About Chittagong Armoury Raid Case
The Chittagong Armoury Raid Case was still another startling and most daring revolutionary endeavour by the youth. The well-devised raid was conducted on 18th April 1930, with Surya Sen, a committed revolutionary, as the leader of the group. At about 10.00 p.m. about a hundred youths clad in Khaki, marched in military order in several groups in chorus. One of their batches raided the telephone exchange and telegraph office and cut off all communications connecting the town with Calcutta and Dacca. The second one severed rail connections at Nangalkot and Dham, which resulted in the derailment of some goods trains and the resultant blockading of all railway traffic. The third one raided the premises of the club, but failing to find any of the officials there, joined the main group. At the same time, leaflets were distributed all over the town explaining the object of the raid. These were signed by Surya Sen as the president of the `Indian Republican Army, Chittagong branch`.
The vehicle carrying Ananta Singh and Ganesh Ghosh were followed by the vehicle carrying Surya Sen. The revolutionaries were able to seize the armouries and a gigantic amount of arms and ammunition. Every task was carried out according to the plan and Surya Sen was given a guard of honour. Kalpana Dutt, herself a great revolutionary and a member of this group of revolutionaries, has given the detailed account of the Chittagong Armoury Raid Case in her book, Chittagong Armoury Raiders. Major Forrel was killed and despite their position of inconvenience, the revolutionaries were able to throw back the government forces. The government acquired reinforcements in Chittagong on 20th April 1930. They opened the attack again on 22nd April 1930. After causalities on both sides, the revolutionaries dispersed during the night and continued the guerrilla fights in different localities.
Apart from the minor clashes, another major confrontation occurred on 6th May when Debi Prasad Gupta, Manoranjan Sen, Rajat Sen, Swadesh Roy, Phanindra Nandi and Subodh Chaudhary came out with the intention of attacking the European quarters along the riverbank. But the plan backfired and four of them were killed while the other two, Subodh and Phani were wounded and arrested. Large-scale arrests were made. The revolutionaries were booked in a criminal case known as `Chittagong Armoury Raid Case`. In July 1930, prosecution was launched against thirty-two revolutionaries. A Special Tribunal was appointed and the chief charge against them was `waging war against the King Emperor`. Judgement was delivered on 1st March 1932. Thirteen of them were sentenced to expatriation for life, short-term imprisonments were awarded to Nandulal Singh and Anilbandhu Das, and sixteen were acquitted. But the revolutionaries continued their attacks and those who were arrested were given unkind punishments in sham trials.
Surya Sen was arrested in February 1933, while Kalpana Dutt and Tarakeshwar Dastidar were captured on 19th May 1933. In June 1933, a supplementary Armoury Raid Case was put up for trial in which Surya Sen and Tarakeshwar Dastidar were sentenced to death, while Kalpana Dutt was sentenced to transportation for life vide judgement dated 14th August 1933.
Surya Sen kissed the gallows on the night of 12th January 1934 in Chittagong jail, with his last message of "ideal and unity" and "a golden dream...a dream of free India", wishing his comrades the strength to fight for freedom and ending his forceful epistle with the slogan of `Vande Mataram` and reminding the nation never to forget the eastern revolution of Jalalabad, Julda, Chandan Nagar and Dhal Ghat waged on 18th April 1930. Ganesh Ghose, Haripad Bhattacharya, Faqir Chandra Sen Gupta, Himangshu Bhowmik, Kali Kinker Dey, Lai Mohan Sen, Phanindra Lai Nandi, Randhir Das Gupta, Sahay Ram Das, Subodh Kumar Choudhari, Subodh Roy, Sudhir Ranjan Choudhari, Kalipada Chakravarty and Sukhdendu Dastidar were deported to the Andamans, in concern with the Chittagong Armoury Raid Case.
The Chittagong group was undisputedly recognised as the best and the most successful group that Bengal`s revolutionaries had ever organised.
Background of Chittagong Armoury Raid
The background of Chittagong Armoury Raid Case spans over a decade as the members of the Indian Republican Army took several preparations for the successful implementation of the revolutionary plans. The Chittagong Revolutionary Group was an ideal combination of thinkers and doers, such as, Masterda Surya Sen, who was the leader, Lokenath Bal, Ananta Singh, Kalpana Dutta, Ambika Chakrobarty, Pritilata Waddedar, Ganesh Ghosh, Anand Gupta, Jiban Ghoshal, Tarakeswar Dastidar, Harigopal Bal (Tegra), Ardhendu Dastidar, Sasanka Datta, Naresh Roy, Subodh Roy and Nirmal Sen. By the year 1918, Surya Sen, along with Charu Bikash Datta, Ambika Chakrabarti and others established a separate revolutionary group in the region of Chittagong.
