with the conspiracy (…) where members were sent for instruction and where explosives were made.”
Among visitors to this centre were Sri Aurobindo
Sri 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...
alias Bara Karta, Subodh Chandra Mullick
Subodh Chandra Mullick
Subodh Chandra Mullick, Raja, was a nationalist in Calcutta during the British rule of India. He is notable for the substantial monetary contribution for the cause of education...
, V.B. Lele, Upen Banerjee, Ullaskar Dutta
Ullaskar Dutta
Ullaskar Dutta was an Bengali Indian revolutionary who manufactured bombs intended for use against British colonial officials.-Early life:...
, 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 :...
(the brave companion of Khudiram Bose
Khudiram Bose
Khudiram Bose was a Bengali revolutionary, one of the youngest revolutionaries early in the Indian independence movement...
in the 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....
expedition), three of Sri Aurobindo's cousins from Sagardari in Jessore (Birendra Nath,Sishir Kumar and Hemendra Prasad Ghose), Krishna Jiban Sanyal, Narendra Nath Bakshi, Sudhir Bagchi alias Sarkar (recruited by Sishir Kumar who learnt self-defence from Jatin Mukherjee alias Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
). Sealy mentions also among Barin’s friends two brothers, Narendra (supra) and Phanindra Chakravarti, grandsons of Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan
Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan
Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan was an Indian scholar, editor and publisher of the trend-setting weekly Bengali newspaper Somprakash.-Father:His father, Harachandra Bhattacharya was a scholar...
of Changripota, both of them educated at Deoghar also. In 1915, Phanindra will accompany Naren Bhattacharya alias M.N. Roy as Jatindranath Mukherjee’s emissaries to the Far East. As a link between Jatin and Barin, Bhavabhushan shuttled between Kushtia, Deoghar and Kolkata.
The Kushtia murder
In 1908, the Reverend J. Harvey Higginbotham of Kushtia, by running an industrial exhibition with British materials, dissatisfied the local Swadeshi people. He was also suspected of being a Government spy. Apparently interested in the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Baladeb Ray and some other young men visited the Missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. On 4 March 1908, the Missionary was killed late in the evening. Baladeb, Ganesh Das and two others were arrested. The case was tried by Ashutosh Biswas, Public Prosecutor. The jury acquitted the accused. Whereas this outrage is believed to have been committed by Barin’s party, a confidential deponent informed Denham that this was the work of the Kushtia Society, of which “Jatindra Nath Mukharji was the leading spirit.”
Later, on 25 June 1908, the approver Naren Gossain told the Magistrate of Alipore that Barin and Upen Banerjee had informed him of this murder and he had learnt that “Bhavabhushan [Mitra] of Jessore or Khulna, and Kshitish [Sanyal], both residing at Kushtia, were concerned in it.” Bhaba Bhusan Mitra “was very much mixed up with the Deoghar
Deoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
conspirators.”. While searching Sri Aurobindo’s house, in May 1908, the Police discovered there a bicycle from Kushtia, belonging probably to Bhavabhushan.
In April 1908, Bhavabhushan accompanied Bagha Jatin and his family to Darjeeling. Jatin had founded there active branches of the Kolkata Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti
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...
. Bhavabhushan has left a first-hand account of the way, at the Siliguri
Siliguri
Siliguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal,...
railway station, Jatin taught a substantial lesson to four conceited British army officers : the legal proceedings drawn up against Jatin had turned into such a sensation in the written press that the officers withdrew their complaint.
Sealy came to be informed that in April 1908 Barin had sent some machinery from Sil’s Lodge to his mother’s bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
: believed to be deranged, she, Swarnalata Devi, “used to rush out with a sword whenever anyone approached the Raidih house.” Once Sri Aurobindo commented: “I am the insane son of an insane mother.” While her servants were busy burying the machinery under the direction of a “Bengali gentleman” (identified as Bhavabhushan), Swarnalata kept watch at the door. Moreover, one can easily evaluate his importance in the party hierarchy when Sealy records: “Mani Basu, Bhaba Bhusan, Subodh Mullick and two other Bengalis were seen in secret conversation in the compound of a ruined house.” Subodh “took a prominent part in the early revolutionary propaganda and was a staunch friend of Arabinda Ghosh,” and was to be one of the 1908 deportees. His wife was a friend of Hemangini Devi.
