Anushilan Samiti: Difference between revisions

{{use Indian English|date=July 2016}}

{{use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}

|name         = Anushilan Samiti

|image       = Anushilan samiti symbol.jpg

|image_size   = 200px

|alt         =  

|caption     = The [[Coat of arms]] of Anushilan Samiti

|formation   = {{start date and years ago|1902|df=yes}}

|type         = Secret Revolutionary Society

|purpose     = Indian Independence

|key_people   =  

|location     = [[Bengal]]  

The growth of the Indian middle class during the 19th century led to a growing sense of Indian identity<ref name=Mitra63>{{Harvnb|Mitra|2006|p=63}}</ref> that fed a rising tide of nationalism in India in the last decades of the 1800s.<ref name=Desai30>{{Harvnb|Desai|2005|p=30}}</ref> The creation of the [[Indian National Congress]] in 1885 by [[A.O. Hume]] provided a major platform for the demands of political liberalisation, increased autonomy and social reform.<ref name=Yadav6>{{Harvnb|Yadav|1992|p=6}}</ref> The nationalist movement became particularly strong, radical and violent in [[Bengal]] and, later, in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. Notable, if smaller, movements also appeared in [[Maharashtra]], [[Presidency of Madras|Madras]] and other areas in the South.<ref name=Yadav6/> The movement in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and Poona, preceded most revolutionary movements in the country. This movement was supported ideologically by [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]], who may also have offered covert active support.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} The Indian Association was founded in [[Kolkata]] (formerly Calcutta) in 1876 under the leadership of [[Surendranath Banerjee]]. The Association became the mouthpiece of an informal constituency of students and middle-class gentlemen. It sponsored the Indian National Conference in 1883 and 1885, which later merged with the Indian National Congress.<ref name=Heehs2>{{Harvnb|Heehs|1992|p=2}}</ref> Kolkata - formerly Calcutta was at the time the most prominent centre for organised politics, and some of the students who attended the political meetings began to organise "secret societies" that cultivated a culture of physical strength and nationalist feelings.

The organisation's political views were expressed in the journal ''Jugantar'', founded in March 1906 by [[Abhinash Bhattacharya]], Barindra, [[Bhupendranath Dutt]] and [[Debabrata Basu]].<ref name=Sanyalp30>{{harvnb|Sanyal|2014|p=30}}</ref> It soon became an organ for the radical views of Aurobindo and other Anushilan leaders, and led to the Calcutta Samiti group being dubbed the "Jugantar party".{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Early leaders were [[Rash Behari Bose]], [[Bhavabhushan Mitra]], [[Jatindranath Mukherjee]] and [[Jadugopal Mukherjee]].<ref name="Sen244" /> Aurobindo published similar messages of violent nationalism in journals such as ''Sandhya'', ''[[Navashakti]]'' and ''[[Bande Mataram]]''.

The Dhaka Anushilan Samiti broke with the Jugantar group in [[West Bengal]] due to disagreements with Aurobindo's approach of slowly building a mass base for revolution. The Dhaka group instead sought immediate action and results through political terrorism.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} The two branches of the Samiti engaged in [[dacoity]] to raise money, and performed a number of political assassinations.<ref name="Roy5">{{Harvnb|Roy|1997|pp=5–6}} The first such dacoity was committed by Naren ... Around this time, revolutionaries threw a bomb at the carriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy ... in Muzaffarpur, under the mistaken notion that the 'notorious' Magistrate Kingsford was in the carriage. This led to the arrest of Kshudiram Bose and the discovery of the underground conspiratorial centre at Manicktala in eastern Calcutta ... Nandalal Banerjee, an officer in the Intelligence Branch of the Bengal Police was shot dead by Naren ... This was followed by the arrest of Aurobindo, Barin and others.</ref> In December 1907, the Bengal branch derailed a train carrying Bengal Lieutenant Governor [[Andrew Henderson Leith Fraser]] in a plot led by the Ghosh brothers. In the same month, the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti assassinated former Dhaka district magistrate D.&nbsp;C.&nbsp;Allen. The following year, the Samiti engineered eleven assassinations, seven attempted assassinations and explosions and eight dacoities in West Bengal. Their targets included British police officials and civil servants, Indian police officers, informants, public prosecutors of political crimes, and wealthy families.<ref name="Popplewell108">{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=108}}</ref> Under Barin Ghosh's direction, the Samiti's members also attempted to assassinate French colonial officials in [[Chandernagore]] who were seen as complicit with the Raj.

Anushilan Samiti established early links with foreign movements and Indian nationalists abroad. In 1907, Barin Ghosh sent [[Hem Chandra Kanungo]] (Hem Chandra Das) to [[Paris]] to learn bomb-making from Nicholas Safranski, a Russian revolutionary in exile.<ref name="Popplewell104"/> In 1908, young recruits [[Khudiram Bose]] and [[Prafulla Chaki]] were sent on a mission to [[Muzaffarpur]] to assassinate chief presidency magistrate D. H. Kingsford.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} They bombed a carriage they mistook for Kingsford's,<ref name="Roy5" /> killing two Englishwomen. Bose was arrested while attempting to flee and Chaki committed suicide. Police investigation of the killers connected them with Barin's country house in [[Manicktala]] (a suburb of Calcutta) and led to a number of arrests, including Aurobindo and Barin.<ref name="Roy5" /> The ensuing trial, held under tight security, led to a death sentence for Barin (later commuted to life imprisonment). The case against Aurobindo Ghosh collapsed after Naren Gosain, who had turned crown witness, was shot in [[Alipore jail]] by [[Satyendranath Basu]] and [[Kanailal Dutta]], who were also being tried.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Aurobindo retired from active politics after being acquitted.<ref name="Roy6" /> This was followed by a 1909 Dhaka conspiracy case, which brought 44 members of the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti to trial.<ref name="Popplewell111">{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=111}}</ref><ref name="Roy105">{{Harvnb|Roy|2006|p=105}}</ref> Nandalal Bannerjee (the officer who arrested Khudiram) was shot and killed in 1908, followed by the assassinations of the prosecutor and informant for the Alipore case in 1909.

After Aurobindo's retirement, the western Anushilan Samiti found a more prominent leader in [[Bagha Jatin]] and emerged as the [[Jugantar]]. Jatin revitalised links between the central organisation in Calcutta and its branches in [[Bengal]], [[Bihar]], [[Orissa, India|Orissa]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]], establishing hideouts in the [[Sunderbans]] for members who had gone underground.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} The group slowly reorganised, aided by [[Amarendra Chatterjee]], [[M. N. Roy|Naren Bhattacharya]] and other younger leaders. Some of its younger members, including [[Taraknath Das]], left India.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Over the next two years, the organisation operated under the cover of two apparently-separate groups: Sramajeebi Samabaya (the Labourer's Cooperative) and S.D. Harry and Sons.<ref name="Roy6">{{Harvnb|Roy|1997|p=6}} Aurobihdo's retirement from active politics after his acquittal ... Two centres were established, one was the Sramajibi Samabaya ... and the other in the name of S.D. Harry and Sons.</ref> Around this time Jatin attempted to establish contacts with the [[10th Jat Regiment]], garrisoned at [[Fort William (India)|Fort William]] in Calcutta, and Narendra Nath committed a number of robberies to raise money.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Shamsul Alam, a Bengal police officer preparing a conspiracy case against the group, was assassinated by Jatin associate Biren Dutta Gupta. His assassination led to the arrests which precipitated the [[Howrah-Sibpur Conspiracy case]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Roy|1997|pp=6–7}} Shamsul Alam, an Intelligence officer who was then preparing to arrest all the revolutionaries ... was murdered by Biren Datta Gupta, one of Jatin Mukherjee's associates. This led to the arrests in the Howrah Conspiracy case.</ref>

Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar were organised on different lines, reflecting their divergence. The Samiti was centrally organised, with a rigid discipline and vertical hierarchy. Jugantar was more loosely organised as an alliance of groups under local leaders that occasionally coordinated their actions. The prototype of Jugantar's organisation was Barin Ghosh's organisation set up in 1907, in the run-up to the Manicktala conspiracy.  It sought to emulate the model of Russian revolutionaries described by Frost.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} The regulations of the central Dhaka organization of the Samiti were written down, and reproduced and summarised in government reports.

According to one estimate, the Dacca Anushilan Samiti at one point had 500 branches, mostly in the eastern districts of Bengal, and 20,000 members. Branches were opened later in the western districts, [[Bihar]], and the [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]]. Shelters for absconders were established in Assam and in two farms in Tripura. Organisational documents show a primary division between the two active leaders, Barin Ghosh and Upendranath Bannerjee, and the rank-and-file. Higher leaders such as Aurobindo were supposed to be known only to the active leaders. Past members of the Samiti asserted that the groups were interconnected with a vast web of secret societies throughout British India. However, historian [[Peter Heehs]] concluded that the links between provinces were limited to contacts between a few individuals like Aurobindo who was familiar with leaders and movements in Western India, and that relationships among the different revolutionary groups were more often competitive than co-operative.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}  An internal document of circa 1908 written by [[Pulin Behari Das]] describes the division of the organisation in Bengal, which largely followed British administrative divisions.

Samiti membership was predominantly made up of Hindus, at least initially, which was ascribed to the religious oath of initiation being unacceptable to Muslims. Each member was assigned to one or more of three roles: collection of funds, implementation of planned actions and propaganda. In practice, however, the fundamental division was between "military’’ work and ‘‘civil’’ work. Dals (teams) consisting of five or ten members led by a ''dalpati'' (team leader) were grouped together in local Samiti led by ''adhyakshas'' (executive officers) and other officers. These reported to district officers appointed by and responsible to the central Dhaka organization, commanded by Pulin Das and those who deputised for him during his periods of imprisonment.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}  Samitis were divided into four functional groups: violence, organisation, keepers of arms, and householders. Communications were carried by special couriers and written in secret code. These practices and others were inspired by literary sources and were partly a concession to the desire of young men to act out romantic drama. Less is known about the Jugantar network, which took the place of the Manicktala society after the [[Alipore bomb case]]. It faced divisions similar to the Samiti. Historian [[Leonard A. Gordon|Leonard Gordon]] notes that at least in the period between 1910 and 1915, the dals in the Jugantar network were separate units, led by a dada (lit: elder brother). The dada was also [[guru]], teaching those under his command practical skills, revolutionary ideology, and strategy. Gordon suggests that the dada system developed out of pre-existing social structures in rural Bengal. Dadas both co-operated and competed with each other for men, money, and material.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}

The Samiti was influenced by the writings of the Bengali nationalist author [[Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay]]. The name of the organisation, Anushilan, is derived from Bankim's works espousing hard work and spartan life. Bankim's cultural and martial nationalism, exemplified in [[Anandamath]],{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} along with his reinterpretation of the [[Bhagavat Gita]], were strong influences on the strain of nationalism that inspired the early societies that later became Anushilan Samiti.<ref name="Sisson1988p83">{{Harvnb|Ray|1988|p=83|ps=: "To explain the direct reason for the conversions to revolutionary terrorism, one must turn to the intellectual origins of the movement. Perhaps the single most efficient instrument of conversion was the ''Bhagavad Gita'' ... An entirely new ''Gita'' emerged from the reinterpretation of Bankim."}}</ref> A search of the Dacca Anushilan Samiti library in 1908 showed that Bankim's Bhagavat Gita was the most widely read book in the library.<ref name="Sisson1988p84">{{Harvnb|Ray|1988|p=84|ps=: "A sudden search of the Dacca Anushilan Samiti library in November 1908 by the police ... shows the books that were most read by revolutionaries ... the library issue book proved that the ''Gita'' was in great demand ... Among the books recommended in rule 7 of the "Rules of Membership" discovered in the library, the works of Vivekananda were given first place."}}</ref>

The philosophies and teachings of [[Swami Vivekananda]] were later added to this philosophy. The "Rules of Membership" in the Dacca library strongly recommended reading his books.<ref name="Sisson1988p84" /> These books emphasised "Strong muscles and nerves of steel", which some historians consider to be strongly influenced by the Hindu [[Shakta Philosophy]].{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} This interest in physical improvement and proto-national spirit among young Bengalis was driven by an effort to break away from the stereotype of effeminacy that the British had imposed on the Bengalis. Physical fitness was symbolic of the recovery of masculinity, and part of a larger moral and spiritual training to cultivate control over the body, and develop national pride and a sense of social responsibility and service.<ref name="Bandyopadhyaya260">{{Harvnb|Bandyopadhyaya|2004|p=260}} The physical culture movement became a craze ... this was a psychological attempt to break away from the colonial stereotype of effeminacy imposed on the Bengalees. Their symbolic recovery of masculinity ... remained parts of a larger moral and spiritual training to achieve mastery over body, develop a national pride and a sense of social service.</ref><ref name="Heehs3">{{Harvnb|Heehs|1992|p=3}}</ref> Peter Heehs, writing in 2010, notes the Samiti had three pillars in their ideologies: "cultural independence", "political independence", and "economic independence".{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}  In terms of economic independence, the Samiti diverged from the [[Swadeshi]] movement, which they decried as a "trader's movement".<ref>{{Harvnb|Heehs|2010|p=161}} "The ideology of revolutionary publicists such as Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurobindo Ghose ... had three major components: political independence or ''swaraj''; economic independence as promoted by the swadeshi-boycott movement; and the drive for cultural independence by means of national education ... A circular of the Anushilan Samiti states: "This ''Samiti'' has no open relationship with any kind of popular and outward ''Swadeshi'', that is (the boycott of) ''belati'' [foreign] articles ... To be mixed up in ... such affairs is entirely against the principles of the ''Samiti''" (Ghosh 1984: 94). Members of Barin Ghose's group likewise stigmatized the swadeshi-boycott movement as ''bania'' (shopkeeper) politics."</ref>

