Ram Prasad Bismil | |
|---|---|
 Bismil in 1924 | |
| Born | (1897-06-11)11 June 1897 |
| Died | 19 December 1927(1927-12-19) (aged 30) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Other names |
|
| Occupations | |
| Organization | Hindustan Republican Association |
| Criminal charges | Robbery |
| Criminal status | Executed |
Ram Prasad Bismil (pronunciationⓘ; 11 June 1897 – 19 December 1927) was an Indian poet, writer, and revolutionary who fought againstBritish Raj, participating in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918, and theKakori Conspiracy of 1925. He composed inUrdu andHindi underpen namesRam,Agyat अज्ञात (anonymous) andBismil (wounded), becoming widely known under the latter. "Bismil" was not his real surname; it was his pen name.Pandit was an honorific title conferred to him due to his specialised knowledge on several subjects. He was also a translator.
Bismil was associated withArya Samaj and was one of the founding members of the revolutionary organizationHindustan Republican Association.
He was hanged on 19 December 1927 for his revolutionary activities.
Ram Prasad Bismil was born on 11 June 1897 to Muralidhar and Moolmati Devi inShahjahanpur district in the erstwhileNorth-Western Provinces. He was born in aTomarRajput family.[1][2][3] He learnedHindi from his father at home and was sent to learnUrdu from amoulvi. He was admitted to an English-language school, despite his father's disapproval, and also joined theArya Samaj inShahjahanpur. Bismil showed a talent for writing patriotic poetry.[4] He was inspired by a book written by the great seerSwami Dayananda Saraswati, entitled theSatyarth Prakash.[5]
As an 18-year-old student, Bismil read of the death sentence passed onBhai Parmanand, a scholar and companion ofHar Dayal. At that time he was regularly attending the Arya Samaj Temple at Shahjahanpur daily, where Swami Somdev, a friend of Paramanand, was staying.[6] Angered by the sentence, Bismil composed a poem in Hindi titledMera Janm (en: My Birth), which he showed to Somdev. This poem demonstrated a commitment to remove the British control over India.[7]
Bismil left school in the following year and travelled toLucknow with few friends. TheNaram Dal ("moderate faction" of the Indian National Congress) was not prepared to allow theGaram Dal to stage a grand welcome of Tilak in the city. They organised a group of youths and decided to publish a book in Hindi on the history of American independence,America Ki Swatantrata Ka Itihas, with the consent of Somdev. This book was published under the authorship of the fictitious Babu Harivans Sahai and its publisher's name was given as Somdev Siddhgopal Shukla. As soon as the book was published, the government of Uttar Pradesh proscribed its circulation within the state.[8]
Bismil formed a revolutionary organisation calledMatrivedi (Altar of Motherland) and contactedGenda Lal Dixit, school teacher atAuraiya. Somdev arranged this, knowing that Bismil could be more effective in his mission if he had experienced people to support him. Dixit had contacts with some powerful dacoits of the state. Dixit wanted to utilise their power in the armed struggle against the British rulers. Like Bismil, Dixit had also formed an armed organisation of youths calledShivaji Samiti (named afterShivaji Maharaj). The pair organised youths from theEtawah,Mainpuri,Agra andShahjahanpur districts ofUnited Province (now Uttar Pradesh) to strengthen their organisations.[9]
On 28 January 1918, Bismil published a pamphlet titledDeshvasiyon Ke Nam Sandesh (A Message to Countrymen), which he distributed along with his poemMainpuri Ki Pratigya (Vow of Mainpuri). To collect funds for the party looting was undertaken on three occasions in 1918. Police searched for them in and around Mainpuri while they were selling books proscribed by the U.P. Government in the Delhi Congress of 1918. When police found them, Bismil absconded with the books unsold. When he was planning another looting between Delhi and Agra, a police team arrived and firing started from both the sides. Bismil jumped into theYamuna and swam underwater. The police and his companions thought that he had died in the encounter. Dixit was arrested along with his other companions and was kept inAgra fort. From here, he fled to Delhi and lived in hiding. A criminal case was filed against them. The incident is known as the "Mainpuri Conspiracy". On 1 November 1919 the Judiciary Magistrate of Mainpuri B. S. Chris announced the judgement against all accused and declared Dixit and Bismil as absconders.[10]
