Revolutionary events between 1907 to 1916 and reaction of the government (In India and outside India)

In India:

The revolutionary terrorism acquired a real force in India around 1907-08 and launch of this trend in India is generally identified with the throwing of a bomb in April 1908 by Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki on a carriage of Kingsford, the unpopular District Judge of Muzaffarpur.

But unfortunately the carriage was carrying two British ladies (of Kennedy family) who were inadvertently killed.

Kingsford, the District Judge of Muzaffarpur, who as the former Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta, was targeted because he was infamous for passing judgments of corporal punishments on Indian nationalists.

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Prafulla Chaki shot himself dead rather than be arrested, but Khudiram Bose was arrested and on 11th August 1908, Khudiram was hanged to become the youngest martyr.

The government was quick enough to adopt repressive measures to crush such tendencies. It used the opportunity to target secret societies and papers that propagated revolutionary tendencies.

It targeted the Maniktalla Garden Society. Bhupendra Nath Dutta, Barindra Kumar Ghosh, Hem Chandra Kanungo etc., were among its important members. Another case, in which the revolutionaries were tried was the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy case.

It was in this case that Aurobindo, along with fifty-five others were tried. Although Aurobindo was acquitted but his brother and several others were sentenced to deportation and harsh prison terms.

In Bengal, in 1911, there were eighteen revolutionary attempts involving the use of bombs and in 1912 and 1913, there were 25 political robberies i.e., even the undoing of the partition in 1911 could put an end to the heroic revolutionary activities.

Ras Behari Bose organized a daring attempt on the life of the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, as he entered Delhi on 23rd December, 1912 at the time of the procession on the occasion of the inauguration of Delhi as the new capital of India. Viceroy sustained some injury while his escort was killed.

Although Ras Behari Bose managed to escape Amir Chand, Awadh Bihari and Basanta Kumar Biswas were arrested and later executed for organizing this Delhi Conspiracy.

Apart from the above the government discovered a number of conspiracy cases during the period like Dacca conspiracy case, the Calcutta conspiracy case etc., and passed several laws to curb the revolt, but it could not check their activities.

In Punjab, revolutionary societies were formed and a good number of revolutionaries belonged to Arya Samaj. In Rajasthan, the revolutionaries operated under the leadership of Bharat Keshrai Singh, Gopal Singh etc. Revolutionary activities were also detected in Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Madras. Chidambaram Pillai, Subramania Shiva, V. V. S. Aiyyar were some of the leaders who preached revolutionary ideas in South India.

On March 13, 1908, there was a riot in Tinnevelley at the arrest of Subramania Shiva and Chidambaram Pillai.

On June 17, 1911, Vanchi Aiyyar shot to death Ashe, the District Magistrate of Tinnevelley and, later, shot himself also to death.

Another significant event of the period took place on 13 November 1909 when a bomb was thrown at Ahmedabad on the carriage of Lord Minto, the Viceroy, and Lady Minto.

Outside India :

Revolutionaries were also working outside India. Madam Cama, the grandmother of Indian Revolutionary Movement, attended the International Socialist Conference held in Germany in 1907, as Indian representative and unfurled the National Flag of India and in a resolution urged all the freedom loving nations of the world for their help to Indian patriots in their glorious efforts to overthrow the foreign yoke.

In London, Madan Lai Dhingra, a bright student, killed Curzon Wylie, the political ADC at the India office, on 1st July 1909, as a mark of protest against the inhuman punishments inflicted on Indian revolutionaries and created a stir in England. Dhingra, aged only 27, was executed on August 17,1909.

In 1910, in Europe, there were Indian revolutionaries like Shyamji Krishna Verma, Madam Cama, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, S. R. Rana, Lala Har Dayal and V.V.S. Aiyyar. But soon this group became diffused. Lala Har Dayal went to U.S.A. in 1911.

Lala Har Dayal went to U.S.A. in January 1911, and founded the Ghadar Party, on June 2, 1913, in San Francisco with the help of Indian immigrants, for preparing for India’s liberation.

He was aided by the Punjabis residing in California and Oregon. The Ghadar Party tried to spread revolutionary ideas among Indians living in U.S.A. Canada and Europe. The Ghadarites were asked to revolt against the British.

Attempts were also made to spread disaffection in the army under the inspiration of Ras Behari Bose and V.G. Pingley.

21^stFebruary, 1915, was fixed as the day for beginning the revolt but due to the actions of informers, the plan was foiled. Pingley was executed.

Besides Har Dayal some of the prominent persons associated with the Ghadar Party were Sohan Singh Bhakna, Gurumukh Singh, Kartar Singh Saraba, Rahmat Ali etc.

Har Dayal, fearing trial and imprisonment in U.S.A. went to Germany jumping the bail he was granted after being arrested in the U.S.A. under British instigation.

The entry of U.S.A. in the war, in 1917, on the side of Britain and France led to the arrest of many Ghadar leaders and their trial in San Francisco (1917-18), and the Ghadar Movement collapsed.