When the Samiti first came into prominence following the Muzaffarpur killings, its ideology was felt to be influenced by European [[anarchism]]. [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]] resisted the notion that its action might be the manifestation of political grievance by concluding that: {{quote|Murderous methods hitherto unknown in India ... have been imported from the West, ... which the imitative Bengali has childishly accepted.<ref name="Heehs2010p160paras1-2">{{Harvnb|Heehs|2010||loc=p. 160, paras 1–2}} "[Morley] wrote to Viceroy Lord Minto, 'that Indian antagonism to Government would run slowly into the usual grooves, including assassination' ... he considered Bengali terrorism to be an almost natural result of political discontent. Minto, on the other hand, considered it entirely imitative. Writing to Morley after the Muzaffarpur attempt, Minto declared that the conspirators aimed 'at the furtherance of murderous methods hitherto unknown in India which have been imported from the West, and which the imitative Bengali has childishly accepted' ... the terrorists were playing at being 'anarchists.'"</ref>|sign=|source=}}

The [[visit of King George V to India]] in 1911 catalyzed improvements in police equipment and staffing in Bengal and EBA. In 1912, the political branch of the Bengal CID was renamed the Intelligence Branch, staffed with 50 officers and 127 men. The branch had separate sections dealing with explosives, assassinations, and robberies.<ref name="Popplewell114" /> It was headed by [[Charles Tegart]], who built up a network of agents and informers to infiltrate the Samiti.<ref name="Popplewell114" /> Tegart would meet his agents under cover of darkness, at times disguising himself as a [[pathan]] or [[Pashtun diaspora|kabuliwallah]].<ref name="Popplewell114" /> Assisting Denham and Petrie, Tegart led the investigation in the aftermath of the [[Dalhi-Lahore Conspiracy]] and identified [[Chandernagore]] as the main hub for the Samiti.<ref name="Popplewell114" /> Tegart remained in the Bengal police until at least the 1930s, earning notoriety amongst the Samiti for his work, and was subjected to a number of assassination attempts. In 1924, Ernest Day, an Englishman, was shot dead by [[Gopinath Saha]] at [[Chowringhee Road]] in Calcutta, due to being mistaken for Tegart. In 1930, a bomb was thrown into Tegart's car at [[Dalhousie Square]] but Tegart managed to shoot the revolutionary and escaped unhurt. His efficient curbing of the revolutionary movement earned praise from [[Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton|Lord Lytton]] and he was awarded the King's medal. In 1937 Tegart was sent to the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], then in the throes of [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|the Arab Revolt]], to advise the Inspector General on security.<ref name="BritishSpies">{{cite web|title=Londonderry born imperial policeman remembered|url=http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/09/10/londonderry-born-imperial-policeman-remembered|access-date=8 July 2014}}</ref>

