Ram Prasad Bismil

Ram Prasad Bismil was a prominent Indian revolutionary and an Indian freedom fighter. He took active participation in the Mainpuri Conspiracy in the year 1918, as well as the Kakori Train Robbery Conspiracy in 1918, against the rule of the British Empire in India. Bismil was also a patriotic poet and composed poetry in Urdu and Hindi under the pseudonyms Bismil, Agyat and Ram. Ram Prasad Bismil was also a member of the Arya Samaj and was highly inspired by the book Satyarth Prakash by Swami Dayanand Saraswati. He was also associated with Lala Har Dayal through Swami Somdev, who was a respected preacher of the Arya Samaj. He was amongst the founding members of Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), which was later known as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), a revolutionary organisation. He was lauded by the renowned revolutionary Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a great poet and writer of Hindi and Urdu. He had also translated the books Catherine from English and Bolshevikon Ki Kartoot from Bengali.

Early Life of Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil was born on 11 June 1897 at Shahjahanpur, in Uttar Pradesh in a Hindu family, to the parents Murlidhar and Moolmati. During his initial years he completed his studies from the English medium Mission School of the city and the Government School in Shahjahanpur. During this period, he started composing poems under the pseudonym Bismil.

Revolutionary Activities of Ram Prasad Bismil
Ram Prasad Bismil founded a revolutionary group known as Matrivedi, which menas Altar of Motherland. He eventually contacted a school teacher named Pt. Genda Lal Dixit at Auraiya. This meeting was organized by Som Dev, as he knew that Ram Prasad Bismil would be more efficient and attain success if he gained the support of experienced and eminent personalities. Pt. Genda Lal Dixit was associated with some influential dacoits in the territory. Thus, he wanted to utilise the expertise and power of the dacoits in the armed revolution against the rule of the British Empire in India and significantly contribute to the Indian freedom struggle.

Ram Prasad Bismil published a pamphlet named Deshvasiyon Ke Nam Sandesh, meaning "A Message to Countrymen". He distributed the pamphlets along with his poetic composition of Mainpuri Ki Pratigya (Vow of Mainpuri). Under the organisation of Matrivedi, Bismil decided to gather funds for the various operations of the party through raiding and looting. On 3 separate occasions in the year 1918, the party undertook looting in order to conduct revolutionary activities for national independence. As a result of these, a criminal case was filed against the members of the revolutionary association and the incident was known as the Mainpuri Conspiracy, which was conducted against the British Emperor. B.S. Chris, the Judiciary Magistrate of Mainpuri, announced the judgment against all accused on 1st November 1919 and announced Pt. Genda Lal Dixit and Bismil as absconders.

During the years 1919 and 1920, Ram Prasad Bismil remained inconspicuous and shifted around several villages in Uttar Pradesh. He also wrote a number of books. Later he became a member of the revolutionary group party would be the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). Bismil was declared as the District Organiser of Shahjahanpur, as well as the Chief of Arms Division. But after the senior coordinators of the Hindustan Republican Association were detained by the British police, Ram Prasad Bismil took charge of the organisation. He once again decided to gather funds by stealing from the rich individuals in the society. Under his leadership, the group conducted loots in the district of Pilibhit and also at Dwarkapur in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. Eventually, he devised a meticulous plan for raiding the treasury of the British government that was being carried through a train at Kakori, near Lucknow. This historical incident occurred on 9th August 1925 and became renowned as the Kakori conspiracy or Kakori Train Robbery.

Around forty revolutionaries were arrested by the British Indian Police and criminal conspiracy cases were filed against more than 28 members of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). Rajendra Nath Lahiri, Roshan Singh, Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil were sentenced to death for their participation in the incident.