History · Modern History
A detailed survey of the first phase of Indian revolutionary nationalism — from secret societies in Bengal and Maharashtra to the Ghadr Party in North America — examining their ideology, methods, key figures, major events, and ultimate failure against the weight of British repression.
Revolutionary activity was not a sudden development — it was the logical radicalization of militant nationalism when all peaceful avenues were sealed. After the decline of the open Swadeshi Movement, young nationalists who had participated found it impossible to retreat into private life. They looked for forms of struggle to express their patriotic energy, but were disillusioned when even the Extremist leaders — who called upon youth to make sacrifices — failed to create effective organisations or new forms of political work. With government repression making peaceful protest impossible, a segment concluded that the British could only be expelled by physical force.
The revolutionaries followed the model of Russian nihilists and Irish nationalists — individual heroic actions rather than mass revolution. They considered but rejected two alternatives as impractical at that stage: creating a violent mass revolution throughout the country or subverting the loyalties of the Army.
Methods of the revolutionaries:
Core idea: Strike terror in rulers' hearts, arouse people, remove fear of authority, and inspire patriotic youth to drive the British out.
Key limitation: The Extremist leaders failed to ideologically distinguish between a mass-based revolution and individual violent activity, allowing the latter to take root without organisational depth.
Bengal was the epicentre of the first phase of revolutionary activity.
1870s–1890s: Calcutta's student community was honeycombed with secret societies, but these were largely inactive.
1902: First organised revolutionary groups formed:
April 1906: Inner circle within Anushilan (Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta) launched the weekly Yugantar. After severe police brutalities at the Barisal Conference (April 1906), Yugantar wrote: "Force must be stopped by force."
Rashbehari Bose and Sachin Sanyal organised a secret society covering Punjab, Delhi, and the United Provinces. Hemachandra Kanungo went abroad for military and political training.
Key revolutionary newspapers: Sandhya and Yugantar (Bengal); Kal (Maharashtra).
Timeline of Key Events in Bengal:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1902 | Anushilan Samiti founded (Promotha Mitter) in Calcutta; Midnapore group (Jnanendranath Basu) |
| 1906 (April) | Yugantar weekly started; Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Dutta |
| 1907 | Abortive attempt on life of Sir Fuller (former Lt. Governor of East Bengal and Assam) |
| December 1907 | Attempt to derail train carrying Lt. Governor Andrew Fraser |
| 1908 | Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose bomb Muzaffarpur carriage (meant for Kingsford); two British women killed instead; Chaki shoots himself; Khudiram hanged |
| 1908 | Alipore Conspiracy Case (Manicktolla bomb/Muraripukur conspiracy) — Aurobindo acquitted; Barindra Ghosh and Ullaskar Dutt sentenced to death (later commuted to life); Narendra Gosain (approver) shot dead in jail by Satyendranath Bose and Kanailal Dutta |
| 1908 | Barrah (Burrah) dacoity by Dacca Anushilan under Pulin Das |
| February 1909 | Public prosecutor shot dead in Calcutta |
| February 1910 | Deputy superintendent of police killed outside Calcutta High Court |
Alipore Conspiracy Case: Also called Manicktolla bomb conspiracy or Muraripukur conspiracy (Barindra Ghosh's house was on Muraripukur Road in the Manicktolla suburb of Calcutta). Chittaranjan Das defended Aurobindo Ghosh.
Bagha Jatin's call: "We shall die to awaken the nation."
Limitations of Bengal revolutionary movement: Overemphasis on Hindu religion kept Muslims aloof; encouraged quixotic heroism; no mass involvement envisaged; narrow upper-caste social base; failed to withstand state repression.
1879: Vasudev Balwant Phadke organised the Ramosi Peasant Force — aimed to rid India of the British by instigating an armed revolt, disrupting communications, and funding activities through dacoities. Suppressed prematurely.
1890s: Bal Gangadhar Tilak propagated militant nationalism through Ganapati and Shivaji festivals and his journals Kesari and Maharatta. Two disciples — Chapekar brothers (Damodar and Balkrishna) — murdered the Plague Commissioner of Poona, Rand, and Lt. Ayerst in 1897.
1899: Savarkar and his brother organised the Mitra Mela (a secret society).
1904: Mitra Mela merged with Abhinav Bharat (named after Mazzini's 'Young Italy'). Nasik, Poona, and Bombay emerged as centres of bomb manufacture.
1909: A.M.T. Jackson, Collector of Nasik and a well-known indologist, was killed by Anant Lakshman Kanhere, a member of Abhinav Bharat. Thirty-eight people arrested. Savarkar was identified as the brain, leader, and moving spirit of the conspiracy — sentenced to transportation for life and forfeiture of all property.