In its fight against the Raj, the Samiti{{'}}s members who turned [[approver]]s (i.e. gave evidence against their colleagues) and the Bengal Police staff who were investigating the Samiti were consistently targeted. A number of assassinations were carried out of approvers who had agreed to act as crown witnesses. In 1909 Naren Gossain, crown witness for the prosecution in [[Alipore bomb case]], was shot dead within [[Alipore Jail]] by [[Satyendranath Bosu|Satyendranath Boseu]] and Kanai Lal Dutt. Ashutosh Biswas, an advocate of Calcutta High Court in charge of prosecution of Gossain murder case, was shot dead within Calcutta High Court in 1909. In 1910, Shamsul Alam, Deputy Superintendent of Bengal Police responsible for investigating the Alipore bomb case, was shot dead on the steps of Calcutta High Court. The failures of a number of prosecutions of violence linked to the Samiti under the Criminal Procedures Act of 1898 led to a special act that provided for crimes of nationalist violence to be tried by a special tribunal composed of three high-court judges. In December 1908 the Criminal Law amendments were passed under the terms of Regulation III of 1818, with the goal of suppressing associations formed for seditious conspiracies.<ref name="Riddick93">{{Harvnb|Riddick|2006|p=93}}</ref> The act was first applied to deport nine Bengali revolutionaries to [[Mandalay prison]] in 1908.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Despite these measures however, the high standards of evidence demanded by the [[Calcutta High Court]], insufficient investigations by police, and at times outright fabrication of evidence, led to persistent failures to tame nationalist violence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Horniman|1984|p=42}} [There are] records of cases during the years from 1908 to 1914 which were abortive ... due to the usual faults of police work in India—the hankering~after approvers and confessions, to be obtained by any means, good or bad; the concoction of a little evidence to make a bad case good- or a good case better; and the suppression of facts which fail to fit the theory.</ref> The police forces felt unable to deal with the operations of secretive nationalist organisations, leading to demands for special powers. The Indian press opposed these demands strenuously, arguing against any extension of the already wide powers enjoyed by the police forces in India,  which they claimed were already being used to oppress the Indian people.<ref>{{Harvnb|Horniman|1984|p=43}} Police authorities took up the attitude that ... they were helpless in the face of a secret organisation ... Demands were put forward for special powers, the lowering of the standard of evidence, and other devices for the easy success of the police ... the whole Indian Press anticipated with the liveliest apprehension the prospect of any extension of those wide powers which already enabled the police to oppress the people.</ref>

The nationalist publication ''[[Jugantar Patrika|Jugantar]]'', which served as the organ of the Samiti, inspired fanatical loyalty among its readers.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sanyal|2014|p=89}} "The ''Jugantar'' newspaper served as the propaganda vehicle for a loose congregation of revolutionaries led by individuals like Jain Banerjee and Barin Ghose who drew inspiration from  ... Aurobindo Ghose."</ref><ref name=Sanyal2014p93>{{Harvnb|Sanyal|2014|p=93}} "This attitude cost the paper dearly. It suffered five more prosecutions that, by July 1908, brought about its financial ruin … The trials brought the paper a great deal of publicity and helped greatly in the dissemination of the revolutionary ideology ... testimony to the fanatical loyalty that the paper inspired in its readers and the deep impression that the ''Jugantar'' writings made on them ... revolutionary terrorism as an ideology began to win if not overt, then at least the tacit, support of Bengalis."</ref> By 1907 it was selling 7,000 copies, which later rose to 20,000. Its message was aimed at elite politically conscious readers and was essentially a critique of British rule in India and justification of political violence.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sanyal|2014|pp=90–91}} "[Sanyal translates from ''Jugantar'':] "In a country where the ruling power relies on brute force to oppress its subjects, it is impossible to bring about Revolution or a change in rulers through moral strength. In such a situation, subjects too must rely on brute force." ... The ''Jugantar'' challenged the legitimacy of British rule ... [its] position thus amounted to a fundamental ''critique'' of the British government ... By 1907 the paper was selling 7000 copies, a figure that went up to 20,000 soon after. The ''Jugantar'' ideology was basically addressed to an elite audience that was young, literate and politically radicalized."</ref> Several young men who joined the Samiti credited ''Jugantar'' with influencing their decisions.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} The editor of the paper, [[Bhupendranath Datta]], was arrested and sentenced to one year's rigorous imprisonment in 1907.<ref name=Sanyal2014p91-92>{{Harvnb|Sanyal|2014|pp=91–92}} "Bhupendranath Dutt, the editor and proprietor of the ''Jugantar'' was arrested in July 1907 and charged under section 124 A ... Bhupendranath was sentenced to a year's rigorous imprisonment ... The Jugantar's stance was typically defiant ... The paper did nothing to tone down the rhetoric in its future editions."</ref> The Samiti responded by attempting to assassinate Douglas Kingsford, who presided over the trial,{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} and ''Jugantar'' responded with defiant editorials.<ref name=Sanyal2014p91-92/> ''Jugantar'' was repeatedly prosecuted, leaving it in financial ruins by 1908. However, the prosecutions brought the paper more publicity and helped disseminate the Samiti''<nowiki/>'''s ideology of revolutionary nationalism. Historian Shukla Sanyal has commented that revolutionary terrorism as an ideology began to win at least tacit support amongst a significant populace at this time.<ref name=Sanyal2014p93/>

