Chittagong armoury raid

All you want to know about Chittagong armoury raid

The Chittagong armoury raid was an attempt on April 18, 1930 to raid the armoury of police and auxiliary forces from the Chittagong (in present-day Bangladesh) armoury in Bengal province of British India, by revolutionary freedom fighters led by Surya Sen.

Contents

The raiders

The raiders were members of revolutionary groups believing in armed uprisings for Indian independence. The leader was Masterda Surya Sen. Apart from Surya Sen, the group included Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Baul, Nirmal Sen, Ambika Chakrobarty, Naresh Roy, Sasanka Datta, Ardhendu Dastidar, Harigopal Baul, Tarakeswar Dastidar, Ananta Singh, Jiban Ghoshal, Anand Gupta, Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Dutta. Also among them was 14-year-old Subodh Roy (d. August 27, 2006). He too was jailed in the Andaman Islands but released in 1940.

The plan

Surya Sen devised the strategy of capturing the two main armouries in Chittagong and then destroying the telegraph and telephone office, followed by assassination of members of the "European Club", the majority of whom were government or military officials involved in maintaining British Raj in India. Firearms retailers were also to be raided and rail and communication lines disrupted.

The raid

The plan was put into action at 10 o'clock on April 18, 1930. As per plan, the armoury of the police was captured by a group of revolutionaries led by Ganesh Ghosh and another group of ten, led by Lokenath Baul took over the Auxiliary Force armoury. Unfortunately they could not locate the ammunition. The revolutionaries also succeeded in dislocating telephone and telegraph communications and disrupting the movement of the trains. Total sixtyfive revolutionaries took part in the raid, which was undertaken in the name of the Indian Republican Army, Chittagong branch. After the successful raids, all the revolutionary groups gathered outside the police armoury where Surya Sen took a military salute, hoisted the National Flag and proclaimed a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The revolutionaries left Chittagong town before dawn and marched towards the Chittagong hill ranges, looking for a safe place[1]

Aftermath

After a few days, the police traced some of the revolutionaries. The "terrorists" (revoltionaries) were surrounded by several thousand troops while taking shelter in Jalalabad hills on the outskirts of Chittagong on the afternoon of April 22, 1930.

Over eighty British troops and twelve of the revolutionaries were killed in the ensuing gunfight. Surya Sen decided to disperse into neighbouring villages in small grops and the revoultionaries escaped accordiningly and a few of the rebels fled to Calcutta, while some rebels were arrested in Chittagong.

Many of the rebels managed to reorganize the broken group. On 24 September 1932, eight young rebels led by Pritilata Waddedar attacked the European Club. During 1930-32 , 22 officials and 220 non- officials were killed by the revolutionarists in separate incidents.

The armoury raid cases

The first armoury raid case concluded in January 1932 and the judgement was delivered on March 1, 1932. The sentences were deportation for life for 12, three years' imprisonment for 2 and the rest of a total of 32 persons on trial were acquitted.

Capture of Surya Sen

The Chittagong revolutionaries suffered a fatal blow when Masterda Surya Sen was arrested on February 16, 1933, thanks to a tip-off from a traitor in the group.He was tried and was hanged on January 12, 1934.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Chandra, B & others (1998). India's Struggle for Indpendence 1857-1947, New Delhi: Penguin, ISBN 0-14-101781-9, p.251-2
  2. ^ Chandra, B & others (1998). India's Struggle for Indpendence 1857-1947, New Delhi: Penguin, ISBN 0-14-101781-9, p.252
v • d • e
Indian independence movement
History Gandhi during the Salt March, 1930

Gandhi during the Salt March, 1930

Congress flag of India (1931)

Flag of Azad Hind
Philosophies
and ideologies
Events and
movements
Organisations
Social reformers
Indian leaders
and activists
British Raj
Independence
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittagong_armoury_raid"

No comments have been added.



Your name:

City:

Country:

Your comments:

Security check *
(Please enter the number into adjoining box)

 

  • Ads

           
eXTReMe Tracker