Punjab extremism was fuelled by frequent famines, rise in land revenue and irrigation tax, practice of 'begar' by zamindars, and events in Bengal.
Key figures:
May 1907: Government struck — ban on political meetings; deportation of Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh. Extremism in Punjab died down quickly. After this, Ajit Singh and associates — Sufi Ambaprasad, Lalchand, Bhai Parmanand, Lala Hardayal — developed into full-scale revolutionaries.
During WWI, Rashbehari Bose was a leading figure in the Ghadr Revolution, working in cooperation with Bagha Jatin to extend the Bengal plan to Punjab. When the plan failed, Rashbehari Bose escaped to Japan in 1915 — where he later played an important role in founding the Indian National Army.
The need for shelter, access to publish literature free from Press Acts, and quest for arms took Indian revolutionaries abroad.
Shyamji Krishnavarma started in London in 1905:
Revolutionaries such as Savarkar and Hardayal became members of India House.
1909: Madanlal Dhingra (from India House circle) assassinated the India Office bureaucrat Curzon-Wyllie in London.
1910: Savarkar extradited and transported for life in the Nasik conspiracy case. London became too dangerous; new centres emerged.
Established by Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Bhupendranath Dutta, Lala Hardayal, and others — with help of the German foreign office under the 'Zimmermann Plan'.
Objectives: Mobilise Indian settlers abroad; send volunteers and arms to India; incite rebellion among Indian troops; organise armed invasion of British India.
Missions sent to Baghdad, Persia, Turkey, and Kabul — one mission under Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, Barkatullah, and Obaidullah Sindhi went to Kabul to organise a 'provisional Indian government' there with help of crown prince Amanullah.
The Ghadr Party was a revolutionary group organised around a weekly newspaper The Ghadr, with headquarters at San Francisco and branches along the US coast and in the Far East.
Composition: Mainly ex-soldiers and peasants who had migrated from Punjab to the USA and Canada seeking better employment. Based in western (Pacific) coast cities of the US and Canada.
Pre-Ghadr activity: Ramdas Puri, G.D. Kumar, Taraknath Das, Sohan Singh Bhakna, and Lala Hardayal (arrived 1911) set up 'Swadesh Sevak Home' at Vancouver and 'United India House' at Seattle.
Ghadr formally established in 1913.
Lala Hardayal, Ramchandra, Bhagwan Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Barkatullah, Bhai Parmanand were the moving spirits.
1. Komagata Maru Incident (1914) A ship carrying 370 passengers — mainly Sikh and Punjabi Muslim would-be immigrants — from Singapore to Vancouver. They were turned back by Canadian authorities (believed to be influenced by the British government) after two months of privation. The ship finally anchored at Calcutta in September 1914. The inmates refused to board the Punjab-bound train. In the ensuing conflict with police at Budge Budge near Calcutta, 22 persons died. This created an explosive situation in Punjab.
2. Outbreak of the First World War (1914) The Ghadr leaders decided to launch a violent attack on British rule in India.
The British used the most intensive repressive measures since 1857:
Most notable among scattered mutinies of the period. Punjabi Muslim 5th Light Infantry and 36th Sikh battalion under Jamadar Chisti Khan, Jamadar Abdul Gani, and Subedar Daud Khan. Crushed after a fierce battle. 37 persons executed; 41 transported for life.
Achievement: Preached militant nationalism with a completely secular approach — ideologically significant.
Failures:
Revolutionary activity experienced a temporary respite after WWI because:
Achievements:
Limitations:
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This chapter covers Background and Context, Chronological Survey of Revolutionary Activities, Revolutionary Activities Abroad, The Ghadr Party, Decline of Revolutionary Activity (Post-WWI). It is organized as revision-ready notes followed by a linked practice quiz.
For Bombs and Manifestos: India's Early Revolutionary Nationalists, focus on definitions, dates, places, institutions, distinguishing features, and factual comparisons in the chapter. Then use the quiz to check recall and identify gaps.
Use the Bombs and Manifestos: India's Early Revolutionary Nationalists chapter headings to organize an answer framework. Connect causes, consequences, comparisons, examples, and evidence wherever the notes provide them instead of memorizing isolated facts.
| December 1912 |
| Bomb thrown at Viceroy Hardinge during his entry into new capital Delhi (Chandni Chowk procession); Hardinge injured but survived |
| WWI | Delhi Conspiracy Trial — Basant Kumar Biswas, Amir Chand, Avadh Behari convicted and executed; Rashbehari Bose escaped |
| WWI | Jugantar/Yugantar under Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin) — German Plot / Zimmerman Plan for arms import; taxicab and boat dacoities to raise funds |
| September 1915 | Bagha Jatin shot and died in Balasore (Orissa coast) in a gunfight with police |