Ideological Core and Objectives
- Revolutionary nationalists rejected the slow pace and “politics of petitions and prayers” of moderate leaders, asserting that British rule could not be overthrown through non-violence alone.
- They viewed the use of force, mass armed mobilization, and revolutionary violence as legitimate means to overthrow foreign rule, shake the colonial state, and secure complete independence (swaraj).
- The movement aimed to combat British exploitation, replace monarchical/imperial governance with a democratic republic, and challenge both foreign masters and domestic exploiting classes through a revolution of workers and peasants.
Early Revolutionary Currents and Secret Societies (Late 19th to Early 20th Century)
- Early Resistance in Maharashtra: Following resentment against harsh plague-control measures in Poona (1896–1897), the three Chapekar brothers assassinated the British Plague Commissioner of Poona and a military officer; they were subsequently captured and hanged.
- Secret Societies:
- Anushilan Samiti (1902): Founded in Bengal to provide young men with moral, intellectual, and physical training; coordinated by figures like Barindra Kumar Ghose with the guidance of Aurobindo Ghose.
- Abhinav Bharat: Established in Maharashtra under V.D. Savarkar, operating alongside secret revolutionary networks.
- Revolutionary Press: Radical publications emerged, notably the Bengali newspaper Yugantar (run by Barindra Ghose’s group), openly preaching armed revolt and overthrow of the British.
Radicalisation during the Swadeshi Era and Targeted Attacks (1905–1912)
- Muzaffarpur/Alipore Attempt (1908): Khudiram Bose (aged 18) and Prafulla Chaki threw bombs at a carriage to assassinate Douglas Kingsford, a British judge infamous for handing down severe sentences (floggings and long imprisonments) to Swadeshi activists. Two British women were killed; Chaki shot himself to avoid arrest, while Khudiram Bose was captured and hanged, becoming an iconic national martyr.
- Alipore Bomb Trial (1908–1909): The colonial administration arrested Aurobindo Ghose, Barindra Ghose, and others. Defended by Chittaranjan Das, Aurobindo was acquitted, whereas Barindra and others received sentences of death or exile to the Andaman Cellular Jail.
- Targeted Assassinations and Attacks:
- Ahmedabad (1909): Bombs were thrown at Viceroy Minto’s carriage during a procession (the attempt missed).
- Nashik (1909): Members of Abhinav Bharat—Anant Kanhere (aged 18), Krishnaji Karve, and Vinayak Deshpande—shot and killed the Nashik District Magistrate; all were subsequently hanged.
- Tirunelveli (1911): Vanchinathan shot dead a British district collector who had suppressed V.O. Chidambaram Pillai’s Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company.
- Delhi (1912): As Viceroy Lord Hardinge made his ceremonial entry into the new capital riding an elephant, a bomb was thrown at him; an umbrella bearer was killed and Hardinge was injured.
Transnational and Wartime Insurgency (1914–1918)
- The Ghadar Movement (1914–1915): Organized by Indian migrants in North America (including Lala Hardayal and Sohan Singh Bhakna), this movement sought to exploit Britain’s preoccupation with World War I to ignite a pan-Indian mutiny within the British Indian Army. Leaders who returned to coordinate it included Rash Behari Bose, Sachin Sanyal, Kartar Singh Sarabha (executed at age 19), and Vishnu Ganesh Pingle.
- The “German Plot” (1915): Anushilan Samiti leader Jatin Mukherjee (“Bagha Jatin”), collaborating with Rash Behari Bose, organized the reception of German arms and ammunition to trigger an armed uprising. After the plot was discovered by British intelligence, Jatin fought a 75-minute gun battle behind an anthill in the jungles of Balasore (Odisha) and died of his wounds.
The Inter-War Era: HRA and HSRA (1920s–1930s)
- Hindustan Republican Association (HRA): Founded to pursue armed revolution, its members—including Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Chandrashekhar Azad—executed the Kakori Train Robbery (1925) near Lucknow to fund revolutionary operations; this triggered widespread arrests and executions of Bismil and Khan.
- Formation of HSRA (1928): Reorganized as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (or Army) at Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi by Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Jatin Das, and Ajoy Ghosh, explicitly wedding armed struggle to a socialist vision where the laborer is the sustainer of society.
- Saunders’ Assassination (December 1928): To avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai following a brutal police lathi charge, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Shivaram Rajguru targeted the police officer responsible and assassinated John Saunders.
- Central Legislative Assembly Bombing (April 1929): Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutt (B.K. Dutt) threw two low-intensity, non-lethal bombs into the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi alongside revolutionary leaflets. Their declared motive was not to kill, but “to make the deaf hear” and highlight colonial exploitation.
- Martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru: After enduring long prison hunger strikes against the mistreatment of Indian political prisoners, Bhagat Singh (aged 23), Sukhdev, and Rajguru were executed by hanging on 23 March 1931.
Armed Resistance by Women Revolutionaries (1930s)
- Student Revolutionaries: Schoolgirls and young women actively participated in armed actions.
- Comilla (1931): Two students, Suniti Chowdhury and Shanti Ghosh, assassinated a British District Magistrate.
- Calcutta (1932): Bina Das, a student at Calcutta University, made a daring attempt on the life of the Governor of Bengal during a convocation ceremony to protest British subjugation; she was sentenced to nine years’ rigorous imprisonment.
Guerrilla Tribal Movements: The Gudem Hills Uprising (1922–1924)
- In the Gudem Hills of Andhra Pradesh, Alluri Sitaram Raju led tribal peasants in an armed guerrilla movement against British forest laws and forced unpaid labor (begar).
- Although inspired by Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement (promoting khadi and giving up alcohol), Raju asserted that India could be freed only through force, directing attacks on colonial police stations and British officials until his capture and execution in 1924.
Colonial Repression and the Symbol of Cellular Jail
- British authorities responded to revolutionary actions with severe suppression, collective fines, executions without regular trials, and deportations.
- The Cellular Jail (Kala Pani): Established in the Andaman Islands as a remote prison for solitary confinement, hard labor (such as extracting oil by hand), and psychological subjugation of revolutionaries like Barindra Ghose and V.D. Savarkar, becoming an enduring symbol of ultimate nationalist sacrifice.
Reference NCERT Documents
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess301.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/hess208.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/jess302.pdf
https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs303.pdf