Evade prosecution
Early in May 1908, escaping the massive arrests in Bengal, Bhavabhushan fled to Mumbai under the name of Advaitananda Brahmachari; when a money order sent by one Swami Krishnananda from 275 Upper Chitpur Road of Kolkata (one of Jatin’s addresses, C/o his uncle, Dr Hemantakumar Chatterjee) reached him, the Police detained it for investigation. Exhibit LXXXVI found at the “garden” contained “a very important book, full of notes regarding the members of the society, references to religious, moral and political training, study of revolutionary histories of other countries, art of war etc.” Therein Bhaba Bhushan was named. Further, “Ex. CLVI is a letter found at the ‘garden’ to ‘My dear B.’ and the cover is addressed to B.B. Mitra, 30/2 Harrison Road.”Sealy held that Bhababhusan was traced at Deoghar, and he was proved to have been at the Kolkata ‘garden’ as an active member. He secured 78 Russa Road for the use of the conspirators and was an associate of Barin, Ullaskar Dutta
Ullaskar Dutta
Ullaskar Dutta was an Bengali Indian revolutionary who manufactured bombs intended for use against British colonial officials.-Early life:...
, Sushil Ghosh, Sailendra Nath Das and others. Meanwhile, Tilak published two papers (“The Country’s Misfortune” and “These Remedies are not Lasting”) in his Kesari, supporting the extremist challenge in Bengal since the Muzaffarpore incident; he advised the Government to appreciate the changed psychology of the people. With his new identity as Swami Bhumananda, on 22 July 1908, Bhavabhushan joined a group of revolutionaries who, disguised as fierce monks, created a panic by attacking the armed Police to protest against Tilak’s trial : the Leader was accused of fomenting hatred and contempt, exciting disloyalty to HM’s Government. In the bomb factory in Kolkata, the Police also found some letters from the Chandmari post office of Darjeeling by the above-mentioned Krishnananda, addressed to one Birkumar Mukherjee. The Judge Birley during the Alipore Case did identify them to be, respectively, Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
and Bhavabhushan.
“Following the arrest of the Manicktola conspirators and the legal onslaught on the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti
Anushilan Samiti
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...
(1908–1909), (…) [Jatin Mukherjee’s] appearance on the scene just at this juncture was a god-send to the revolutionary workers. Very soon he plunged himself deeply into politics, secretly undertaking missionary tours through the districts of Howrah, Nadia
Nadia District
Nadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....
, Khulna
Khulna
Khulna is the third largest city in Bangladesh. It is located on the banks of the Rupsha and Bhairab rivers in Khulna District. It is the divisional headquarters of Khulna Division and a major industrial and commercial center. It has a seaport named Mongla on its outskirts, 38 km from Khulna...
, Jessore, Rajsahi and 24 Parganas and setting up secret societies in each district under the command of a local leader.”.
Two days after the searches in Kolkata, on 4 May 1908, Bhavabhushan arrived suddenly at Deoghar dressed in ochre and stayed about 15 days with Sarada Charan, “an attorney of the Calcutta High Court
Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It was established as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William on 1 July 1862 under the High Courts Act, 1861. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court...
, a most suspicious gentleman who was undoubtedly in league with the revolutionaries.” Later Bhababhushan gave out that the revolutionary Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma
Shyamji Krishna Varma was an Indian revolutionary, lawyer and journalist who founded the Indian Home Rule Society, India House and The Indian Sociologist in London. A graduate of Balliol College, Krishna Varma was a noted scholar in Sanskrit and other Indian languages...
had asked him to join the group in Paris. He was holding a valid passport when the Police arrested him in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Bhababhushan had been in jail during the trial of the main case, 1908–1909, and was convicted in a supplementary case connected with the Howrah case in June 1910.
New plans
Released from jail on 2 December 1914, on 10 January 1915, Bhababhushan turned up at DeogharDeoghar
Deoghar is the headquarters city of Deoghar District in the Santhal Parganas division of the state of Jharkhand, India. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, having in Baidyanath Temple one of the twelve Shiva Jyothirlingams in India and also one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in India.-Origin of...
and went straight to Mani Basu. Also he “had immediately taken up with old confederates and members of the Alipore
Alipore
Alipore is headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.Alipore, Kolkata, not to be confused with Alipore, Gujarat, is one of the poshest and costliest localities in Kolkata, along with the area Ballygunge...
gang, notably Bijoy Chakravarti, Pramatha Bhattacharji, Amaresh Kanjilal in Jessore, from which place he suddenly disappeared on 8 January. While there he also, as he admitted later, met the notorious Jatindra Nath Mukherji. In Deoghar he gave out his intention of leading an ascetic’s life, but it was soon obvious that he was there for no good purpose, and he was very carefully watched.”
