Anushilan Samiti and Revolutionary Nationalism

Anushilan Samiti emerged as a prominent secret revolutionary organization in Bengal during the early 20th century. Promathanath Mitra, Satish Chandra Basu, and Sarala Devi Chaudhurani founded the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti on March 24, 1902. The name Anushilan was inspired by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s concept of self-culture and physical development outlined in his writings. The organization drew its ideological strength from Bankim Chandra’s novel Anandamath, Swami Vivekananda’s call for youth strength, and Sri Aurobindo’s nationalist philosophy. It operated under the guise of physical culture clubs (akhadas), offering instruction in gymnastics, swordplay, boxing, and martial arts to mask its underground political activities.

Structure and Key Branches

• Calcutta Anushilan Samiti (1902): Headquartered in West Bengal under Promathanath Mitra, with active leadership from Jatindranath Banerjee (Niralamba Swami) and Barindra Kumar Ghosh.
• Dacca Anushilan Samiti (1906): Established by Pulin Behari Das in Eastern Bengal. It grew rapidly into a highly centralized network operating over 500 regional branches.
• Jugantar Group (1906): An inner radical circle formed within the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Datta, Abhinash Bhattacharya, and Ullaskar Dutt to carry out direct armed actions.

Key Leaders and Organizational Structure

The Samiti built a disciplined cadre system using strict vows of secrecy and internal hierarchy. Leaders assigned specific duties ranging from propaganda and physical training to bomb manufacture and arms procurement.

Prominent Leaders of Anushilan Samiti

Major Actions, Operations, and Trials

Members of Anushilan Samiti executed targeted political assassinations, attempted bomb attacks on high-ranking British officials, and conducted political dacoities (Swadeshi dacoities) to fund revolutionary operations.

Major Revolutionary Incidents

• Muzaffarpur Bomb Case (1908): Kudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to assassinate Presidency Magistrate DH Kingsford on April 30, 1908. The bomb hit an incorrect carriage, killing Mrs. Pringle Kennedy and her daughter. Chaki shot himself to avoid arrest, while Khudiram Bose was captured and executed on August 11, 1908.
• Alipore Conspiracy Case (1908–1909): Police raided the Manicktolla garden house, arresting 34 revolutionaries. Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Ullaskar Dutt received death sentences (later commuted to transportation for life). Chittaranjan Das successfully defended Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, securing his complete acquittal.
• Assassination of Approver (1908): Satyendranath Bose and Kanailal Dutt shot dead Narendra Goswami, an approver in the Alipore case, inside Alipore Jail on August 31, 1908.
• Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case (1910): Following the assassination of police officer Shamsul Alam, authorities arrested 47 revolutionaries linked to Bagha Jatin, targeting the decentralized Jugantar network.
• Delhi Conspiracy Case (1912): Basanta Kumar Biswas, working under Rash Behari Bose, threw a bomb at Viceroy Lord Hardinge during his state entry into Delhi on December 23, 1912.
• Rodda Arms Robbery (1914): Atmonnati Samiti members under Bipin Behari Ganguly intercepted a shipment from Rodda & Company in Calcutta, seizing 50 Mauser pistols and 46,000 rounds of ammunition.
• Battle of Buribalam (1915): During the Indo-German Plot, Bagha Jatin and four companions engaged in a direct gunfight against police near Balasore, Odisha, on September 9, 1915. Jatin died of injuries the following day.

Propaganda and Revolutionary Literature

Anushilan Samiti relied on underground journals, newspapers, and pamphlets to spread anti-colonial ideology and recruit student youth.

Major Publications

• Yugantar (1906): Bengali weekly founded by Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Abhinash Bhattacharya, and Bhupendranath Datta. It advocated direct physical opposition to British rule.
• Sandhya (1906): Daily newspaper edited by Bramhabandhav Upadhyay, known for its bold anti-colonial stance and simple vernacular style.
• Bande Mataram (1906): English language newspaper edited by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, circulating radical nationalist ideas across India.
• Mukti Kon Pathe (Which Way Lies Freedom?): A compilation of articles from Yugantar offering instructions on military training, bomb manufacturing, and underground organizational tactics.

Evolutionary Phases of Anushilan Samiti

State Repression and Suppression

The British administration passed special security legislation to dismantle the Samiti’s network. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1908 declared Anushilan Samiti and its regional branches illegal. Laws like the Explosive Substances Act (1908), the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908), and the Defence of India Act 1915 allowed summary trials, detention without trial, and heavy censorship of revolutionary literature. Large-scale arrests during World War I broke the central organization of both the Dacca and Calcutta wings. After releasing political prisoners under the 1919 general amnesty, many former members joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement, while others later contributed to forming the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and radical socialist organizations.

Essential Facts on Anushilan Samiti

The Calcutta Anushilan Samiti was formally inaugurated on the day of Barmeghi (a traditional festival) on March 24, 1902, at 108 Upper Circular Road, Calcutta. Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble), the Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda, served as an early executive committee member of Anushilan Samiti and donated her collection of 150 political books to its library. Hemchandra Kanungo traveled to Paris in 1906 to learn chemical formulas for explosives from Russian emigré revolutionaries, returning to establish the Manicktolla bomb laboratory. Pulin Behari Das was arrested in the Dacca Conspiracy Case of 1910 and deported to the Andaman Cellular Jail along with dozens of revolutionary comrades. Bagha Jatin earned his nickname after killing a Royal Bengal tiger with a hunting dagger in Nadia district in 1906. The Rodda Arms Robbery of August 26, 1914, was described by British intelligence as the “greatest event” in the history of revolutionary gun-running in India, as the stolen Mauser pistols were used in almost every major political action in Bengal over the next decade. Rash Behari Bose escaped British capture by boarding the Japanese vessel S.S. Sanuki Maru in May 1915 under the alias P.N. Tagor, subsequently establishing the Indian Independence League in Japan.