During late 1925, when most of the leaders of the 2 foremost revolutionary groups of Bengal, Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti, were jailed, the Chittagong revolutionary group, known as the Indian Republican Army remained active. Nirmal Sen, one of the members of the group, acquired expertise in smuggling weapons and ammunitions to Chittagong from the Far East. After the British Intelligence Branch gained information of the smuggling procedure, Sen was arrested while he was on a trip to Chittagong in the year 1926. Surya Sen and other leaders recruited number young and teenaged boys who were enthusiastic about the revolutionary movement during 1928. Nirmal Sen was a friendly and compassionate leader. Nirmal Sen acted as the defence minister of the Indian Republican Army, while Ambika Chakrabarti operated as the foreign minister and also managed finance.
The objective of the group was to achieve freedom from the British Empire in India by aggressive and violent revolutionary means. This idea was already intensely entrenched in the mind of the "Hindu bhadralok" youths of the time. Even though the first political assassination of a British official, Chairman of Plague Commission- W.C.Rand, and a bystander Lieutenant C.E. Ayerst, was undertaken in Poona (presently known as Pune) in the year 1897, the thought of armed struggle for national freedom thrived and developed in Bengal. After the triumphant Battle of Plassey in the year 1757, Bengal was the base of British East India Company and the colonial rule. This deeply influenced the populace of the Bengal province, especially profoundly affected the people of the province, particularly the upper caste intellectuals. The associations between the Bengali intellectuals and the British led to the Bengal renaissance during the middle of the 19th century.
After the Arms Act of 1878, the native populace of the country was forbidden from possessing fire-arms and weapons, while the British Indian army, Police and other Europeans officials in the country retained highly sophisticated and technically advanced weapons that were in existence during that period. This Act motivated the Chittagong revolutionaries further for military and physical prowess in order to challenge and confront the British Empire in India. Several akharas or gymnasiums and secret societies emerged in Calcutta (now Kolkata) during the 1870s, but these soon waned and died out. The Indian National Congress was established in 1885 but its polite attitude towards the foreign rule, and politics through resolutions and petitions were much less inspiring as compared to the actions and ideals of the revolutionaries. During the initial years of the 20th century that the concept of confronting the British power with the use of weapons were materialized. During this period, various clubs appeared in Calcutta with the objective of providing military and physical training and nationalist principles. Although none of these organisations were explicitly revolutionary, they provided the base for the revolutions.
On 30 April 1908, Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose bombed a horse carriage in Muzaffarpur in an attempt to murder Douglas Kingsford, the former Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta, but instead killed 2 Englishwomen. Khudiram Bose was hanged and Prafulla Chaki committed suicide. Moreover in the Alipore Bomb Case Trial, various freedom fighters like Barindra, Aurobindo and others were detained by the British police. Khudiram Bose and another revolutionary named Kanailal Dutt became heroic martyrs and inspirations for the young revolutionaries of Chittagong and other Bengali youths as well. But the Indian Republican Army never aimed for political murders of British officials. Even during extensive arrests and detentions under a range of oppressive laws, the revolutionary group of Masterda Surya Sen never lacked members as new recruits continuously joined the armed revolt movement. Several arrests were made under a host of exploitive laws, like the Defence of India Act 1915, but these groups never lacked new members and their leaders were never out of new plans for aggressive revolt. The plan for a national uprising was perhaps the most grand of these, which took advantage of the concern of the British Empire during World War I.
The first stage of the revolutionary freedom struggle concluded with the end of the Great War in 1918. Most of the leaders in the Presidency of the Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar party were arrested, hanged or sentenced to transportation for life to Port Blair. During this period the revolutionary activities came to a halt, but numerous groups, set up by young natives throughout Bengal, remained devoted towards armed revolution as they believed that it was the sole way of acquiring independence from the British dominion.
In the year 1920, Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Non-Cooperation Movement, which urged the native population to boycott British titles, schools and colleges, councils, courts and foreign goods. He also requested the people to take constructive work by establishing national educational institutes, arbitration courts and developing unity between Hindu and Muslim and the elimination of untouchability. These resolutions greatly influenced Surya Sen and his associates, who commenced from the foundation and evolved their revolutionary ideals. The group aimed to associate with the Jugantar party or the Anushilan Samiti. Accordingly Surya Sen and most of his friends became a member of the Jugantar party, as it was not much centralized and separate groups had significant independence within its flexible structure.
All detenus under the Defence of India Act were released, along with the leaders of the national revolutionary movements, after the Royal Proclamation in 1919. The members of the Jugantar Party in Bengal joined the Indian National Congress district committees and operated as volunteers. During this period, Surya Sen, Ambika Chakrabarti, Ananta Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and their other associates came under the leadership of J.M. Sengupta, who was an eminent lawyer and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. As the Chittagong revolutionary group completely immersed itself in the Non Cooperation Movement of Gandhi, they became extremely disappointed after Mahatma Gandhi abolished the movement on 11 February 1922, due to the violence in Chauri Chaura.
This decision of Gandhi made the previously committed volunteers to opt for other action oriented principles and methods of attaining independence to properly utilise the rising militant spirit awakened among the native population. Several communist groups were formed in different regions of the nation and the idea of revolutionary terrorism was also revived after the February decision. Master-Da Surya Sen assumed the decision to recommence violent methods during the Chittagong Congress of April 1922. The Indian Republican Army was in the second stage of the movement and was determined to collect finance by robbing the British administration, purchasing ammos and ammunitions, manufacturing bombs, developing associations with other groups in Bengal to conduct simultaneous uprisings.
The members of the Indian Republican Army took various preparations for Chittagong Armoury Raid like establishing physical training clubs in Chittagong and gathering funds to purchase fire-arms. Nogendra Sen, who was an ex-soldier, gave basic military training to the members of the Chittagong revolutionary group who conducted the Chittagong uprising. The British government of Bengal issued an ordinance on 25 October 1924 and many such revolutionaries were detained. Subhas Chandra Bose was also arrested under the ordinance. Several members of the Chittagong group were arrested under the ordinance but Surya Sen managed escape the British police for almost 2 years.
After 2 years, Surya Sen and other important members of the Indian Republican Army were released and gathered in the town of Chittagong. They were trained to operate revolvers, manufacture sophisticated bombs, and fight with the British police and hide underground. The leader of the Chittagong revolutionary group, Masterda Surya Sen had learnt several valuable lessons from the past years. The ideas of a nationwide uprising had drastically failed, confidential information were to the British authorities, valuable time was wasted on planning of gathering of funds through robberies and purchase of arms and ammunitions.
The prominent members of the group in Chittagong decided to operate independently and separately to successfully carry out a remarkable uprising. It was further decided that the group will not be involved in any robberies, arms smuggling and they would not depend on the renowned leaders in Calcutta either. The revolutionaries resolved to produce their own funds and construct an army that would share their ideals of national independence through armed revolution. Master-Da Surya Sen was determined to conduct small revolutionary activities that will be carried out successfully, instead of wasting more time on attaining an all India revolt.
The members of the Chittagong revolutionary group, the Indian Republican Army, given their past dissatisfaction with Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, again felt let down by them. They were further convinced that the Congress would be unable to provide the lead at this critical point. The prominent members of the group decided to conduct a impressive action that would provide a spectacular and inspiring instance to the people of the nation, especially the youth of the country. The leaders of the Indian Republican Army in Chittagong recruited new members and trained them in order to plan every detail and take proper preparations for Chittagong Armoury Raid case. Moreover, some of the members of the group were skilled in the usage of arms and weapons, where as some other members achieved expertise in political activities for the successful implementation of the plan.
Preparations for Chittagong Armoury Raid
The members of the Indian Republican Army took several preparations for Chittagong Armoury Raid Case in the year 1930. The members of the Indian Republican Army included their leader Masterda Surya Sen and other prominent members like Kalpana Dutta, Pritilata Waddedar, Anand Gupta, Jiban Ghoshal, Ananta Singh, Tarakeswar Dastidar, Harigopal Bal (Tegra), Ardhendu Dastidar, Sasanka Datta, Naresh Roy, Ambika Chakrobarty, Subodh Roy, Nirmal Sen, Lokenath Bal and Ganesh Ghosh. The Chittagong Revolutionary Group was an ideal combination of planners and executors. Further more, some of the members of the group achieved expertise in the usage of arms and weapons, while other members were skilled in political activities. The armoury raid in Chittagong was one of the most amazing and brave revolutionary activities in the history of the Indian freedom struggle that was devised by the youths of the region. The attack was conducted on 18th April 1930 to raid the armoury of police and auxiliary forces from the Chittagong in Bengal province during the rule of the British Empire in India.
Satish Chandra Chakravarty, who was a lecturer at the Krishna Nath College at Berhampore, was also one of the key members in a revolutionary group. He inspired Surya Sen with the ideals of revolution and patriotism, who eventually vowed to dedicate his life in forming up a revolutionary group in Chittagong and take active participation in the Indian freedom struggle. Moreover, Hemendralal Mukhoti, one of the fugitives of the Barisal Conspiracy Case, also motivated Surya Sen, Ambika Chakrabarti and some other local men revolutionary ideal. During the year 1925, while most of the members of the 2 major revolutionary groups of Bengal, Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti, were imprisoned, the Chittagong revolutionary group remained active. Nirmal Sen gained expertise in smuggling arms and ammunitions from the Far East to Chittagong. After the British Intelligence Division learnt of the smuggling process, Nirmal Sen was arrested while on a tour to Chittagong in 1926. Surya Sen and other members recruited several young and teenaged boys who were interested in joining the revolutionary movement during 1928.