From 2 March 1916, according to Sealy’s Report, Bhababhushan assumed the name of Satyananda Puri, left Sarada Datta and made a show of renouncing the world. He inserted an advertisement in the Amrita Bazar Patrika
Amrita Bazar Patrika
Amrita Bazar Patrika was one of the oldest newspapers in India; it is written Bengali . It debuted on 20 February 1868. It was started by Sisir Ghosh and Moti Lal Ghosh, sons of Hari Naryan Ghose, a rich merchant from Magur, in District Jessore, in Bengal Province of British Empire in India. The...
regarding a nursing home he intended setting up. Later on he wanted to build himself an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
. The police took their opportunity and through secret agents got him installed in a house, where they watched him and, apparently, gained his confidence. The place was known as the Girish Ashram. Bhababhushan gave out that money was needed by the revolutionaries to defray the expenses of active workers, to maintain the families of those killed or imprisoned and to collect arms and ammunition for the sending of emissaries to the Straits and the Far East where there were German Consuls.
For the recruiting and training of boys in political work and that this last-named branch was the part that was being organised in Deoghar, one Santi Bakshi, a teacher in the H.E. School being the chief local recruiter. The three brothers, Jogi, Hara and Jyoti Prasad Chaudhuri from Ranaghat, associates of Santi Bakshi and Barin, were also constantly in Bhababhushan’s company, as well as Alokenath Chakravarti, a cousin of Phanindra Chakravarti. Among Bhababhushan’s other immediate associates were two brothers, Gangadhar and Shashadhar Chatterji; boasting that “he would turn out a second Jatin Mukherjee,” Bhababhushan had sent Gangadhar to Benares.
Another youth found at the ashram was Kiran Chandra Chatterji, an acquaintance of Hemangini Devi and the monk Thakurdas Babaji : according to Sealy, “the Sadhu was the religious preceptor of these dangerous persons” such as Dr Jnanendra Nath Mitra of Patna, Kedarnath Banerjee, a pleader from Kolkata, practising in Bankipore and the latter’s wife, Hemangini who, believed Sealy, was “used by Dr Mitra in furtherance of his plans in much the same way as the notorious [sic!] Sarala Devi in Bengal.” Satish Chandra Sarkar of Natore, an associate of Jatindranath Mukherjee and Phani Mitra of Kolkata (the future printer of the seditious Jugantar) were on the staff of the Motherland edited by Dr Mitra.
During 1906-1907, they had received the visit of Upendranath Banerjee, Bibhutibhushan Sarkar, Ullaskar Datta 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 :...
, four important associates of Barin, and they had been to see Thakurdas at Dhaniapahari. Since Kedarnath’s death in 1914, Hemangini lived in Deoghar.
Sealy considered the sequel to Bhababhushan’s stay in Deoghar to be interesting : first of all, it afforded light on the workings of the revolutionaries; it showed, moreover, how the various branches of the conspiracy were interconnected and the extraordinary manner in which all known workers and sympathisers were marked down and made use of when opportunity offered. The organisations “are so closely connected and the ramifications so wide, it is often impossible to grasp the issues; the deeper one goes into their plotting the more interesting do the connections become.” Ananta Haldar, an active member of the party, had lived in Deoghar in 1911-1912. In June 1916, he visited Deoghar and, directed by Sarada Datta, went to Satyananda’s ashram. Immediately after the man left, when the police visited Bhababhushan, they found the doors bolted from inside and noticed smell of burning paper.