From 1919 to 1920 Bismil remained inconspicuous, moving around various villages in Uttar Pradesh and producing several books. Among these was a collection of poems written by him and others, entitledMan Ki Lahar, while he also translated two works fromBengali (Bolshevikon Ki Kartoot andYogik Sadhan) and fabricatedCatherine or Swadhinta Ki Devi from an English text. He got all these books published through his own resources underSushilmala – a series of publications except oneYogik Sadhan which was given to a publisher who absconded and could not be traced. These books have since been found. Another of Bismil's books,Kranti Geetanjali, was published in 1929 after his death and was proscribed byBritish Raj in 1931.[11]
In February 1920, when all the prisoners in the Manipuri conspiracy case were freed, Bismil returned home to Shahjahanpur, where he agreed with the official authorities that he would not participate in revolutionary activities. This statement of Ram Prasad was also recorded in vernacular before the court.[12]
In 1921, Bismil was among the many people from Shahjahanpur who attended theAhmedabad Congress. He had a seat on the dias, along with the senior congressmanPrem Krishna Khanna, and the revolutionaryAshfaqulla Khan. Bismil played an active role in the Congress withMaulana Hasrat Mohani and got the most debated proposal ofPoorna Swaraj passed in the General Body meeting of Congress.Mohandas K. Gandhi, who was not in the favour of this proposal became quite helpless before the overwhelming demand of youths. He returned to Shahjahanpur and mobilised the youths of United Province for non-co-operation with the Government. The people of U.P. were so much influenced by the furious speeches and verses of Bismil that they became hostile against British Raj. As per statement of Banarsi Lal (approver)[13] made in the court – "Ram Prasad used to say that independence would not be achieved by means of non-violence."[14][failed verification]
In February 1922 some agitating farmers were killed inChauri Chaura by the police. The police station of Chauri Chaura was attacked by the people and 22 policemen were burnt alive. Gandhi declared an immediate stop to the non-co-operation movement without consulting any executive committee member of the Congress. Bismil and his group of youths strongly opposed Gandhi in theGaya session of Indian National Congress (1922). When Gandhi refused to rescind his decision, its then-presidentChittranjan Das resigned. In January 1923, the rich group of party formed a newSwaraj Party under the joint leadership ofMoti Lal Nehru and Chittranjan Das, and the youth group formed a revolutionary party under the leadership of Bismil.[15][16]
With the consent ofLala Har Dayal, Bismil went to Allahabad where he drafted the constitution of the party in 1923 with the help ofSachindra Nath Sanyal and another revolutionary ofBengal, Dr.Jadugopal Mukherjee. The basic name and aims of the organisation were typed on aYellow Paper[17] and later on a subsequent Constitutional Committee Meeting was conducted on 3 October 1924 atCawnpore in U.P. under the Chairmanship of Sachindra Nath Sanyal.[18]
This meeting decided the name of the party would be theHindustan Republican Association (HRA). After a long discussion from others Bismil was declared there the District Organiser of Shahjahanpur and Chief of Arms Division. An additional responsibility of Provincial Organiser of United Province (Agra and Oudh) was also entrusted to him. Sachindra Nath Sanyal, was unanimously nominated as National Organiser and another senior memberJogesh Chandra Chatterjee, was given the responsibility of Coordinator,Anushilan Samiti. After attending the meeting in Kanpur, both Sanyal and Chatterjee left the U.P. and proceeded to Bengal for further extension of the organisation.[19]
A pamphlet entitled asThe Revolutionary was distributed throughout the United Province in India in the beginning of January 1925. Copies of this leaflet, referred to in the evidence as the "White Leaflet", were also found with some other alleged conspirators of Kakori Conspiracy as per judgement of the Chief Court of Oudh. A typed copy of this manifesto was found withManmath Nath Gupta.[17] It was nothing but theManifesto of H.R.A. in the form of a four paged printed pamphlet on white paper which was circulated secretly by post and by hands in most of the districts of United Province and other parts of India.
