Background of Revolutionary Movement in India

The revolutionary movement in India emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an armed, militant strand of the freedom struggle. Its growth was driven by the ideological limitations of Moderate politics and the severe British crackdown on open mass agitations like the Swadeshi Movement. Young nationalists lost faith in constitutional methods such as petitions, resolutions, and speeches, choosing instead to challenge British rule through direct physical action, secret societies, targeted assassinations of oppressive colonial officials, and political swades (dacoities) to fund their operations.

Major Causes and Driving Factors

The transition from peaceful political agitation to revolutionary action resulted from several converging political, economic, and socio-cultural factors:

Failure of Moderate and Extremist Methods

• The Moderate strategy of constitutional agitation yielded minimal political concessions, leaving youth dissatisfied with the pace of national progress.
• The British suppression of the Swadeshi Movement after 1907 closed avenues for peaceful open agitation.
• The internal division of the Indian National Congress during the 1907 Surat Split left the anti-colonial struggle without central political leadership or unified direction.

Colonial Repression and Legislative Crackdown

• Executive circulars, including the Carlyle Circular of 1905, banned students from participating in political meetings and rallies.
• Laws like the Seditious Meetings Act (1907), the Explosive Substances Act (1908), and the Newspaper (Incitement to Offences) Act (1908) restricted civil liberties and freedom of the press.
• Mass arrests, summary trials, and the deportation of prominent leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, and Sardar Ajit Singh created anger among young political workers.

Socio-Religious Revivalism and Ideological Influence

• Nationalist literature, particularly Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath (1882) and its patriotic hymn Vande Mataram, inspired youth to view political liberation as a sacred duty.
• Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on physical strength, moral courage, and service to the nation served as a foundational ethic for young revolutionaries.
• Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and Barindra Kumar Ghosh articulated revolutionary philosophy through papers like Bande Mataram and Yugantar, framing armed resistance as a legitimate response to colonial tyranny.

International Influences and Global Examples

• The Italian Risorgimento, particularly the secret society network of Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy, provided an organizational model for Indian groups.
• The Russian Nihilist movement demonstrated techniques of underground political organization, illegal publishing, and targeted bomb attacks against imperial officials.
• The victory of Asian Japan over imperial Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) broke the myth of European military invincibility and boosted confidence across Asia.
• The Irish Nationalist struggle against British rule provided practical examples of guerrilla tactics and political assassination.

Early Centres of Revolutionary Activity

Revolutionary activities originated across three principal hubs before spreading to other regions and international centers:

Maharashtra

• Chapekar Brothers (1897): Damodar, Balkrishna, and Vasudev Chapekar formed the Ramosi Club and assassinated WC Rand, the Plague Commissioner of Pune, and his military escort Lieutenant Ayerst on June 22, 1897, due to brutal plague inspection methods.
• Mitra Mela and Abhinav Bharat (1899–1904): Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his brother Ganesh Savarkar established Mitra Mela at Nasik in 1899, which was reorganized as the secret society Abhinav Bharat in 1904.
• Nasik Conspiracy Case (1909): Anant Lakshman Kanhere, an Abhinav Bharat member, shot dead AMT Jackson, the Collector of Nasik, on December 21, 1909.

Bengal

• Anushilan Samiti (1902): Promathanath Mitra, Satish Chandra Basu, and Sarala Devi founded the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti in 1902. Pulin Behari Das set up the Dacca Anushilan Samiti in 1906, building a network of hundreds of rural branches.
• Jugantar Group (1906): Inner circle members of Anushilan Samiti, including Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Bhupendranath Datta, and Ullaskar Dutt, started the newspaper Yugantar and organized armed resistance.
• Muzaffarpur Bomb Case (1908): Kudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to assassinate the oppressive magistrate DH Kingsford on April 30, 1908, accidentally killing two Englishwomen, Pringle Kennedy and her daughter.
• Alipore Conspiracy Case (1908–1909): Police raided the Manicktolla bomb factory, arresting 34 revolutionaries, including Aurobindo Ghosh and Barindra Kumar Ghosh.

Punjab

• Radical agrarian discontent over the Punjab Colonization Act of 1906 led to the formation of the Anjuman-i-Mohisban-i-Watan (Bharat Mata Society) by Sardar Ajit Singh, Sufi Amba Prasad, and Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Rash Behari Bose and Sachin Sanyal constructed a secret revolutionary network spanning Punjab, the United Provinces, and Bengal.
• Delhi Conspiracy Case (1912): Basanta Kumar Biswas, acting under Rash Behari Bose, threw a bomb at Viceroy Lord Hardinge during a state procession in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, on December 23, 1912.

Key Revolutionary Organisations and Founders

Essential Facts on Early Revolutionary Movement

The Chapekar brothers’ assassination of Rand and Ayerst in 1897 represents the first instance of political assassination aimed at British officials in modern Indian history. Anant Lakshman Kanhere used a Browning pistol smuggled into India from London by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to assassinate Nasik Collector AMT Jackson in 1909. Prafulla Chaki shot himself to avoid arrest at Samastipur railway station, while Khudiram Bose was captured and hanged on August 11, 1908, at nineteen years of age. Chittaranjan Das defended Aurobindo Ghosh during the Alipore Bomb Case trial, securing his complete acquittal in May 1909, after which Aurobindo retired from active politics to Pondicherry. Shyamji Krishnavarma founded India House in London in 1905 and published the monthly journal The Indian Sociologist. Madan Lal Dhingra, an associate at India House, assassinated Curzon Wyllie, political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India, on July 1, 1909.