After Ananta’s arrest, a search made of the latter’s belongings led to important discoveries : whereabouts of the absconding associates of Jatindranath Mukherjee such as Atulkrishna Ghose and Nolinikanta Kar, “two dangerous and important absconders,” Ashutosh Ray and Anukul Mukherjee of Rodda’s Theft case, Gopendra Ray, Ashutosh Lahiri; notes on Abinash Chandra Chakravarti, the ex-munsiff of Pabna
Pabna
Pabna is a town in Rajshahi Division ofBangladesh and the administrative capital of eponymous Pabna District. It is located on the north bank of Padma river and has a population of about 138,000.-Name:...
and Monghyr, Jyotish Pal of the Balasore case, “32 Haritakibagan, 10 Abhoy Haldar’s Lane, the headquarters of the Sibpur gang... Enquiries 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...
showed that the youth was known as a member of the gang and was in close touch with Makhan Ghose, Atul Ghose, Nolini Kanta Kar, Debendra Chaudhuri of the Jajpur dakaiti case and Jatin Mukherjee, and that he had been lost sight of.”
Ananta and his brother Jatin Haldar had been in close touch with Jatindranath Mukherjee. After Ananta’s visit, Bhababhushan warned Mani Basu through Santi Bakshi that there would be a search. Ananta admitted his connection with Gopen Ray, Nolini Kar, Atul Ghose and others, and had been sent by Atul to Bhababhushan, “who was one of the trusted men of the party.” An influential leader of youths in Deoghar, Santi Bakshi had known Sri Aurobindo’s family very well, especially the latter’s sister Sarojini Ghose, maternal uncle Mani Basu, uncle Krishnakumar Mitra, his daughter Kumudini Mitra and her fiancé Sachindraprasad Basu, before joining Bhababhushan and his party, since 1908. Santi had been to the Damodar Flood relief in 1913. Daily he visited Subodh Mullick, who was Sri Aurobindo’s intimate friend.
In May 1916, Santi with his nephew Jyotiprasad Chaudhuri went for an “alleged” holiday trip and stayed finally for three weeks at Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
. Two letters from Nikhileswar Ray Mullick, a key figure of the Jugantar, dated Simla 3 and 14 June, addressed to Jitendranath Basu, nephew of Atul Ghose, “one of the most dangerous members of the gang”, according to Sealy, were found during a house search at 11 Mahendra Gossain Lane (a meeting place of Atul’s men), in which references to the need of concealment were made and to Santi’s presence there. Santi Bakshi was arrested.
Sealy mentioned: “Looking at them in all their complicated details, these connections seem to point without doubt to a well organised attempt at Deoghar to further the objects of the conspiracy(…) Bhava Bhusan must undoubtedly have been sent to Deoghar with some definite orders by one of the leaders.(…)” Persuaded that Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
and Deoghar were connected with the Alipore
Alipore
Alipore is headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.Alipore, Kolkata, not to be confused with Alipore, Gujarat, is one of the poshest and costliest localities in Kolkata, along with the area Ballygunge...
case and subsequently with the gun-running conspiracy, Sealy mentioned: “Jatin Mukherjee visited the place also and left his family there on one occasion.” Deoghar was a convenient refuge for suspects tracked down at Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur
Bhagdattpuram was one of the most influential towns in "Aryavarta" . It is supposed to have been concurrent to Patliputra or Patna. Bhagdattpuram finds its mention in the Vedas and Ramayana as well. It is supposed to be the kingdom of Daanvir Karna, the son of Kunti and the Sun God...
, Bankipur
Bankipur
Bankipur was an ancient village on the Hugli river located in what is now West Bengal, north of Barrackpore, a little north of Ishapore. It is now a suburb of Barrackpore and is not to be confused with Bankipur city located on the coast...
, Muzzafarpur, Purnea and elsewhere.
In August 1916, Bhavabhushan was interned under the Defence of India Act. He was released on personal recognisance in January 1920.
Later years
Nobody knows what the exact terms of “personal recognisance” were. But Bhavabhushan seems to have avoided all overtly active part in the subsequent episodes of freedom fight, though generations of revolutionaries in BiharBihar
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....
and Bengal admit having consulted him and followed his advice in critical situations. In Bihar, behind the scene, he was as much involved in the Non Cooperation Movement in 1922, as in the mass agitation organised by Sahajananda Sarasvati’s Kishan Sabha (“Peasants’ Guild’) in the districts like Champaran, Saran
Saran district
Saran District is one of the thirty-seven districts of Bihar state, India. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chapra district after the headquarters of the district - Chapra...
, Monghyr, Madhubani to protest against the rampant unemployment, where “social banditry” prevailed, followed by a refusal to pay taxes.
