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Emperor vs Aurobindo Ghosh and others: Difference between revisions
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{{ | {{Short description|Alipore Bomb case}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date= | {{italic title}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2022}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}} | ||
{{Anushilan Samiti}} | {{Anushilan Samiti}} | ||
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Among the famous accused were [[Aurobindo Ghosh]], his brother [[Barin Ghosh]] as well as 38 other Bengali nationalists of the ''[[Anushilan Samiti]]''. Most of the accused were arrested from Barin Ghosh's Garden house in 36 Murarirupukur Road, in the [[Manicktolla]] suburb of Calcutta. They were held in the [[Alipore Jail|Presidency Jail in Alipore]] before the trial, where Narendranath Goswami, approver and [[crown-witness]], was shot dead by two fellow accused [[Kanailal Dutta]] and Satyendranath Bose within the jail premises. Goswami's murder led to collapse of the case against [[Aurobindo]]. However, his brother Barin and a number of others were convicted of the charges and faced varying jail terms from life-imprisonment to shorter jail terms.<ref name="SAA">{{cite web | title=Alipore Bomb Case| publisher=Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry-605002 India| year=2007 | url=http://www.sriaurobindoinstitute.org/saioc/Sri_Aurobindo/alipore_bomb_case}}</ref> | Among the famous accused were [[Aurobindo Ghosh]], his brother [[Barin Ghosh]] as well as 38 other Bengali nationalists of the ''[[Anushilan Samiti]]''. Most of the accused were arrested from Barin Ghosh's Garden house in 36 Murarirupukur Road, in the [[Manicktolla]] suburb of Calcutta. They were held in the [[Alipore Jail|Presidency Jail in Alipore]] before the trial, where Narendranath Goswami, approver and [[crown-witness]], was shot dead by two fellow accused [[Kanailal Dutta]] and Satyendranath Bose within the jail premises. Goswami's murder led to collapse of the case against [[Aurobindo]]. However, his brother Barin and a number of others were convicted of the charges and faced varying jail terms from life-imprisonment to shorter jail terms.<ref name="SAA">{{cite web | title=Alipore Bomb Case| publisher=Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Pondicherry-605002 India| year=2007 | url=http://www.sriaurobindoinstitute.org/saioc/Sri_Aurobindo/alipore_bomb_case}}</ref> | ||
Aurobindo Ghosh retired from active nationalist politics after serving a prison sentence awarded in the trial, beginning his journey into spirituality and philosophy that he described as having started with revelations that occurred to him during his incarceration. He later moved to [[Pondicherry]], establishing an ''Ashram''. For ''Anushilan Samiti'', the incarceration of many of its prominent leaders led to a decline in the influence and activity of the Manicktolla branch, and its activities were overtaken by what emerged to be called the ''Jugantar'' branch under the leadership of [[Bagha Jatin]]. | Aurobindo Ghosh retired from active nationalist politics after serving a prison sentence awarded in the trial, beginning his journey into spirituality and philosophy that he described as having started with revelations that occurred to him during his incarceration. He later moved to [[Pondicherry]], establishing an ''Ashram''. For ''Anushilan Samiti'', the incarceration of many of its prominent leaders led to a decline in the influence and activity of the Manicktolla branch, and its activities were overtaken by what emerged to be called the ''Jugantar'' branch under the leadership of [[Bagha Jatin]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Deepanjan |date=2020-09-09 |title=Alipore Bomb Case: A Landmark in Bengal’s Revolutionary Struggle |url=https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/eras/alipore-bomb-case |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=www.livehistoryindia.com |language=en}}</ref> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
===Anushilan samiti=== | ===Anushilan samiti=== | ||
{{Main|Anushilan samiti|Aurobindo Ghosh|Barin Ghosh}} | {{Main|Anushilan samiti|Aurobindo Ghosh|Barin Ghosh}} | ||
<gallery mode=nolines> | <gallery mode="nolines"> | ||
File:Young India; an interpretation and a history of the nationalist movement from within (1916) (14802200463).jpg|[[Sri Aurobindo|Aurobindo Ghosh]] | File:Young India; an interpretation and a history of the nationalist movement from within (1916) (14802200463).jpg|[[Sri Aurobindo|Aurobindo Ghosh]] | ||
File:Barindra Kumar Ghosh 01.jpg|[[Barindra Kumar Ghosh]] | File:Barindra Kumar Ghosh 01.jpg|[[Barindra Kumar Ghosh]] | ||
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===Arrest=== | ===Arrest=== | ||
<gallery mode=nolines> | <gallery mode="nolines"> | ||
File:Aurobindo jail picture.JPG|Aurobindo on the day of his arrest on May 1, 1908 | File:Aurobindo jail picture.JPG|Aurobindo on the day of his arrest on May 1, 1908 | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
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On 19 October 1908, the hearing for the trial began at the court of Charles Poten Beachroft who served as the additional sessions judge of the District 24 Paraganas. Beechcroft and Aurobindo had previously entered the Indian Civil Service Examinations in England in the same year, where Aurobindo had ranked ahead of Beechcroft. The defence team was composed of 15 lawyers, barristers and pleaders. Aurobindo was initially represented by Byomkesh Chakravarty, a leading Calcutta barrister. In addition to the 1500 documents and material evidence, defence team entered further 54 items. However, Chakravarty was successfully able to challenge Norton's attempts to enter Goswami's testimony as evidence, and able to obtain Beachcroft's ruling that Birley broke the law in refusing to allow defence to cross-examine Goswami. The trial continued for a year (1908-1909). In all, 206 witnesses were called, around 400 documents were filed with the court, and more than 5000 exhibits were produced including bombs, revolvers, and acids. However, Chakravarty soon pulled out of Ghosh's defence team, as the funds failed to meet his fees. On the desperate appeal of Ghosh's uncle Krishna Kumar Mitra, the defence was taken over by [[Chittaranjan Das]], then still a [[junior barrister]]. Early in the trial, Barin and his fellow detainees from the Manicktolla ashram withdrew their confessions. Despite this, the scope lay to use their evidences against themselves. However, the prosecution's efforts to link Aurobindo to the group and to implicate him as the leader of the conspiracy began to unravel. With assassination of Naren Goswami, precious little remained to link Aurobindo to the works of Barin's group other than his published views in ''Bande Mataram'' and ''Jugantar''. Das successfully argued that Aurobindo's thoughts and writings on independence were consistent with philosophical thoughts on liberty and freedom held by the English intelligentsia. On material evidences, Das alleged outright fabrication of documents by the police where these linked Aurobindo to the conspiracy.<ref name=Heehs2008p176>{{harvnb|Heehs|2008|p=176}}</ref> | On 19 October 1908, the hearing for the trial began at the court of Charles Poten Beachroft who served as the additional sessions judge of the District 24 Paraganas. Beechcroft and Aurobindo had previously entered the Indian Civil Service Examinations in England in the same year, where Aurobindo had ranked ahead of Beechcroft. The defence team was composed of 15 lawyers, barristers and pleaders. Aurobindo was initially represented by Byomkesh Chakravarty, a leading Calcutta barrister. In addition to the 1500 documents and material evidence, defence team entered further 54 items. However, Chakravarty was successfully able to challenge Norton's attempts to enter Goswami's testimony as evidence, and able to obtain Beachcroft's ruling that Birley broke the law in refusing to allow defence to cross-examine Goswami. The trial continued for a year (1908-1909). In all, 206 witnesses were called, around 400 documents were filed with the court, and more than 5000 exhibits were produced including bombs, revolvers, and acids. However, Chakravarty soon pulled out of Ghosh's defence team, as the funds failed to meet his fees. On the desperate appeal of Ghosh's uncle Krishna Kumar Mitra, the defence was taken over by [[Chittaranjan Das]], then still a [[junior barrister]]. Early in the trial, Barin and his fellow detainees from the Manicktolla ashram withdrew their confessions. Despite this, the scope lay to use their evidences against themselves. However, the prosecution's efforts to link Aurobindo to the group and to implicate him as the leader of the conspiracy began to unravel. With assassination of Naren Goswami, precious little remained to link Aurobindo to the works of Barin's group other than his published views in ''Bande Mataram'' and ''Jugantar''. Das successfully argued that Aurobindo's thoughts and writings on independence were consistent with philosophical thoughts on liberty and freedom held by the English intelligentsia. On material evidences, Das alleged outright fabrication of documents by the police where these linked Aurobindo to the conspiracy.<ref name=Heehs2008p176>{{harvnb|Heehs|2008|p=176}}</ref> | ||
