| Hindustan Socialist Republican Association | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Hindustan Republican Association Hindustan Republican Army |
| Founders | Yogendra Shukla Ram Prasad Bismil Ashfaqulla Khan Sachindra Nath Bakshi Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee |
| Leader | Chandra Shekhar Azad Sachindra Nath Sanyal Bhagat Singh |
| Dates of operation | October 1924 (1924-10)–1936 (1936) |
| Country |  India |
| Motives | National liberation |
| Ideology | Indian independence Marxism[1] Revolutionary socialism[2] Secularism[3] Anti-imperialism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Part of | Revolutionary movement for Indian independence |
| Allies | Anushilan Samiti |
| Opponents |  British Empire |
Succeeded by Naujawan Bharat Sabha | |
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), previously known as theHindustan Republican Army andHindustan Republican Association (HRA), was aleft-wingIndian revolutionary organization, founded bySachindranath Sanyal. After changes inBhagat Singh's ideology and the influence of theRussian Revolution, they held meetings inFeroz Shah Kotla Maidan and added the wordsocialist to their name.Ram Prasad Bismil,Ashfaqulla Khan,Sachindra Nath Bakshi,Sachindranath Sanyal andJogesh Chandra Chatterjee were the leaders of the group at the time. HSRA's manifesto titledThe Revolutionary and written constitution were produced as evidence in theKakori conspiracy case of 1925.
Thenon-cooperation movement of 1919 had led to a large-scale mobilization of the Indian population against theBritish Raj. Although intended as anon-violent resistance movement, due to heightened tensions, and a brutal response by the British police forces, it had soon become violent. After theChauri Chaura incident, where several police officers were locked in a police station, which was subsequently set on fire by demonstrators,Mahatma Gandhi suspended the movement to prevent the escalation of violence. This disillusioned a section ofnationalists who felt the suspension was premature and unwarranted.Ram Prasad Bismil and his group of youth strongly opposed Gandhi in the 37th session of the Indian National Congress, held in Gaya, Bihar.[4] Thepolitical vacuum created by the suspension led to the formation ofrevolutionary movements by the more radical amongst those who sought to overthrowBritish Raj.[5]
In February 1922, some agitatingfarmers were killed inChauri Chaura by thepolice. Consequently, thepolice station of Chauri Chaura was attacked by the people and 22 policemen were burnt alive.
Without ascertaining the facts behind this incident,Mahatma Gandhi, declared an immediate stop to theNon-cooperation movement (he himself had given a call for it) without consulting any executive committee member of the Congress.Ram Prasad Bismil and his group of youth strongly opposed Gandhi in the Gaya Congress of 1922. When Gandhi refused to rescind his decision, theIndian National Congress was divided into two groups – one liberal and the other for rebellion. In January 1923, the liberal group formed a newSwaraj Party under the joint leadership ofMoti Lal Nehru andChittaranjan Das, and the youth group formed a revolutionary party under the leadership of Bismil.
With the consent ofLala Har Dayal, Bismil went toAllahabad where he drafted the constitution of the party in 1923 with the help ofSachindra Nath Sanyal and another revolutionary ofBengal,Dr. Jadugopal Mukherjee.[6][full citation needed] The basic name and aims of the organisation were typed on aYellow Paper and later on a subsequent Constitutional Committee Meeting was conducted on 3 October 1924 atCawnpore in theUnited Provinces under Sanyal's chairmanship.