Accused by the Congress Party
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...
of forsaking the precepts of Non-violence, Sahajananda was expelled and, out of sympathy for him, Jayprakash Narayan resigned from the 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...
Working Committee. During the Quit India Movement in 1942, Bhavabhushan’s men disrupted under the leadership of Jayprakash Narain and Ramanand Mishra all means of communication. Escaping from the prison of Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh
Hazaribagh is a city and a municipality in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is famous as a health resort and for Hazaribagh National Park ....
, Jayprakash could launch a guerrilla, supported by the revolutionaries of the area, before shifting his headquarters to Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Some of Bhavabhushan’s followers like Dr Lambodar Mukherjee of Motihari were useful also to Hari Vishnu Kamath during the latter’s trial in Bihar, in 1942. Kamath shared with Bhavabhushan his admiration for Sri Aurobindo.
In these regions, “Swamiji” has left a profound household memory of someone who shunned the limelight, faithful to his past commitment at the secret society. Thanks to a wide range of connections, he availed of them for those who deserved help. It was his passion to guide promising young men and introduce them to acquaintances like Subhas Chandra Bose, Bidhan Roy, Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore
Abanindranath Tagore was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children...
or Nandalal Bose
Nandalal Bose
Nandalal Bose was a notable Indian painter of Bengal school of art. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for "Indian style" of painting. He became the principal of Kala Bhawan, Shanti Niketan in 1922...
, to arrange suitable schooling. He found matches for girls of needy families. His Ashrams at Deoghar and elsewhere remained a reference for their charitable activities, especially concerned with women’s place in the society. He admired the Mother’s effort for women’s emancipation at Sri Aurobindo
Sri 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...
Ashram in Pondicherry.
In the late 1940s, Sri Aurobindo was informed that a great yogi had come down from the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
to visit his Ashram. When the visitors filed past him, Sri Aurobindo smiled at the sadhu in a significant way. Later he exclaimed: “That is our Bhavabhushan. He is even younger than Barin!” Acquainted with traditional modes of Nature cure and Ayurvedic remedies, he applied them with success. Fond of wandering, Bhababhushan had visited shrines all over North and North-West India, under very hard conditions. After 1947, when Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Dutta was a Indian militant and revolutionary who fought for Indian independence from British rule...
was appointed by 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...
workers to write an authentic biography of Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
or Jatindranath Mukherjee, Bhababhushan sent him a series of written notes and, in 1963, granted interviews to Prithwindra Mukherjee (Datta’s assistant. ), adding supplementary facts on the agniyuga ('Fiery Epoch') that preceded and prepared the Gandhian freedom movement.
Feats of paranoia were aggravated by the frustration caused by the ominous partition of India in 1947. Younger than Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin
Bagha Jatin , born Jatindranath Mukherjee was an Bengali revolutionary philosopher against British rule....
, towards the end of life, Bhavabhushan lived the illusion of having brought up Jatin and guided him across critical choices. A batch of devotees, thrilled by fascinating revelations made by the Swami,encouraged him in his pathology. Having detected this tendency in several other former revolutionaries like 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...
and Satish Sarkar, Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Datta
Bhupendra Kumar Dutta was a Indian militant and revolutionary who fought for Indian independence from British rule...
, Bagha Jatin's loyal follower, warned them individually, in the name of History.
), adding supplementary facts on the agniyuga ('Fiery Epoch') that preceded and prepared the Gandhian freedom movement.
On 27 January 1970, Bhababhushan died in Kolkata.
Note
Both Ker and Sealy mention that Bhavabhushan was born “about 1888,” whereas he himself recalled it to be the Bengali year 1288, which corresponds to 1881.External links
- “Who’s Who” in Political Trouble in India, by James Campbell Ker, p427
- W. Sealy, “Connections with the Revolutionary Organization in Bihar and OrissaOrissaOrissa , 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...
: 1906-1916” in Terrorism in Bengal, by Amiya K. Samanta, Vol. V - Bhavabhushan’s oral and written statements in sadhak biplabi jatindranath, by Prithwindra Mukherjee, West Bengal Book Board, Calcutta, 1991
- Swadhinata samgrame bharater jatiya congres, by Amales Tripathi, Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1991 (2nd Print)
- Two Great India Revolutionaries, by Uma Mukherjee, Firma K.L.M, 1966