Revolutionary Struggle and Indian National Army

The revolutionary stream of the freedom struggle ran alongside the mainstream INC. From the Anushilan Samiti through Bhagat Singh's HSRA to Bose's INA, it had three distinct waves. CDS-OTA tests precise organisation-founder-action pairings and dates - Kakori (9 Aug 1925), Assembly Bomb (8 April 1929), execution (23 March 1931).

First Phase: 1900-1917

• Anushilan Samiti (1902 Calcutta): Promode Mitra, then Pulin Behari Das (Dhaka faction). Branched into Jugantar (1906, Aurobindo, Barindra Ghosh).
• Alipore Bomb Case (1908): Khudiram Bose (18, hanged Muzaffarpur), Prafulla Chaki (suicide). They bombed Kingsford's carriage (got two English ladies by mistake). Aurobindo arrested, defended by C.R. Das, acquitted.
• Abhinav Bharat (1904, London / Nasik): V.D. Savarkar, Ganesh Damodar Savarkar. Nasik Conspiracy (1909) - A.M.T. Jackson murdered by Anant Kanhere.
• India House (London): Shyamji Krishna Varma (1905). Indian Sociologist newspaper. Lala Hardayal, Savarkar, Madame Bhikaji Cama (Stuttgart 1907 - first Indian flag) associated.
• Madanlal Dhingra: Killed Curzon Wyllie at Imperial Institute, London, July 1909. Hanged Aug 1909.
• Delhi Conspiracy (1912): Rashbehari Bose, Sachindranath Sanyal - bomb on Viceroy Hardinge's elephant during durbar procession at Chandni Chowk.
• Ghadar Party (San Francisco, 1913): Lala Hardayal (founder), Sohan Singh Bhakna (first president), Kartar Singh Sarabha (executed 19, 1915). Newspaper Ghadar in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati. Spread among Punjabis in N. America, East Africa, Hong Kong.
• Komagata Maru (1914): Ship of 376 Indians refused entry to Canada; returned to Budge Budge near Calcutta where 19 were killed by police.
• Indo-German Conspiracy (1914-17): Indians abroad with German help planned a general uprising in India. Mostly failed. Berlin Committee under Virendranath Chattopadhyaya.
• Punjab uprising plan (Feb 1915): Kartar Singh Sarabha, Rash Behari Bose. Failed; mass executions and Lahore Conspiracy trials.

HRA and HSRA

• Hindustan Republican Association (HRA, 1924, Kanpur): Founded by Sachindranath Sanyal, Yogesh Chandra Chatterji, Ramprasad Bismil. Manifesto "The Revolutionary".
• Kakori Train Robbery (9 August 1925):
  • HRA's Ramprasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, Roshan Singh, Thakur Roshan Singh and others stopped the No. 8 Down train at Kakori (near Lucknow) and looted government cash.
  • Trial 1926. Bismil, Ashfaqulla, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri hanged December 1927.
  • Bismil's "Sarfaroshi ki tamanna" (by Bismil Azimabadi, popularised by Bismil and Ashfaq) became the anthem.
• Reorganisation as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA, 8-9 September 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi):
  • Chandrashekhar Azad (military commander), Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Bhagwati Charan Vohra, Bijoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Verma.
  • Embraced socialism as a goal.
• Saunders murder (17 December 1928, Lahore): Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Azad shot Assistant Superintendent J.P. Saunders in revenge for Lala Lajpat Rai's death (Nov 1928 after lathi charge during Simon Commission protest).
• Central Assembly Bomb (8 April 1929): Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly and shouted "Inquilab Zindabad". Allowed themselves to be arrested. Aim - "to make the deaf hear".
• Lahore Conspiracy Case (1929-31): Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged on 23 March 1931 at Lahore Central Jail. Bodies cremated at Hussainiwala (now in Punjab, India).
• Chandrashekhar Azad died fighting police at Alfred Park, Allahabad (27 February 1931) — last bullet on himself.
• Bhagat Singh's writings: "Why I am an Atheist" (1930), letter "To Young Political Workers" (1931). Pamphlets in jail showed deep reading of Marx, Lenin, Trotsky.

Bengal Revolutionaries (Second Phase)

• Chittagong Armoury Raid (18 April 1930):
  • Led by Surya Sen ("Masterda") with ~65 revolutionaries (Indian Republican Army).
  • Captured Chittagong armoury, telegraph office, European Club. Hoisted national flag at Pahartali; declared Provisional Government.
  • Battle of Jalalabad Hills (22 April 1930) - 12 revolutionaries killed.
  • Pritilata Waddedar led the attack on Pahartali European Club (Sep 1932) - swallowed cyanide.
  • Kalpana Datta also involved.
  • Surya Sen captured 1933; hanged 12 January 1934.
• Bina Das (Feb 1932): Shot at Governor Stanley Jackson at Calcutta University Convocation.
• Pritilata Waddedar (1932) and Kalpana Datta - first women in armed action.
• Suniti Choudhury and Shanti Ghosh (Dec 1931): Shot Comilla District Magistrate Stevens at age ~14-15.