This meeting decided the name of the party would be theHindustan Republican Association (HRA). Bismil was declared the District Organiser forShahjahanpur and chief of arms division, as well as provincial organiser ofUnited Provinces.Sachindra Nath Sanyal became National Organiser and another senior member,Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, was Coordinator of theAnushilan Samiti. After attending the meeting in Cawnpore, both Sanyal and Chatterjee left the United Province and proceeded toBengal for further extension of the organisation.[citation needed]
The HRA established branches inAgra, Allahabad,Benares, Cawnpore,Lucknow,Saharanpur and Shahjahanpur. They also manufactured bombs inCalcutta – atDakshineswar and Shovabazar and atDeoghar inJharkhand (thenBihar province). The Calcutta workshops were discovered by thepolice in 1925 and those in Deoghar were found in 1927.[5]
Sanyal wrote a manifesto for the HRA entitledRevolutionary. This was distributed around large cities ofNorth India on 1 January 1925.[7] It proposed the overthrow of British colonial rule and its replacement with what it termed aFederal Republic of the United States of India. In addition, it soughtuniversal suffrage and the socialist-oriented aim of the abolition of "all systems which make any kind of exploitation of man by man possible"[5]
The policies of Gandhi were criticised and youths were called to join the organisation. The police were astonished to see the language used and sought its leader in Bengal. Sanyal had gone to despatch this pamphlet in bulk and was arrested inBankura,West Bengal. Before Sanyal's arrest,Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee had also been caught by police atHowrah railway station ofCalcutta,Bengal Presidency.
There were many early attempts at disruption and obtaining funds, such as the robbery of the houses of a village officials at Dwarikapur and Bichpuri in 1922–23, but theKakori train robbery was the most prominent of the early HRA efforts. TheKakori event occurred on 9 August 1925, when HRA members looted government money from a train around 10 miles (16 km) fromLucknow and accidentally killed apassenger in the process. Significant members of the HRA were arrested and tried for their involvement in that incident and others which had preceded it. The outcome was that four leaders –Ashfaqullah Khan,Ram Prasad Bismil,Roshan Singh andRajendra Lahiri – were hanged in December 1927 and a further 16 imprisoned for lengthy terms. The result of the trial, in which the HRA participants sang patriotic songs and displayed other forms of defiance, seriously damaged the leadership of the HRA and dealt a major blow to its activities. Many associated with the HRA who escaped trial found themselves placed under surveillance or detained for various reasons.Chandra Shekhar Azad was the only one of the principal leaders who managed to escape arrest whereas Banwari Lal became an approver.[5]
In 1928, the British government set up theCommission, headed bySir John Simon, to report on the political situation in India. Some Indian activist groups protested the commission, because it did not include a single Indian in its membership, although by no means all did so. The effect was to unite various activist factions in opposition.[8]
Responding to the rise in anti-colonial sentiment in 1928,[8] the HRA became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, with the change of name probably being largely due to the influence of Bhagat Singh.[9] Around the time of the Kakori robbery and the subsequent trial, various revolutionary groups had emerged in places such as Bengal, Bihar, and Punjab. These groups and the HRA met atFeroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on 8–9 September 1928, and from this emerged the HSRA.[a] The socialist leanings voiced in the earlier HRA manifesto had gradually moved more towardsMarxism and the HSRA spoke of a revolution involving a struggle by the masses to establish "thedictatorship of the proletariat" and the banishment of "parasites from the seat of political power". It saw itself as being at the forefront of this revolution, spreading the word and acting as the armed section of the masses. Its ideals were apparent in other movements elsewhere at that time, including incidents of communist-inspired industrial action by workers and the ruralkisan movement.[5] At the request of Bhagat Singh, the newly named HSRA resolved to bomb members of the Simon Commission and also to cease robbing rich people, the latter being a realisation that the Kakori conspirators had suffered most from the evidence given by such people.[8] At that time the HRA was being transformed into the HSRA and it was decided that the new organization would work in cooperation with theCommunist International.
The HSRA's manifesto titledPhilosophy of the Bomb was written byBhagwati Charan Vohra.[10]
When theSimon Commission visitedLahore on 30 October 1928,Lala Lajpat Rai led apeaceful protest against the commission. Thepolice responded withviolence, with theSuperintendent of Police,James A. Scott, ordering his men tolathi charge the protesters. Rai was beaten but addressed a meeting later. He died on 17 November 1928, perhaps in part because of his injuries although this is uncertain. Historian Neeti Nair says "His death was widely attributed to the mental if not physical shock he had suffered."[8] When the matter of Lala Lajpat Rai's death was raised in theBritish Parliament, the government denied any causal role.[11]Bhagat Singh vowed to take revenge,[11] and joined other revolutionaries,Shivaram Rajguru, Jai Gopal,Sukhdev Thapar andChandra Shekhar Azad, in a plot to kill Scott.[5] However, in a case of mistaken identity, Singh was signalled to shoot on the appearance ofJohn P. Saunders, anAssistant superintendent. He was shot by Rajguru and Singh while leaving the District Police Headquarters inLahore on 17 December 1928.[12] Chanan Singh, aHead Constable who was chasing them, was killed by Azad's covering fire.[13]
This case of mistaken identity did not stop Singh and his fellow-members of the HSRA from claiming that retribution had been exacted.[5] The next day the HSRA acknowledged theassassination by putting upposters inLahore that read
J. P. Saunders is dead; Lala Lajpat Rai is avenged. ... In this man has died an agent of the British authority in India. ... Sorry for the bloodshed of the human being, but the sacrifice of individuals at the altar of revolution ... is inevitable.[14]
The perpetrators of the Saunders murder having eluded capture and gone into hiding, the next major action by the HSRA was the bombing of theCentral Legislative Assembly inDelhi on 8 April 1929. This was a provocativepropaganda exercise, intended to highlight the aims of the HSRA and timed as aprotest against the introduction of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill, both of which had been drafted in an attempt to counter the effects ofcommunist activities andtrade unionism[5][15]
Singh andBatukeshwar Dutt threw bombs at the empty benches, being careful to ensure that there were no casualties in order to highlight the propagandist nature of their action. They made no attempt to escape and courted arrest while shoutingInquilab Zindabad (Long Live theRevolution),Vande Mataram (Hail to motherland) andSamrajyavad Murdabad' (Down withImperialism). Their rationale for the bombing was explained in a leaflet titled "To Make the Deaf Hear" (paraphrasing the words ofÉdouard Vaillant). This leaflet was also thrown in the assembly and was reproduced the next day in theHindustan Times. On 15 April 1929,police raided the HSRA'sbomb factory inLahore and arrestedKishori Lal, Sukhdev and Jai Gopal. The Assembly Bomb case and the Saunders murder case trial followed and Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on 23 March 1931 for their actions.[5][15]
In December 1929, the HSRA bombed the specialtrain ofLord Irwin. TheViceroy escaped unhurt. Later, theLahore faction of HSRA broke away and formed theAtishi Chakar (The Ring of Fire) party under the leadership ofHans Raj Vohra. They carried out a series of bombings acrossPunjab in June 1929. On 21 January 1929,Bhagat Singh and his fellowcomrades were accused in theLahoreConspiracy Case, appeared in thecourt wearing red scarves. As soon as themagistrate took his chair, they raised slogans "Long LiveSocialistRevolution", "Long LiveCommunist International", "Long Live People" "Lenin's Name Will Never Die", and "Down withImperialism".[16][17] On 1 September 1929, theRawalpindi faction made a failed attempt to burgle the Office of the Controller of Military Accounts. During this period the leading members of the HSRA wereChandra Shekhar Azad, Yashpal,Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Kailash Pati. In July 1929, the HSRA robbed the Gadodia stores inNew Delhi and carried away 14,000 rupees. This money was later used to fund a bomb factory. In December 1929, an attempt was made to assassinate theGovernor of Punjab, which wounded him in his arm.[18]
By 1930, most of the HSRA's main leaders were either dead or inprison. Kailash Pati was arrested in October 1929 and turned an approver (witness for the prosecution). On 27 February 1931,Chandra Shekhar Azadshot himself in the head during a gunfight with theAllahabad Police in a famous incident ofAlfred Park.Bhagat Singh,Sukhdev Thapar, andShivaram Rajguru werehanged on 23 March 1931. After Azad's death, there was no centralleader to unite therevolutionaries andregional differences increased. The organisation split into various regional groups and they carried out bombings and attacks onBritish officials inIndia without any central coordination. In December 1930, another attempt was made to revive the HSRA at a meeting inMeerut. However, this attempt failed with the arrests of Yashpal and Daryao Singh in 1931.[19] This effectively ended the HSRA as a united organisation though the various regional factions kept up their armed struggle until 1935.
