Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case

The Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case, also known as the Delhi Conspiracy Case or the Hardinge Bomb Case, was a revolutionary plot in 1912 aimed at assassinating the Viceroy of India, Lord Hardinge.

Capital Transfer Announcement

King George V announced the transfer of the British Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi during the Delhi Durbar in December 1911. The British administration organized an imperial state entry into Delhi on December 23, 1912, to celebrate the official relocation. Revolutionary networks in Bengal and Punjab viewed this public spectacle as an opportunity to strike at the highest representative of British authority in India.

Underground Revolutionary Coalitions

The plot brought together secret revolutionary groups from Bengal and Punjab, primarily affiliated with the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar groups. Mastermind Rash Behari Bose operated as the central coordinator, bridging secret societies in Bengal with active revolutionary cells in Punjab and Delhi.

The Assassination Attempt at Chandni Chowk

The Incident

On December 23, 1912, Viceroy Lord Hardinge and Lady Hardinge rode a caparisoned elephant in a ceremonial procession moving through the Chandni Chowk quarter of Delhi. As the procession passed near the Dhulia Katra building, a homemade bomb was thrown directly into the royal howdah.

Impact and Casualties

The explosion damaged the howdah and injured Lord Hardinge, who suffered severe shrapnel wounds across his back and shoulders. Lady Hardinge escaped unhurt. The attendant standing behind the Viceroy, Mahavat Ganeshi Lall (or Mahout Mahaveer), died on the spot from blast injuries.

Key Personalities Involved

Investigation and Delhi Conspiracy Trial

Police Crackdown

British police launched widespread raids across Delhi, Punjab, and Bengal following the attack. Investigators uncovered bomb manufacturing units and seditionist literature, linking the Delhi plot to a series of revolutionary events in Punjab, including the 1913 Lawrence Garden bomb blast in Lahore.

Judicial Proceedings

The colonial government filed formal charges against several activists under the Delhi Conspiracy Trial. The prosecution presented evidence of bomb materials, revolutionary pamphlets, and inter-state secret meetings.

• On October 5, 1914, the trial court sentenced Master Amir Chand, Avadh Behari, and Bhai Balmukund to death.
• Basanta Kumar Biswas received a life sentence initially, but the High Court enhanced his punishment to a death sentence upon government appeal.
• Master Amir Chand, Bhai Balmukund, and Avadh Behari were executed on May 8, 1915, in the Old Delhi Jail.
• Basanta Kumar Biswas was hanged on May 11, 1915, at Ambala Central Jail.

Escape of Rash Behari Bose

Evading the Police Network

Rash Behari Bose returned to his government job at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun immediately after the bombing to avoid suspicion. He actively participated in civic meetings condemning the attack, successfully deflecting police scrutiny for months.

Departure to Japan

When police intelligence identified his primary role in 1914, Bose went underground. He helped organize the 1915 Ghadar Mutiny before boarding the Japanese ship S.S. Sanuki Maru at Calcutta in May 1915 under the pseudonym Raja P. N. Tagore. He spent the remainder of his life in Japan, establishing the Indian Independence League.

Key Facts and Trivia

The colonial government announced a reward of 10,000 rupees for information leading to the arrest of the bomb thrower. Basanta Kumar Biswas disguised himself in women’s attire during the procession to blend into the crowd gathered on the balcony of a building in Chandni Chowk. Aged twenty at his execution, Biswas became one of the youngest revolutionaries hanged during the twentieth-century freedom movement. The execution site inside the Old Delhi Jail premises is now preserved as the Shaheed Smarak Sthal within the campus of Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi. Bhai Balmukund was the cousin of the famous revolutionary Bhai Parmanand, a founding member of the Ghadar Party. Following Bhai Balmukund’s execution, his wife Ram Rakhi starved herself to death, marking a tragic chapter associated with the trial.