Jugantar Group and Revolutionary Politics

The Jugantar Group emerged in 1906 as a secret revolutionary organization in Bengal. It formed as a radical inner wing within the Calcutta Anushilan Samiti. Young revolutionaries grew dissatisfied with the slow pace of Moderate politics and the focus on physical culture alone within the early Samiti. They sought direct, armed action against British colonial rule. The group drew its ideological foundation from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh’s nationalist writings, and Swami Vivekananda’s emphasis on strength and action. The anti-partition agitation of 1905 provided the immediate political catalyst for its rapid growth.

Key Leaders and Prominent Figures

Several young nationalists shaped the strategy and operations of the Jugantar Party:

• Barindra Kumar Ghosh: Younger brother of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and a core founder who organized arms collection and bomb manufacturing.
• Bhupendranath Datta: Younger brother of Swami Vivekananda and the founding editor of the journal Yugantar.
• Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin): A charismatic leader who united decentralized revolutionary units in Bengal and led the 1915 Indo-German Plot.
• Ullaskar Dutt: A skilled chemist who set up the bomb-making laboratory at the Manicktolla garden house in Calcutta.
• Hemchandra Kanungo: A revolutionary who traveled to Paris to learn chemical explosive formulas from Russian emigrés.
• Rash Behari Bose: An organizer who linked Jugantar with revolutionary groups in Punjab and the United Provinces, later orchestrating the 1912 Delhi conspiracy.

Publications and Propaganda Work

Jugantar used newspapers and tracts to spread revolutionary ideas and inspire youth toward armed resistance.

Yugantar Journal

Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Abhinash Bhattacharya, and Bhupendranath Datta launched the Bengali weekly newspaper Yugantar in April 1906. The journal preached open rebellion, physical defiance, and the direct elimination of oppressive colonial officers.

Mukti Kon Pathe

The group published articles from Yugantar in a compiled booklet titled Mukti Kon Pathe (Which Way Lies Freedom?). The text outlined practical instructions on military training, procurement of arms, manufacturing of bombs, and conducting political dacoities to finance operations.

Sandhya and Bande Mataram

Bramhabandhav Upadhyay edited the Bengali daily Sandhya, while Sri Aurobindo edited the English daily Bande Mataram. Both papers complemented Yugantar by providing ideological support and criticizing Moderate political tactics.

Major Operations and Cases

The Jugantar Group planned and executed several armed operations against British officials, informers, and police officers.

Muzaffarpur Bomb Case (1908)

Kudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki attempted to assassinate DH Kingsford, the Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta known for imposing harsh sentences on Swadeshi activists. On April 30, 1908, in Muzaffarpur, they threw a bomb at his carriage. The attack accidentally killed two Englishwomen, Mrs. Pringle Kennedy and her daughter. Chaki shot himself to avoid arrest, while Khudiram Bose was captured and executed.

Alipore Conspiracy Case (1908–1909)

Following the Muzaffarpur incident, police raided the Manicktolla garden house, arresting 34 revolutionaries. Authorities seized bombs, chemicals, and revolutionary literature. Chittaranjan Das defended Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, securing his complete acquittal. Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Ullaskar Dutt received death sentences, which were later commuted to life imprisonment in the Andaman Cellular Jail.

Assassination of Approver Narendra Goswami (1908)

Narendra Goswami turned state witness during the Alipore trial. On August 31, 1908, fellow prisoners Kanailal Dutt and Satyendranath Bose shot him dead inside the Alipore Jail hospital using smuggled revolvers.

Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy Case (1910)

Following the assassination of Deputy Superintendent of Police Shamsul Alam on the Calcutta High Court steps by Birendranath Datta Gupta, police arrested 47 activists linked to Bagha Jatin. The trial exposed the wide reach of the decentralized Jugantar network across Bengal.

Indo-German Plot and Battle of Buribalam (1915)

During World War I, Jugantar leaders led by Bagha Jatin coordinated with the Ghadar Party and the German Foreign Office to organize an armed uprising in India. Naren Bhattacharjee (later M.N. Roy) traveled abroad to secure arms shipments on the vessel SS Annie Larsen. British intelligence intercepted the plans. Police surrounded Bagha Jatin and his companions near Balasore, Odisha, leading to the gunfight at Buribalam on September 9, 1915, where Bagha Jatin was fatally wounded.

Key Operations and Events of Jugantar Group

Essential Facts on Jugantar Group

The name Yugantar translates to “New Era” or “Transition of an Epoch” in Bengali. Hemchandra Kanungo sold his house in Calcutta to finance his trip to Paris in 1906, where he joined a Russian emigré group to learn military technology and bomb preparation. The Manicktolla garden house, where Ullaskar Dutt set up the bomb laboratory, belonged to the family of Barindra Kumar Ghosh and Sri Aurobindo. Bagha Jatin earned his title after killing a Royal Bengal tiger with a dagger in his native Nadia district in 1906. Members of the affiliated Atmonnati Samiti carried out the Rodda Arms Robbery on August 26, 1914, seizing 50 German Mauser pistols. British police described this heist as the “greatest event” in revolutionary gun-running in India, as these weapons were used in actions for the next decade. Following the defeat at Buribalam and the end of World War I, many surviving Jugantar members supported Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, while others later helped establish the Hindustan Republican Association.