Significantly, as the hearings proceeded through 1908 into 1909, the government of Bengal came to fear that ''Anushilan Samiti'' would mount a rescue mission to break out the undertrials. A noted rise in militant actions and assassinations linked to ''[[Anushilan Samiti]]'' in wider Bengal began to be reported, reaching the premises of the Alipore court as the hearings drew to a close. In November 1908, two assassinations were attempted in Calcutta two days apart, one targeting Chief of Police Andrew Fraser and the second where Nandalal Bannerjee --- the police officer who had arrested Prafulla Chaki --- was gunned down, both in public. That same month, a police informant was killed and mutilated in Dacca. A shaken Bengal government arrested and deported a number of ''Anushilan'' leaders, including [[Raja Subodh Mallik]], Aurobindo's uncle Krishna Kumar Mitra, and ''Bande Mataram'' editor Shyamsunder Chakravarty to Rangoon. In response, in March 1909, ''Anushilan'' assassinated public prosecutor Ashutosh Biswas when he was gunned down by Charu Bose in the very steps of the Alipore High court where the hearings were beginning to draw to a close.<ref name=Heehs2008p180>{{harvnb|Heehs|2008|p=180}}</ref> The final arguments for prosecution and defence began amidst tight security at the end of March 1909. Das, closing his argument for defense, famously stated:{{ | Significantly, as the hearings proceeded through 1908 into 1909, the government of Bengal came to fear that ''Anushilan Samiti'' would mount a rescue mission to break out the undertrials. A noted rise in militant actions and assassinations linked to ''[[Anushilan Samiti]]'' in wider Bengal began to be reported, reaching the premises of the Alipore court as the hearings drew to a close. In November 1908, two assassinations were attempted in Calcutta two days apart, one targeting Chief of Police Andrew Fraser and the second where Nandalal Bannerjee --- the police officer who had arrested Prafulla Chaki --- was gunned down, both in public. That same month, a police informant was killed and mutilated in Dacca. A shaken Bengal government arrested and deported a number of ''Anushilan'' leaders, including [[Raja Subodh Mallik]], Aurobindo's uncle Krishna Kumar Mitra, and ''Bande Mataram'' editor Shyamsunder Chakravarty to Rangoon. In response, in March 1909, ''Anushilan'' assassinated public prosecutor Ashutosh Biswas when he was gunned down by Charu Bose in the very steps of the Alipore High court where the hearings were beginning to draw to a close.<ref name=Heehs2008p180>{{harvnb|Heehs|2008|p=180}}</ref> The final arguments for prosecution and defence began amidst tight security at the end of March 1909. Das, closing his argument for defense, famously stated:{{blockquote|"''My appeal to you is this, that long after the controversy will be hushed in silence, long after this turmoil, the agitation will have ceased, long after he is dead and gone, he will be looked upon as the poet of patriotism, as the prophet of nationalism and the lover of humanity. Long after he is dead and gone, his words will be echoed and re-echoed, not only in India but across distant seas and lands. Therefore, I say that the man in his position is not only standing before the bar of this Court, but before the bar of the High Court of History. <br/> The time has come for you, sir, to consider your judgment and for you, gentlemen, to consider your verdict...''"}} | ||
===The verdict=== | ===The verdict=== | ||
<gallery mode=nolines> | <gallery mode="nolines"> | ||
File:Barindra Kumar Ghosh 01.jpg|[[Barindra Kumar Ghosh]], sentenced to death, later converted to transportation to Cellular Jail, Andamans | File:Barindra Kumar Ghosh 01.jpg|[[Barindra Kumar Ghosh]], sentenced to death, later converted to transportation to Cellular Jail, Andamans | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
Beechcroft delivered his verdicts on 6 May 1909,<ref name=SAA/> amidst tight security in Calcutta to prevent outbreak of nationalist violence. Observing the popular supports following the executions of Khudiram Bose, [[Kanailal Dutta]] and [[Satyendranath Bosu|Satyen Bose]], the day of the verdict was kept closely guarded. Additional security measures were put in place, with a reserve force of European officers held ready in case of an outbreak of violence and disorder in the streets of Calcutta. Sessions Judge Charles Porten Beachcroft delivered his verdicts on 6 May 1909, amidst tight security in Calcutta.<ref name=SAA/> | Beechcroft delivered his verdicts on 6 May 1909,<ref name=SAA/> amidst tight security in Calcutta to prevent outbreak of nationalist violence. Observing the popular supports following the executions of Khudiram Bose, [[Kanailal Dutta]] and [[Satyendranath Bosu|Satyen Bose]], the day of the verdict was kept closely guarded. Additional security measures were put in place, with a reserve force of European officers held ready in case of an outbreak of violence and disorder in the streets of Calcutta. Sessions Judge Charles Porten Beachcroft delivered his verdicts on 6 May 1909, amidst tight security in Calcutta.<ref name=SAA/> | ||
