Revolutionary Activity in Punjab, United Provinces and Bihar
Modern History › Swarajists, New Forces and Revolutionaries in the 1920s · Topic 18.5
After the withdrawal of non-cooperation, young nationalists turned again to revolutionary activity. In Punjab, the United Provinces and Bihar it was dominated by the Hindustan Republican Association, founded at Kanpur in October 1924, which carried out the Kakori robbery of August 1925 and, as the HSRA from September 1928, the Saunders murder and the Assembly bomb of April 1929.
7 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Swarajists, New Forces and Revolutionaries in the 1920s
At a Glance
- Organisation HRA, founded October 1924 at Kanpur; HSRA from September 1928
- Key actions Kakori 1925; Saunders 1928; Assembly bomb 1929
- Leaders Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Sachin Sanyal; later Azad, Bhagat Singh
- End Azad killed February 1931; Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru hanged 23 March 1931
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Swarajists, New Forces and Revolutionaries in the 1920s
Where Does It Fit?
This is the fifth topic of the category on the Swarajists, new forces and revolutionaries in the 1920s. The previous topic covered peasant agitations and caste movements. This topic covers the revolutionaries of northern India. The next topic covers the revolutionaries of Bengal. Previous topic: Peasant Agitations and Caste Movements in the 1920s.
Why Did Revolutionary Activity Revive After Non-Cooperation?
The revolutionaries had faced severe repression during the First World War. In early 1920 many were released under a general amnesty meant to create a harmonious environment for the Montford Reforms. Soon Gandhi launched the Khilafat Committee Congress approval Special session at Calcutta, September 1920 Nagpur session…">Non-Cooperation Movement, and under the persuasion of Gandhi and C.R. Das many revolutionary groups either joined the programme or suspended their activities to give non-violence a chance.
The sudden withdrawal of the movement left many disillusioned. They questioned the nationalist leadership’s emphasis on non-violence and looked for alternatives. Not attracted by the parliamentary work of the Swarajists or the patient constructive work of the No-Changers, they were drawn to the idea that only violence would free India, and revolutionary activity was revived. Nearly all the major leaders had been enthusiastic participants in non-cooperation, including Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Surya Sen, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Chandrasekhar Azad, Shiv Verma, Bhagwaticharan Vohra, Jaidev Kapur and Jatin Das. The earlier revolutionary phase is in Decline of the First Phase of Revolutionary Activity.
What Influenced the New Revolutionaries?
- The upsurge of working-class trade unionism after the war, whose revolutionary potential they wanted to harness for a nationalist revolution.
- The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the success of the young Soviet state in consolidating itself.
- Newly emerging communist groups with their emphasis on Marxism, socialism and the proletariat.
- Journals such as Atmasakti, Sarathi and Bijoli, which published memoirs and articles extolling the self-sacrifice of revolutionaries.
- Books such as Bandi Jiwan by Sachin Sanyal and Pather Dabi by Sharatchandra Chatterjee, whose popularity was enhanced by a government ban.
Two strands emerged, one in Punjab, the United Provinces and Bihar, and the other in Bengal, covered in Revolutionary Activity in Bengal. The communist and socialist currents are in Spread of Socialist and Marxist Ideas, Youth Activism and Trade Unionism.
What Was the HRA and the Kakori Robbery?
The Hindustan Republican Association or Army, later renamed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, dominated revolutionary activity in this region. It was founded in October 1924 at Kanpur by Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal, to organise an armed revolution to overthrow the colonial government and set up a Federal Republic of the United States of India, whose basic principle would be adult franchise.
Its most important action was the Kakori robbery of August 1925. Its members held up the 8-Down train at Kakori, an obscure village near Lucknow, and looted the official railway cash. A government crackdown followed. Of those arrested, 17 were jailed, four were transported for life and four, Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri, were hanged. Kakori proved to be a setback.
How Was the HSRA Formed?
Determined to overcome the setback, younger revolutionaries inspired by socialist ideas reorganised the association at a meeting in the ruins of Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi in September 1928. Under Chandra Shekhar Azad, the name was changed to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Participants included Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Bhagwaticharan Vohra from Punjab and Bejoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Verma and Jaidev Kapur from the United Provinces. The HSRA decided to work under collective leadership and adopted socialism as its official goal.
What Were the Saunders Murder and the Assembly Bomb?
Just when the HSRA had begun to move away from individual heroic action, Lala Lajpat Rai died in October 1928 from lathi blows received during a lathi-charge on an anti-Simon Commission procession. This led them back to individual assassination. