Anushilan Samiti

Why in news?

• The Union Education and Skill Development Minister said that Anusilan Samity was a prominent secret revolutionary society operating from Bengal in the 20th century with a mission to overthrow colonial rule and give momentum to India’s struggle for freedom.

About Anushilan Samiti:

• Anushilan Samiti (bodybuilding society) was a Bengali organisation in the first quarter of the 20th century that supported revolutionary violence as the means for ending British rule in India.

Foundation:

• In the year 1902, it was founded by Satish Chandra and the other three accomplices Pramathanath Mitra, Aurobindo Ghose and Sarala Devi. ?
• The organisation arose from a conglomeration of local youth groups and gyms (akhara) in Bengal in 1902.?
• A number of nationalists were associated with it at various times, notably Aurobindo Ghosh (Sri Aurobindo), Bhupendra Natha Datta (brother of Swami Vivekananda), Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das, Surendranath Tagore, Pulin Bihari Das, Sarala Devi, Rash Behari Bose, Jatindranath Mukherjee (Bagha Jatin), Sachindranath Sanyal, Jatin Das, and Bipin Chandra Pal.
• Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was an alumnus of the Anushilan Samiti

Two arms:

• It had two prominent, somewhat independent, arms in East and West Bengal
  • Dhaka Anushilan Samiti (centred in Dhaka, modern day Bangladesh) and
  • Jugantar group (centred at Calcutta).?
    • After Aurobindo’s retirement, the western Anushilan Samiti found a more prominent leader in Bagha Jatin and emerged as the Jugantar.?

More about the Samiti:

• From its foundation to its dissolution during the 1930s, the Samiti challenged British rule in India by engaging in militant nationalism, including bombings, assassinations, and politically-motivated violence.?
• n 1905, the Samiti published ‘Bhavani Mandir’ (Temple of Goddess Bhavani) that incorporated a detailed plan of establishing a religious sanctuary in a secluded spot as the centre of revolutionary activities.
• Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal began a Bengali nationalist weekly ’Jugantar’ (New Era) and its English counterpart ‘Bande Mataram’ in March 1906 that openly preached armed rebellion to create the necessary revolutionary mentality among Indians
• In 1908, young recruits Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki were sent on a mission to Muzaffarpur to assassinate chief presidency magistrate D. H. Kingsford. They bombed a carriage they mistook for Kingsford’s, killing two Englishwomen. Bose was arrested while attempting to flee and Chaki committed suicide. It was also involved in the Kakori conspiracy, the Chittagong armoury raid, and other actions ?

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following are founders of Anushilan Samiti?

1. Pramathanath Mitra

2. Aurobindo Ghose

3. Sarala Devi

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer