Khudiram Bose(3 December 1889 - 11 August 1908) was a Bengali Indian freedom fighter, one of the youngest revolutionaries early in the Indian independence movement.Bose was inspired by his teacher Satyendranath Bose and readings of the Bhagavad Gita, which helped him embrace revolutionary activities aimed at ending the British Raj. He was especially disillusioned with the British following the partition of Bengal conflagration in 1905. He joined Jugantar - the party of revolutionary activists.
At the nascent age of sixteen, Bose was defying police after planting bombs near police stations and targeting government officials. He was arrested three years later on charges of conducting a series of bomb attacks. The specific bombing for which he was sentenced to death resulted in the deaths of 3 persons: a Mrs. Kennedy, her daughter and a servant.Khudiram and Prafulla Chaki were sent to Muzaffarpur, Bihar to assassinate Kingsford, the Calcutta Presidency Magistrate, and later, magistrate of Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Khudiram and Prafulla watched the usual movements of Kingsford and prepared a plan to kill him. On the evening of April 30, 1908, the duo waited in front of the gate of the European Club for the carriage of Kingsford to come. When a vehicle came out of the gate, they threw bombs and blew up the carriage. However, the vehicle was not carrying Kingsford and instead two British ladies - Mrs and Miss Kennedy (the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy) were killed. The revolutionary duo fled. Prafulla committed suicide when cornered by police at the Samastipur Railway station. Khudiram was later arrested about 20 km from Samastipur at a distance of 12 km from Pusa Bazaar where Rajendra Agricultural University was first established. The railway station where Khudiram was arrested while having tea was earlier known as Pusa Road and recently has been renamed as Khudiram Pusa .He was the first youngest freedom fighter.
On this Muzaffarpur bombing and other charges of bombings carried out by him, a pretense of trial was carried out for two months. Although the leading Calcutta advocate Narendra Kumar Basu mounted a stout defense of Khudiram's actions in defense of his motherland (without charging any fees), Khudiram was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out, and he was hanged on August 11, 1908. But the one thing that surprised everyone was that as he was hanged he was still smiling. And to this the Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote a poem to honor him.
Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907, in Khatkar Kalan, Punjab, in British India. His grandfather Arjan Singh, father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh, were all active in the freedom struggle.While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose.
In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and joined the National College newly opened at Lahore. At this college, which was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others. He became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association formed by the revolutionaries of Uttar Pradesh and was initiated into their firebrand activities.
The revolutionaries were branded as terrorists by the British government. They believed that given the unjust and oppressive nature of British rule, it was legitimate on their part to use violence as a weapon to overthrow the foreigners. So, they used bombs and guns against Britishers and robbed establishments belonging to the British or their sympathisers.
Their ideas differed from the Gandhian idea of a freedom movement based on non-violence or ahimsa. Gandhi's ideas went on to become more prominent as the Indian freedom movement progressed.
A brutal attack by the police on veteran freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai at an anti-British procession caused his death on November 17 1928, in Lahore.
Bhagat Singh determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott.
Then he made a dramatic escape from Lahore to Calcutta and from there to Agra, where he established a bomb factory.
The British government responded to the act by imposing severe measures like the Trades Disputes Bill. It was to protest against the passing of the Bill that he threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone, but the noise they made was loud enough to wake up an enslaved nation from a long sleep.
After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and his friend deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel.
In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. Along with fellow comrades, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru, he was awarded the death sentence for his terroristic activities by a special tribunal on October 7, 1930.
Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931. Their bodies were cremated on the bank of the Sutlej in Ferozepur. Bhagat Singh was just 23 at that time.
Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907, in Khatkar Kalan, Punjab, in British India. His grandfather Arjan Singh, father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh, were all active in the freedom struggle.While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose.
In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and joined the National College newly opened at Lahore. At this college, which was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others. He became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association formed by the revolutionaries of Uttar Pradesh and was initiated into their firebrand activities.
The revolutionaries were branded as terrorists by the British government. They believed that given the unjust and oppressive nature of British rule, it was legitimate on their part to use violence as a weapon to overthrow the foreigners. So, they used bombs and guns against Britishers and robbed establishments belonging to the British or their sympathisers.
Their ideas differed from the Gandhian idea of a freedom movement based on non-violence or ahimsa. Gandhi's ideas went on to become more prominent as the Indian freedom movement progressed.
A brutal attack by the police on veteran freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai at an anti-British procession caused his death on November 17 1928, in Lahore.
Bhagat Singh determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott.
Then he made a dramatic escape from Lahore to Calcutta and from there to Agra, where he established a bomb factory.
The British government responded to the act by imposing severe measures like the Trades Disputes Bill. It was to protest against the passing of the Bill that he threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone, but the noise they made was loud enough to wake up an enslaved nation from a long sleep.
After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and his friend deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel.
In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. Along with fellow comrades, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru, he was awarded the death sentence for his terroristic activities by a special tribunal on October 7, 1930.
Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931. Their bodies were cremated on the bank of the Sutlej in Ferozepur. Bhagat Singh was just 23 at that time.
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