Rash Behari Bose: The Revolutionary Which the British could never capture: Revolutionary Series Part 4

In its 200 years of unjust rule, the British suppressed several revolutionaries. The Indian freedom fighters who adopted the path of nonviolence and armed insurrection were ruthlessly suppressed during colonial rule. 

The Raj hunted down every single threat which might shake their very foundation on the Indian subcontinent. One after the other they eliminated the revolutionaries through every possible means.

But there was one person who harassed the British Raj for decades and never got caught. The Raj did everything and adopted every possible measure to suppress him and his associates but they failed miserably every time.

The man who was the mastermind behind the Delhi Conspiracy Case planned an armed insurrection against the Raj with Bagha Jatin and later with the Ghadarites (Ghadar Revolutionaries), and worked for the formation of the Indian National Army.

He was none other than the great Rash Behari Bose, the man which the British could never catch.

Early Life:

Rash Behari Bose was born on 25 May 1886 in Subaldaha Village of West Bengal. From an early age, he was inspired by the revolutionary activities of the later 19^th century.

Eminent personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Surendranath Banerjee had inflicted him from an early age. Furthermore, world events like the French Revolution and novels like Anandmath further enhanced his ideas and beliefs on revolution and freedom struggle.

Later Rash Behari Bose went to Dehradun where he worked as a clerk at Forest Research Institute. He also had the knowledge of several Indian languages which helped him during his revolutionary days.

Role in Freedom Struggle: Rise of Rash Behari Bose

The period between the late 19^th and early 20^th century saw a tremendous rise in revolutionary activities. Due to the unjust rule of the British authorities and their draconian laws, several provinces of the century rose in armed rebellion.

Key leaders of this period were Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, Veer Savarkar, Shyamji Krishna Varma, Bagha Jatin etc.

Furthermore, the Partition of Bengal which was the outcome of the Divide and rule policy of the Raj deeply wounded peoples’ patriotic sentiments.

It was during this time when Rash Behari Bose decided to wholeheartedly join the cause of the freedom struggle. He met another famous yet forgotten revolutionary named Bagha Jatin and both worked for initiating an armed insurrection against the Raj.

Delhi Conspiracy Case 1912

Bose played a key role in the famous Delhi Conspiracy Case of 1912. The revolutionaries planned to assassinate the then Viceroy of British India Lord Hardinge.

On December 23 when the British officials were busy welcoming King George V, Lord Harding and their well-decorated fleet a 16-year-old youngster known as Basant Kumar Biswas made a daring attempt to assassinate Lord Hardinge at the famous Chandni Chowk.

Basant Biswas disguised as a female threw a powerful homemade bomb on the carriage of Hardinge which seriously injured him and even killed his several attendants.

Due to this daring and audacious attack, Bose became a hero in the eyes of Indians. The British authorities tried everything to capture Bose but they failed miserably. The news of this attack on Hardinge spread like wildfire and Bose became a symbol of freedom for the Indians.

Bose fooled the British authorities with different identities and never got caught. After this attempt, Bose emerged as an eminent personality in the eyes of every young Indian populace.

Hindu German Conspiracy

With the outbreak of the First World War, the revolutionaries planned to speed up their activities. The revolutionary group known as Jugantar under the leadership of Bagha Jatin along with Rash Behari Bose planned to initiate an armed rebellion against the Raj.

The revolutionaries with the help of the German Empire were able to gather the necessary arms and ammunition to challenge the Raj for the war.

Their plan was to initiate a pan-Indian mutiny which was later backed with the support of the Indian Armed forces. The revolutionaries (Vishnu Ganesh Pingle) of the Ghadar party made Rash Behari Bose their leader.

In return, the charismatic Bose accepted this proposal and was impressed by the patriotic sentiments of the Ghadarites. The revolutionaries decided 21 February 1915 as the day of insurrection.  

However, the plan of the mass insurrection somehow got leaked and the British were able to suppress the revolutionaries. Due to this, the revolutionaries suffered a severe setback due to the martyrdom of Bagha Jatin in the battle of Balasore.

Struggle From Japan and the Formation of the Indian Independence League 

Bose went to Japan on June 1915. There he accepted Japanese citizenship and married a Japanese girl named Tosiko Soma there.

The Soma Family of Japan appreciated Bose’s contribution and his relentless work for India’s freedom. While in Japan Bose learnt the Japanese language and worked as a journalist there. Through his writings, he highlighted the situation of India and the viewpoint of Indians.

Due to his efforts the Japanese also organized a political conference in Tokyo on 28 March 1942 to discuss the political issues related to India. The conference resulted in the formation of the Indian Independence League and later they made Subhas Chandra Bose its president.

They also gave the idea and initiated the task of organizing an armed force from the captured Indian prisoners of war at Malaya and Burma. This laid the foundation of the Indian National Army or Azad Hindu Fauj on September 1 1942.

To honour Bose’s relentless work and efforts, the Japanese government honoured him with the Order of Merit.

Legacy  

Rash Behari Bose worked tirelessly for the freedom of India. He laid the foundation of INA and planned an Indian revolt with the support of leaders like Bagha Jatin and Ghadarites.  All these breathtaking revolutionary incidents shook the British Raj to its core. They tried everything to suppress Bose’s activities but failed to do so.

Through his work, Bose became an inspiring leader for young nationalists and revolutionaries.

Huge honours had been given to leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi and others for their contribution to India’s freedom struggle.

But in order to do so we had to forget the sacrifices of men like Rash Behari Bose and others who crippled the foundation of the British Raj and inspired millions to work for the betterment of Mother India.