Revolutionary Movements In India Phase II

Introduction 

Although most of India’s freedom struggle was free of violence, however, there were several revolutionary movements launched that aimed at winning independence for India. In these, many men and women participated as they believed, India could only be delivered from British rule through armed struggles. Although many lost lives, their stories of heroism motivated the new blood of India and motivated people to live and die for the nation. 

Reason for Emergence

• On February 4, 1921, a group of non-cooperation movement participants clashed with local authorities, attacked police officers, and burnt police stations which unfortunately led to the death of 22 police officers and three civilians
• This incident occurred at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur region of Uttar Pradesh, then known as the United Provinces. Soon, this incident resulted in calling off the Non-Cooperation Movement
• After the sudden suspension of the Non- Cooperation Movement, many young people began to question the fundamental strategy of the national leadership and its emphasis on non-violence and began to look for alternatives
• Influence of several new social forces like the upsurge of working-class trade unionism after the war, newly sprouting Communist groups emphasizing Marxism, Socialism, and the proletariat
• Inspired by the Russian Revolution and the success of the young Socialist State in consolidating itself

Revolutionaries of Northern India

• Hindustan Republican Association (or Army) was founded in October 1924 to organize an armed revolution
• The most significant ‘action’ of the HRA was the Kakori Robbery in 1925. It was a train robbery case that occured in Uttar Pradesh. The youth of Hindustan Republican Association including Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri, and others attacked. As per the reports, the train carried bags full of British money. During this robbery, one of them was killed. However, others were arrested
• Inspired by socialist ideas, the young brigade of HRA had changed its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (Army) and adopted socialism as its official goal
• On 17th December 1928 in Lahore, Azad, Rajguru, B.K Dutt, and Bhagat Singh assassinated Saunders, a police officer engaged in the lathi charge of Lala Lajpat Rai
• The revolutionary under-trials undertook a prolonged hunger strike as a protest against the horrific conditions in jails. They demanded that they be treated as political prisoners. On 13th September, Jatin Das died on the 64th day of the fast whereas the legislative assembly was bombing
• Many revolutionary activists were convicted and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the Lahore Conspiracy Case and other similar cases; many of them were sent to the Andaman
• Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were sentenced to death which was carried out on 23rd March 1931

Chandrashekhar Azad

Chandrashekar Azad played an instrumental role in the Non-Cooperation Movement, and when Gandhi called off the movement, following the Chauri-Chaura incident in 1922, Azad was disappointed. Gandhi believed that people were yet not ready for a non-violent movement. Also, he felt, adequate training needs to be provided to the people. It was then that he came in contact with Ram Prasad Bismil of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He assassinated Saunders, who was responsible for the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai. In 1931, he was surrounded on all sides by British forces in Allahabad, and it was here that he shot himself, not wanting to be captured by the enemy.

Revolutionaries in Bengal

Chittagong group was led by Surya Sen. Surya Sen, along with his group, decided to raise in a rebellion, on however small a scale, to demonstrate that it was possible to challenge the armed might of the British Empire.They planned to capture the two main armories in Chittagong and the seizing of arms with which a large band of armed revolutionaries could be formed; the destruction of the telegraph and telephone systems of the city; and the dislocation of the railway lines between Chittagong and the rest of Bengal. The raid was carefully planned and executed on the night of 18th April 1930.During the revolutionary movement in Bengal, the raid was undertaken in the name of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong Branch. Several repressive measures and combined operations were organized by the authorities to suppress the revolt. Surya Sen was captured on 16th February 1933, tried and hanged on 12th January 1934.

Achievements

• Their deep patriotism, courage and determination, and feeling of sacrifice stunned the Indian people
• They helped in spreading consciousness, and in northern India, they were credited for spreading socialist consciousness
• While nearly 90% of the revolutionaries later gave their allegiance to Marxism, their youthful deeds and slogans became the inheritance of leftist Congressmen under Gandhian leadership

Limitations

• Absence of mass movement; they failed to politically activate the masses or move them into political actions
• Another mistake of the revolutionaries during the revolutionary movements in India was to hold  the belief that propaganda by deed or by death by daring young men could lead to the creation of another revolutionary movement in India

Conclusion

The revolutionary moment in India during the independence struggle was a result of growth of militant nationalism in India. The intention behind this revolutionary moment was to remove the fear of British officials from the minds of the Indian masses and arouse them against the Britishers.