Indian National Army - Foundation

• Origins: 1942 fall of Singapore. Japanese encouraged Indian POWs to switch sides.
• First INA (Sep 1942): Captain Mohan Singh formed INA from ~40,000 Indian POWs. Headquarters Bangkok. Differences with Japanese led to Mohan Singh's dismissal (Dec 1942).
• Subhas Chandra Bose's journey:
  • Escape from house arrest at Calcutta (17 January 1941). Travelled via Peshawar (Bhagat Ram Talwar as guide) and Afghanistan to Moscow, then Berlin.
  • In Berlin (1941-43): Formed Indian Legion (Free India Legion) from Indian POWs taken in N. Africa. Hosted by Hitler; "Mussolini" provoked him.
  • Submarine journey (Feb-May 1943): German U-180 to Japanese I-29 near Madagascar - reached Sumatra.
  • Arrived in Tokyo June 1943; in Singapore 4 July 1943.
• Second INA (Azad Hind Fauj) from July 1943:
  • Bose became Supreme Commander.
  • Three brigades named Gandhi, Azad, Nehru. Special Rani of Jhansi Regiment (women's regiment under Captain Lakshmi Sahgal/Swaminathan).
  • Azad Hind Government (Provisional Government of Free India) proclaimed 21 October 1943 at Singapore. Recognised by nine countries (Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Burma, Thailand, Manchukuo, Philippines, Nanjing China).
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands handed over by Japan (Dec 1943) — renamed Shahid and Swaraj. Bose visited 30 December 1943.
  • Slogans - "Jai Hind!", "Chalo Delhi!", "Dilli Chalo!". National anthem - Subh Sukh Chain (a translation of Tagore's Jana Gana Mana).

INA Campaign and Trials

• March 1944: INA with Japanese 15th Army began the U-Go offensive into India through Burma.
• Imphal-Kohima campaign (March-July 1944): INA reached Kohima and Moirang (Manipur — first Indian soil with INA flag hoisted by Col Shaukat Hayat Malik). Defeated by British 14th Army (Slim) and monsoon.
• Retreat (May 1944 onwards): Heavy casualties; INA fell back.
• Bose's death: 18 August 1945 — plane crash at Taihoku (Taipei), Taiwan. Body cremated; ashes at Renkoji temple Tokyo. Three commissions of inquiry (Shah Nawaz 1956, Khosla 1970, Mukherjee 1999) - first two accepted air crash; Mukherjee Commission did not.
• INA Trials (Red Fort, Nov 1945):
  • First trial of three officers - Col Prem Kumar Sahgal (Hindu), Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Sikh), Col Shah Nawaz Khan (Muslim).
  • Defence team: Bhulabhai Desai (lead), Jawaharlal Nehru (returned to bar), Tej Bahadur Sapru, Asaf Ali, K.N. Katju.
  • Verdict: cashiered, deportation for life. Sentences remitted by Field Marshal Auchinleck in face of public uproar.
  • INA defence committee led the slogan "Lal Qile se aayi awaaz, Sahgal-Dhillon-Shah Nawaz".
• RIN Mutiny (18-23 February 1946): Royal Indian Navy ratings at Bombay mutinied; spread to 78 ships, 20 shore establishments, ~20,000 sailors. Sympathy strikes in Bombay, Karachi, Calcutta. Suppressed but convinced the British that the armed forces' loyalty was uncertain.
• RIAF and Jabalpur strikes followed.

CDS/OTA PYQ Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Bhagat Singh remembered as a socialist?

After 1928 Bhagat Singh and the HSRA adopted socialism as the goal of revolution, beyond simple anti-colonialism. Bhagat Singh's prison writings (Why I am an Atheist, To Young Political Workers, jail diary) show extensive reading of Marx, Lenin, Trotsky. His vision was a workers' and peasants' India, not merely an independent India.

What was the impact of the INA?

Militarily limited — the Imphal-Kohima campaign failed by monsoon 1944. Politically decisive — the INA Trials at Red Fort united Indians across communal lines (Sahgal, Dhillon, Shah Nawaz - Hindu, Sikh, Muslim) and made it clear to the British that the loyalty of the Indian Army (which they had relied on since 1857) was no longer assured. The Naval Mutiny (Feb 1946) followed.

Who was Subhas Chandra Bose?

Born Cuttack 1897. Civil Services topper resigned 1921 to join Congress. Twice Congress President (Haripura 1938, Tripuri 1939). Founded Forward Bloc 1939. Escaped house arrest Jan 1941. Allied with Axis powers - Germany (1941-43) and Japan (1943-45). Led INA. Died 18 August 1945 at Taihoku (officially in a plane crash, contested by Mukherjee Commission).

What was the Ghadar Party?

Founded San Francisco 1913 by Lala Hardayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna and others. Mainly Punjabi-Sikh diaspora in North America and East Asia. Newspaper Ghadar (in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati). Planned a mass uprising in India during WWI (Indo-German Conspiracy). The 1915 Punjab uprising was preempted by intelligence; Lahore Conspiracy Trials followed. Founded one of the earliest secular nationalist revolutionary networks.

Who were the first women revolutionaries?

Madame Bhikaji Cama (Paris-based, unfurled an early Indian flag at Stuttgart 1907). Bina Das (shot Bengal Governor 1932). Pritilata Waddedar (Chittagong Pahartali Club attack 1932). Kalpana Datta (Chittagong group). Suniti Choudhury and Shanti Ghosh (Comilla 1931, teenagers). In the INA - Captain Lakshmi Sahgal led the Rani of Jhansi Regiment from 1943.

Related Topics

CDS/OTA HistoryGandhian Phase CDS/OTA HistoryEarly National Movement CDS/OTA HistoryConstitutional Acts CDS/OTA HistoryPeasant Tribal Uprisings CDS/OTAHistory — Full Syllabus