James Popplewell, writing in 1995, noted that the Raj perceived the Samiti in its early days as a serious threat to its rule.<ref name="Popplewell109">{{Harvnb|Popplewell|1995|p=109}}</ref>  However, historian Sumit Sarkar noted that the Samiti never mustered enough support to offer an urban rebellion or a guerrilla campaign. Both Peter Heehs and Sumit Sarkar have noted that the Samiti called for complete independence over 20 years before the Congress adopted this as its aim.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} A number of landmark events early in the Indian independence movement, including the [[Hindu–German Conspiracy|revolutionary conspiracies of World War I]], involved the Samiti, as noted in the [[Rowlatt report]]. Later the ascendant left-wing of the Congress, particularly [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], was suspected of having links with the Samiti.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Heehs argued that the actions of the revolutionary nationalists exemplified by the Samiti forced the government to parley more seriously with the leaders of the legitimate movement, and that Gandhi was always aware of this. "At the Round Table Conference of 1931, the apostle of non-violence declared that he held 'no brief for the terrorists', but added that if the government refused to work with him, it would have the terrorists to deal with. The only way to 'say good-bye to terrorism' was 'to work the Congress for all it is worth'".<ref>{{Harvnb|Heehs|2010|p=174}}</ref>

The founders of the Samiti were among the leading luminaries of Bengal at the time, advocating for social change in ways far removed from the violent nationalist works that identified the Samiti in later years. The young men of Bengal were among the most active in the [[Swadeshi movement]], prompting [[Robert Warrand Carlyle|R.W. Carlyle]] to prohibit the participation of students in political meetings on the threat of withdrawal of funding and grants.<ref name="Heehs2008p93">{{Harvnb|Heehs|2008|p=93}}</ref> Bengali intellectuals were already calling for indigenous schools and colleges to replace British institutions,<ref name="Heehs2008p93" /> and seeking to build indigenous institutions. [[Surendranath Tagore]], of the [[Tagore family|Tagore family of Calcutta]] financed the establishment of Indian-owned banks and insurance companies. The 1906 Congress session in Calcutta established the [[National Council of Education]] as a nationalist agency to promote Indian institutions with their own independent curriculum designed to provide skills in technical and technological education that its founders felt would be necessary for building indigenous industries. With the financial backing of [[Subodh Chandra Mallik]], the [[Bengal National College]] (which later grew to be [[Jadavpur University]]) was established with Aurobindo as Principal.<ref name="Heehs2008p93" /> Aurobindo participated in the Indian National Congress at the time. He used his platform in the Congress to present the Samiti as a conglomeration of youth clubs, even as the government raised fears that it was a revolutionary nationalist organisation. During his time as Principal, Aurobindo started the nationalist publications ''Jugantar'', ''Karmayogin'' and ''[[Bande Mataram]]''.<ref name="Heehs2008p93" /> The student's mess at the college was frequented by students of East Bengal who belonged to the Dhaka Anushilan Samiti, and was known to be a hotbed of revolutionary nationalism, which was uncontrolled or even encouraged by the college.<ref>{{Harvnb|Samanta|1995|p=303}}</ref> Students of the college who later rose to prominence in the Indian revolutionary movement include [[M. N. Roy]].{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} The Samiti{{'}}s ideologies further influenced patriotic nationalism.

The revolutionaries of the Samiti became household names in Bengal. Many of these educated and youthful men were widely admired and romanticised throughout India.<ref name="Chowdhry2000p138" /> ''[[Ekbar biday de Ma ghure ashi]]'' (Bid me farewell, mother), a 1908 [[Lament (disambiguation)|lament]] written by Bengali folk poet Pitambar Das that mourns the execution of [[Khudiram Bose]],{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} was popular in Bengal decades after Bose's death.<ref name="Sarkar2014p107" /> The railway station where Bose was arrested is now named Khudiram Bose Pusa Railway Station in his honour.

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