Hinduism: Details about 'Anushilan Samiti'
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Anushilan Samiti was one of the secret revolutionary organisations operating in Bengal in the first quarter of the 20th century.This association , like the Jugantar party,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 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.
Notable members
The beginningThe Anushilan Samiti was established in Kolkata by Pramath Math Mitra , a barrister and a patron of the revolutionary movements, in 1902.Jatindra Nath Banerjee and Barindra Ghosh were other initial leaders. Anushilan Samiti slowly adopted terrorism programmes during the first decade of 20th century, with 1905 Partition of Bengal acting as a major catalyst.An inner circle of the Anushilan Samiti formed Jugantar, the main outfit for revolutionary activities.The Dhaka branch of the Anushilan Samiti was formed by Pulin Bihari 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. 1907 – 1908 witnessed a surge in the revolutionary activities. On 6 December 1907 they attempted to blow up the train in which the Lieutenant-Governor of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam was travelling. The Muzaffarpur killingA few days later, on 23 December, they attempted to assassinate Mr Allen, formerly District Magistrate of Dhaka. On 30 April 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki were sent to murder Douglas Kingsford, Magistrate of Calcutta and later District Judge of Muzaffarpur, Bihar.However, Mrs and Miss Kennedy, two innocent English ladies, were mistakenly bombed and killed. The British police started a big hunt for the terrorists.Prafulla Chaki took his own life by bullet while cornered by the police. Khudiram Bose was arrested, tried and hanged . Khudiram and Prafulla became revered martyrs among the mass of the Bengal and inspired more youth to join the revolutionaries. Alipore Bomb 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 the Andaman.The result of the trial was divisions in 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. Dhaka Anushilan SamitiPulin Bihari Das 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 the firearms.However, firearms were not easily available.The revolutionaries looted wealthy families that were loyal to the British Raj and maintained fund. Arrest of Pulin DasThe arrest and deportation of the leader Pulin Das created chaos among the the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti which had to go underground temporarily.Soon,Trailokyanath Chakraborty and Pratul Chandra Ganguly 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. After the first World WarAfter the first World War, the communication between the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar party increased.However, during the Non-Cooperation Movement the Jugantar party supported Gandhi while the Dhaka faction continued the revolutionary activities. The police increased vigilance and arrested many leaders. 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.
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