Armed Revolutionary Movement

Swatantryaveer Savarkar started a secret organisation of revolutionaries named Mitramela

Explanation: Mitramela was a secret organisation of revolutionaries in Nasik, and it was founded in 1900 by Savarkar. It was renamed as ‘Abhinav Bharat’ in 1904.

In Punjab, Ramsingh Kuka organised an uprising against the Government.

Explanation: In the later period, i.e., after 1857, Ramsinh Kuka organised a rebellion against the Government in Punjab.

Pandit Shyamji Krishna Varma founded the India House.

Explanation: India House, in London, was an important centre which provided for such kind of assistance. Pandit Shyamji Krishna Varma, an Indian patriot, had established India House. Through this organisation, Indian youth were given scholarships for higher education in England. Swatantryaveer Savarkar received such scholarship.

The three Chaphekar brothers, Damodar, Balkrishna, and Vasudev, were Indian revolutionaries who were hanged till death for the assassination of W.C. Rand who was the British plague Commissioner for Pune. Pune was hit by the bubonic plague in 1896 and Rand took drastic measures to curb the effects. The drastic measures were an example of tyranny and oppression to the local population which made Rand an extremely unpopular figure. This led to his assassination in the hands of the Chaphekar brothers.

Khudiram Bose was a Bengali -Indian revolutionary who attained martyrdom by going against the British Rule. He was a member of the Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary group in erstwhile Bengal, which opposed the British rule in India through armed revolts and guerrilla tactics. Under their aegis, Khudiram Bose along with Prafulla Chaki planned to kill a judge named Kingsford in 1908 because of his tyrannical nature and biased judgements. But they failed in their endeavour, as they had targeted the wrong coach resulting in the murder of two English women. While Prafulla Chaki killed himself with a bullet to escape the authorities, Khudiram Bose was caught, tried and hanged for his actions.

The British rule in India was a period of oppression and the slow curtailing of the fundamental rights of the native population. With an aim towards furthering this goal, two new bills were introduced in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi during 1929. To stop the further curtailing of civil rights, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta threw bombs in the Assembly to disrupt the proceedings and also bring notice to the freedom efforts that were being undertaken.

The Chittagong Armoury raid is extremely important in the history of the Indian independence movement as it worked as a catalyst to quicken the pace of the fight for independence. This raid was an example of armed resistance against the British forces, where Indian revolutionaries led by Master Da Surya Sen raided the police and auxiliary forces armoury in Chittagong (currently in Bangladesh) on 18^th April 1930. Surya Sen along with revolutionaries like Anant Singh, Ganesh Ghosh, Kalpana Dutta, Pritilata Waddedar planned the raid and capture of the armouries along with complete disruption of the communication lines like telegraph and telephone. They aimed to completely paralyse the existing government in Chittagong by cutting off the connection with the outside. They succeeded in their raid and capture but was soon pushed into hiding by the troops that were dispatched to control them. This led to a gunfight between the revolutionaries and the troops with both sides suffering losses. The revolutionaries managed to escape, but Surya Sen along with several of his associates was captured and sentenced to death.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an eminent Indian revolutionary who fought for the independence of the country from British rule. His involvement in the struggle for India’s independence began early on when he founded the ‘Mitramela’- a secret organisation of revolutionaries in Nasik in 1900. This organisation known for encouraging revolutionary and nationalist views was renamed as ‘Abhinav Bharat’ in 1904.

Savarkar went for his higher studies to London through a scholarship provided by the India House. Pandit Shyamji Krishna Varma, an Indian patriot, had established India House, in London, which also provided assistance to Indian revolutionaries along with scholarships to Indian students who wanted to pursue higher education. From London, he supported the Indian independence movement by sending in guns and by writing revolutionary literature.

Savarkar published The Indian War of Independence about the Indian rebellion of 1857 that was banned by British authorities. He also wrote an inspiring biography of Joseph Mazzini, the famous Italian revolutionary. He was arrested in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group India House. Savarkar was sentenced to two life terms of imprisonment totalling fifty years and was moved to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but released in 1921 after several mercy petitions to the Britishers. In his autobiography ‘Majhi Janmathep’ he wrote down about his experiences during incarceration. After his release, he was detained in Ratnagiri by the government. Savarkar started many social movements such as the removal of caste differences, removal of untouchability, common dining, purification of language etc. He was the President of Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Mumbai in 1938. Not only was Savarkar a great writer but he is remembered in Indian history as one of the first to take up armed resistance against the British rule in India.

List of Movies and Dramas that can be watched for the same purpose –

Marathi Films

1) Veer Savarkar (2001)

2) Vasudev Balwant Phadke (2008)

3) Krantiveer Rajguru (2010)

4) 1909 (2013)

5) 22^nd June 1897 (1980)

Hindi Films

1) The Legend of Bhagat Singh

2) Chittagong

3) Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose : The Forgotten Hero

Khudiram Bose – He is known for the Muzaffarpur killing. He planted bombs near police stations and targeted government officials. He was arrested three years later and sentenced to death.

Chandra Shekhar Azad – He is known for Kakori conspiracy. It was a train robbery that took place near Kakori in 1925. Members of Hindustan Republican Association carried out this act as the organisation needed money for purchase of weaponry.

Ram Prasad Bismil – he is also known for Kakori conspiracy. The robbery was conceived by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan who belonged to the HRA.

Ganesh Damodar Savarkar - He led an armed movement against the British colonial government in India, he was sentenced to transportation for life as a result. The then collector of Nasik, Jackson was assassinated by Anant Laxman Kanhere in retaliation.