This pamphlet bore no name of the printing press. The heading of the pamphlet was: "The Revolutionary" (An Organ of the Revolutionary Party of India). It was given first number and first issue of the publication. The date of its publication was given as 1 January 1925.[20]
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 Kakori train action. |
Bismil executed a meticulous plan for looting the government treasury carried in a train atKakori nearLucknow. This event happened on 9 August 1925 and is known as theKakori train robbery. Ten revolutionaries stopped the Saharanpur–Lucknow passenger train at Kakori – a station just beforeLucknow Junction. German-madeMauser C96 semi-automatic pistols were used in this action. Ashfaqulla Khan, the lieutenant of the HRA Chief Ram Prasad Bismil gave away his Mauser toManmath Nath Gupta and engaged himself to break open the cash chest. Eagerly watching a new weapon in his hand, Manmath Nath Gupta fired the pistol and accidentally shot and killed passenger Ahmed Ali, who had gotten down from the train to see his wife in the ladies compartment.
More than 40 revolutionaries were arrested whereas only 10 persons had taken part in the decoity. Persons completely unrelated to the incident were also captured. However some of them were let off. The government appointedJagat Narain Mulla as public prosecutor at an incredible fee. Dr. Harkaran Nath Mishra (Barrister M.L.A.) and Dr. Mohan Lal Saxena (M.L.C.) were appointed as defence counsel. A defence committee was also formed to defend the accused.[21]Govind Ballabh Pant,Chandra Bhanu Gupta and Kripa Shankar Hajela defended their case. The men were found guilty and subsequent appeals failed. On 16 September 1927, a final appeal for clemency was forwarded to theprivy council in London but that also failed.[22]
Following 18 months of legal process, Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh andRajendra Nath Lahiri were sentenced to death. Bismil was hanged on 19 December 1927 atGorakhpur Jail, Ashfaqulla Khan at theFaizabad Jail and Thakur Roshan Singh at Naini Allahabad Jail. Lahiri had been hanged two days earlier atGonda Jail.
Bismil's body was taken to theRapti river for a Hindu cremation, and the site became known asRajghat.[23]
Bismil published a pamphlet titledDeshvasiyon ke nam sandesh (en: A message to my countrymen). While living underground, he translated some of Bengali books viz.Bolshevikon Ki Kartoot (en: The Bolshevik's programme) andYogik Sadhan (of Arvind Ghosh). Beside these a collection of poemsMan Ki Lahar (en: A sally of mind) andSwadeshi Rang was also written by him. AnotherSwadhinta ki devi: Catherine was fabricated from an English book[24] into Hindi. All of these were published by him inSushil Mala series. Bismil wrote his autobiography while he was kept ascondemned prisoner in Gorakhpur jail.[25][26]
The autobiography of Ram Prasad Bismil was published under the cover title ofKakori ke shaheed byGanesh Shankar Vidyarthi in 1928 from Pratap Press,Cawnpore. A rough translation of this book was prepared by the Criminal Investigation Department of United Province in British India. Translated book was circulated as confidential document for official and police use throughout the country.[27]
He immortalised the poemSarfaroshi Ki Tamanna,Man Ki Lahar andSwadeshi Rang as a war cry during theBritish Raj period in India.[28] It was first published in journal "Sabah", published from Delhi.[29]
Shaheed Smarak Samiti ofShahjahanpur established a memorial at Khirni Bagh mohalla of Shahjahanpur city where Bismil was born in 1897 and named it "Amar Shaheed Ram Prasad Bismil Smarak". A statue made of white marble was inaugurated by the thenGovernor of Uttar PradeshMotilal Vora on 18 December 1994 on the eve of the martyr's 69th death anniversary.[30]
The Northern railway zone ofIndian Railways built thePt Ram Prasad Bismil railway station, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Shahajahanpur.[31]
There is a memorial to theKakori conspiracists at Kakori itself. It was inaugurated by theprime minister of India,Indira Gandhi, on 19 December 1983.[32]
TheGovernment of India issued a multicoloured commemorativepostal stamp on 19 December 1997 in Bismil's birth centenary year.[33]
The government of Uttar Pradesh had named a park after him: Amar Shaheed Pt. Ram Prasad Bismil Udyan is near Rampur Jagir village, where Bismil lived underground after the Mainpuri conspiracy case in 1919.[34]
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