Regarding Sri Aurobindo, he said: {{ | Regarding Sri Aurobindo, he said: {{blockquote|"''I now come to the case of Arabinda Ghose, the most important accused in the case. He is the accused, whom more than any other the prosecution are anxious to have convicted and but for his presence in the dock there is no doubt that the case would have been finished long ago. It is partly for that reason that I have left his case till last of all and partly because the case against him depends to a very great extent, in fact almost entirely, upon association with other accused persons... | ||
The point is whether his writings & speeches, which in themselves seem to advocate nothing more than the regeneration of his country, taken with the facts proved against him in this case are sufficient to show that he was a member of the conspiracy. And taking all the evidence together I am of opinion that it falls short of such proof as would justify me in finding him guilty of so serious a charge.''"}} | The point is whether his writings & speeches, which in themselves seem to advocate nothing more than the regeneration of his country, taken with the facts proved against him in this case are sufficient to show that he was a member of the conspiracy. And taking all the evidence together I am of opinion that it falls short of such proof as would justify me in finding him guilty of so serious a charge.''"}} | ||
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* {{Citation |last=Popplewell |first=Richard James |date=1995 |title=Intelligence and Imperial Defence: British Intelligence and the Defence of the Indian Empire, 1904-1924 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H44J2uDSE2cC&pg=PP1 |location=London |publisher=Frank Cass |isbn=0-7146-4580-X }}. | * {{Citation |last=Popplewell |first=Richard James |date=1995 |title=Intelligence and Imperial Defence: British Intelligence and the Defence of the Indian Empire, 1904-1924 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H44J2uDSE2cC&pg=PP1 |location=London |publisher=Frank Cass |isbn=0-7146-4580-X }}. | ||
* {{citation |last=Roy |first=Samren |year=1997 |title=M. N. Roy: A Political Biography |publisher=Orient Longman |isbn=81-250-0299-5}} | * {{citation |last=Roy |first=Samren |year=1997 |title=M. N. Roy: A Political Biography |publisher=Orient Longman |isbn=81-250-0299-5}} | ||
* {{citation |last=Roy |first=Shantimoy |year=2006 |chapter=India Freedom Struggle and Muslims |editor-last=Engineer |editor-first=Asghar Ali |editor-link=Asghar Ali Engineer |title=They Too Fought for India's Freedom: The Role of Minorities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XQCYl6T1vIC&pg=PA105 |series=Sources of History |volume= | * {{citation |last=Roy |first=Shantimoy |year=2006 |chapter=India Freedom Struggle and Muslims |editor-last=Engineer |editor-first=Asghar Ali |editor-link=Asghar Ali Engineer |title=They Too Fought for India's Freedom: The Role of Minorities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-XQCYl6T1vIC&pg=PA105 |series=Sources of History |volume=III |publisher=Hope India Publications |page=105 |isbn=9788178710914}} | ||
* {{citation |last=Sanyal |first=Shukla |date=2014 |title=Revolutionary Pamphlets, Propaganda and Political Culture in Colonial Bengal |location=Delhi |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-06546-8 }}. | * {{citation |last=Sanyal |first=Shukla |date=2014 |title=Revolutionary Pamphlets, Propaganda and Political Culture in Colonial Bengal |location=Delhi |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-06546-8 }}. | ||
* {{Citation |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=2010 |title=An Advanced History of Modern India |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0230-32885-3}} | * {{Citation |last=Sen |first=Sailendra Nath |year=2010 |title=An Advanced History of Modern India |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0230-32885-3}} | ||
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[[Category:Anushilan Samiti]] | [[Category:Anushilan Samiti]] | ||
[[Category:1908 in India]] | [[Category:1908 in India]] | ||
[[Category:Sri Aurobindo]] | [[Category:Sri Aurobindo]] | ||
[[Category:Alipore]] | [[Category:Alipore]] | ||
[[Category:Trials in India]] | [[Category:Trials in India]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:20th century in Kolkata]] | ||
[[Category:Indian case law]] | [[Category:Indian case law]] | ||
[[Category:1909 in India]] | [[Category:1909 in India]] | ||