The association's methods were diametrically opposite to that ofGandhi'snonviolent resistance movement. Therevolutionaries and their methods were severely criticized byGandhi. Responding to the attack onLord Irwin'strain,Gandhi wrote a harsh critique of the HSRA titled "The Cult of the Bomb" (Young India, 2 January 1929). In it, he declared that bomb-throwing was nothing but "froth coming to the surface in an agitated liquid". He condemned the HSRA and its actions as "cowards" and "dastardly". According toGandhi, the HSRA's violent struggle had its hazards. Theviolence led to more reprisals and suffering. Also, it would turn inward as "it was an easy natural step" from "violence done to the foreign ruler" to "violence to our own people".[20] The HSRA responded to thiscriticism with its own manifesto "The Philosophy of the Bomb",[10] in which they defended their violent methods as being complementary to Gandhi's non-violent methods.[21]
| Name | Involved in | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Chandra Shekhar Azad | Kakori conspiracy, John P. Saundersassassination (1927) | Absconded in theKakori Conspiracy Case, while living underground he re-organized the HSRA and shot himself dead in a shoot-out withpolice atAllahabad on 27 February 1931.[22] |
| Sachindra Nath Bakshi | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced tolife imprisonment inKakori case; released in 1936 and became active inCongress but left the party after independence. He was elected as theMLA on Jan Sangh Party ticket[23] |
| Suresh Chandra Bhattacharya | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to ten years' rigorousimprisonment inKakori case[22] |
| Ram Prasad Bismil | Mainpuri conspiracy (1917) and Kakori conspiracy[24] | Absconded in Mainpuri case; Sentenced todeath in Kakori case.[citation needed] Hanged in 1926 atGorakhpurCentral Jail |
| Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to life imprisonment in Kakori case; became aMember of Parliament after independence |
| Pranawesh Chatterjee | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case[22] |
| Vishnu Sharan Dublish | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori conspiracy which was converted later into a life sentence afterNaini Jail Case.[22] JoinedIndian National Congress, freedom movement activities in WesternUttar Pradesh, became amember of parliament. |
| Manmath Nath Gupta | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to 14 years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case; later became a journalist/writer; died in 1999 on the day ofDeepavali. |
| Govind Charan Kar | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to life in Kakori case. |
| Ashfaqulla Khan | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to death in Kakori case.[25] Hanged in 1926 atFaizabad Jail. |
| Prem Krishna Khanna | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case.[22] He became a Member of Parliament fromShahjahanpur[26] in 1961 and 1966. |
| Ram Krishna Khatri | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case.[22] |
| Rajendra Nath Lahiri | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced todeath in Kakori case.[citation needed] Hanged in 1926 atGonda Jail. |
| Banwari Lal | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to two years' even after being an approver in the Kakori case.[22] |
| Mukundi Lal | Mainpuri conspiracy (1917) and Kakori conspiracy[27] | Sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment inMainpuri and life in Kakori conspiracy case; died in October 1981.[28] |
| Ram Nath Pandey | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case.[22] |
| Bhupendra Nath Sanyal | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case[22] |
| Sachindra Nath Sanyal | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to life imprisonment in AndamanCellular Jail; died oftuberculosis atBhowali TB sanatorium in 1942. |
| Thakur Roshan Singh | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to death in Kakori case.[citation needed] Hanged in 1926 atAllahabad Jail. |
| Raj Kumar Sinha | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case.[22] |
| Ram Dulare Trivedi | Kakori conspiracy | Sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment in Kakori case.[22] |
| Ajoy Ghosh | Lahore Conspiracy Case trial | He was arrested and latter imprisoned after Lahore Conspiracy Case trial in 1928 but released due to lack of evidence. Later, he joinedCommunist Party of India and becomegeneral secretary of CPI in 1950. |
After the death ofBhagat Singh andChandra Shekhar Azad, another associateUdham Singh operated the HSRA fromLondon. HSRA was dissolved in 1940 when Udham was hanged.
A bomb factory and hideout located in Turi Bazaar,Firozpur, has been declared as a national monument by theGovernment of Punjab.[29]
Notes
References
Bibliography
Media related toHindustan Socialist Republican Association at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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