Revolutionaries in the Indian Freedom Movement

Introduction

The Indian freedom fights tell the saga of sacrifice and bravery. Many young men and women had sacrificed their lives to achieve the country’s freedom from the British Raj. Some famous revolutionaries who have sacrificed their lives for this cause were Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Subash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Rani Lakshmi Bai and many more. All the historic fights fought by these fighters happened from 1857-1947

What was the Indian Freedom Movement?

Figure 1: Revolutionary Movements of India

Indian Freedom Movement was a series of various revolutionary movements by their revolutionary fighters. The first movement started in 1857 and was a violence-free movement. Young women and men believed in their armed struggle against British Raj. The first freedom movement was a failure and the British authorities brutally killed them. However, this was the first time many young Indian women and men got inspired by their actions.

Indian Freedom Movement: Chapekar Brothers

The first Indian Freedom Movement by the Chapekar Brothers was the revolt against the assassination act by British authorities in 1857. The Chapekar Brothers’ freedom movement happened in 1897 and the three brothers Damodar, Balkrishna and Vasudeo Chapekar were killed by WC Rand, ICS. Chapekar Brothers were against the measures taken by the British government during the plague epidemic in Pune. Rand too died from fatal wounds after a few days.

Indian Freedom Movement: Alipore Bomb Conspiracy

Alipur bomb conspiracy, also known as the Muraripukur conspiracy or Manicktolla conspiracy, had taken place in the year 1908 and was conducted by Prafulla Chaki and Khudiram Bose. Prafulla and Khudiram wanted to kill Douglas Kingsford, a British chief magistrate by planting a bomb in his carriage. However, they put the bomb in the wrong carriage and two English ladies got killed. Prafulla committed suicide and Khudiram got a death sentence after getting caught at the age of 18 only. The other revolutionaries of this movement were Aurobindo Ghosh, Barin Ghosh, Kanailal Dutta and Satyendranath Bose. They all were a part of the Anushilan Samiti.

Curzon Wyllie's Assassination

This freedom movement took place in the UK in 1909 by the Indian students living in London. The charitable members of this organisation were Shyamji Krishna Varma and Bhikaiji Carma. Madan Lal Dhingra was the main culprit behind the Curzon Wyllie Assassination. Indian House was the most famous revolutionary activity hub outside India.

Indian Freedom Movement: Howrah Gang

The Howrah Gang movement or also known as the Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy happened in 1910 by the 47 revolutionaries of Anushilan Samiti. They were trying to kill Inspector Shamsul Alam when he started investigating the Samiti. However, he could not prove anything in the end and only Jatindranath Mukherjee and Narendranath Bhattacharjee got one-year jail imprisonment.

Indian Freedom Movement: Delhi-Lahore and Kakori Conspiracy

The Delhi Lahore conspiracy took place in 1912 and was led by Rashbehari Bose. The revolutionaries tried to kill Lord Hardinge and the Viceroy of India after that. This whole incident made the British transfer the capital of the British Raj from Calcutta to Delhi. Lord Hardinge survived the conspiracy and Rashbehari got caught.

Kakori Conspiracy was a train robbery that was spearheaded by the Hindustan Republican Association in the year 1925. The revolutionaries of this conspiracy were Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Ashfaqulla Khan and Chandrashekhar Azad.

Chittagong Armoury Raid

This movement took place in 1930 and was headed by Masterda Surya Sen to capture the Chittagong police armoury. The other revolutionaries associated with this movement were Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutta, Subodh Roy and others. Surya Sen was first inhumanly tortured and then hanged after getting caught.

Indian Freedom Movement: Central Assembly Bomb

Central Assembly bombing happened in the year 1929 by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta at the Assembly House of Delhi. They got caught and jailed since they did not try to run. The purpose of this bombing was not to kill but rather than spreading their revolutionary philosophy.

Lahore Conspiracy of 1931

Bhagat Singh again got arrested in 1931 for the Lahore conspiracy. Bhagat Singh along with Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev and Rajguru tried to James Scott who killed Lala Lajpat Rai. However, instead of killing Scott, they accidentally killed JP Saunders. These revolutionaries too were a part of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. All there except Azad got caught and they did a hunger strike during their time in jail and were executed in March 1931 by hanging. Azad was killed during a gun battle at Allahabad in February 1931.

Conclusion

Freedom fighters from all around India united together and fought to free India from British authorities. However, most of the freedom fights took place in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab as these states were the most politically active states. Some fights were violent but not all. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi also known as the Father of our nation was famous for his non-violence right. Gandhi Ji was able to unite the Indian population through his non-violence act.

FAQs

Q1. Who formed Jugantar Party?

The Jugantar Party was formed by Aurobindo Ghosh, Barin Ghosh, Subodh Chandra Mullick and Bhupendranath Datta. They formed it in 1906 with a few members from the Anushilan Samiti.

Q2. Who is known as the Father of Revolutionary Thoughts in India?

The Father of Revolutionary Thoughts was Bipin Chandra Pal as he was a significant member of the Indian National Congress. The famous Lal, Bal, Pal trio was named after Lala Lalpath Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.

Q3. Who was the first and last revolutionary of the Indian Freedom fight?

Vasudev Balwant Phadke was the first fighter in the Indian freedom fight. He was also known as the Father of Indian Armed Rebellion.