Surjya Sen was employed as a teacher and thus received the reverential honorific of Master-Da. He taught several of his students about his revolutionary ideals and inspired them to join the movement. By the year 1918, Master-Da Surya Sen, along with Charu Bikash Datta, Ambika Chakrabarti and others, established a separate revolutionary group in the region of Chittagong. The group aimed at gaining independence from the British administration in India through aggressive and violent revolutionary means. This idea was already intensely entrenched in the mind of the youths at the time. Although the initial political assassination of a British official, Chairman of Plague Commission- W.C.Rand, occurred in Poona (now Pune) in 1897, the idea of armed struggle for national freedom developed and thrived in Bengal. Such movements of cultural awakening were initially led by various historical personalities like Raja Ram Mohan Roy during the mid-19th century. Moreover the famous novel titled Ananda Math, authored by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, was considered as a Bible for the Indian revolutionaries.
The natives of the country were prohibited from possessing weapons and fire-arms through the Arms Act of 1878, although the British Indian army, officials and other Europeans in the country retained the most sophisticated and technically advanced weapons that existed at the time. This Act motivated the revolutionaries further for military and physical prowess in order to challenge and confront the British Empire in India. The members of Surya Sen`s Indian Republican Army were also motivated by the sacrifices of Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose, who bombed a carriage in Muzaffarpur with the objective to assassinate Douglas Kingsford, the former Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta. They were also encouraged by the sacrifices of Kanailal Dutt and Satyen Bose. But the Indian Republican Army never aimed for political murders of British officials. Even during extensive arrests and detentions under a range of oppressive laws, Surya Sens`s group never lacked members as new recruits continuously joined the armed revolt movement.
The initial stage of the revolutionary freedom struggle culminated with the conclusion of the Great War in the year 1918. Most of the leaders in the Presidency of the Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar party were arrested, hanged or sentenced to transportation for life to Port Blair. During this time the revolutionary activities halted, but various groups established by young natives throughout Bengal remained dedicated towards armed revolution as they were confirmed that it was the only way of attaining independence from the British rule. Master-Da Surya Sen, along with his associates started from the base and developed their revolutionary ideals. The group aimed to affiliate with the Jugantar party or the Anushilan Samiti. Consequently, Surya Sen and most of his friends became a member of the Jugantar party, as it was not much centralized and individual groups had significant independence in its flexible structure.
All detenus under the Defence of India Act were released, along with the leaders of the national revolutionary movements, after the Royal Proclamation in 1919. The members of the Jugantar Party in Bengal joined the Indian National Congress district committees and operated as volunteers. In this period, Surjya Sen, Ambika Chakrabarti, Ananta Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and their other associates came under the leadership of J.M. Sengupta, who was an eminent lawyer and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. As the Chittagong revolutionary group became a part of the Non Cooperation Movement of Gandhi, they extremely disappointed after Mahatma Gandhi abolished the movement on 11 February 1922, due to the violence in Chauri Chaura. After this, Surya Sen adopted the decision to recommence violent methods during the Chittagong Congress of April 1922. The Indian Republican Army was in the second phase of the movement and aimed to gather finance by robbing the British administration, purchasing arms and ammunitions, manufacturing bombs, developing associations with other groups in Bengal to conduct synchronized uprisings.
In the year 1923, some of the prime members of the group like Ananta Singh, Ganesh Ghosh and Premananda Datta established a physical training club in Chittagong with a pure revolutionary objective. During the end of the same year, Ananta Singh and other members robbed a Railway clerk of a huge sum and the amount was utilised by Ambika Chakrabarti to buy weapons.
Later while escaping from an arms depot and hideout, Surya Sen and Ambika Chakrabarti were arrested by the British Police. In the next few months, Ananta Singh was also detained in Howrah. But the jury in the Court acquitted all the 3 accused members. Nogendra Sen, a former soldier, provided fundamental military training to the members of the Chittagong revolutionary group who conducted the Chittagong armoury raid case. Several members were arrested under the ordinance, but Master-Da Surya Sen managed avoid the British police for almost 2 years. He also supported in the formation of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). Surya Sen was finally arrested in October 1926.
After a period of 2 years, Sen and other prominent members of the Indian Republican Army were released and gathered in the town of Chittagong. They decided to operate independently and distinctly to successfully carry out a remarkable uprising. It was further decided that the group will not be involved in any robberies, arms smuggling and they would not depend on the renowned leaders in Calcutta either. The group resolved to produce their own funds and construct an army that would share their ideals of national independence through armed revolution. Master-Da Surya Sen was determined to conduct small revolutionary activities that will be carried out successfully, instead of wasting more time on attaining an all India revolt.
The leaders of the Chittagong revolutionary group, Indian Republican Army, recruited new members and trained them in order to plan every detail and take proper preparations for Chittagong Armoury Raid.
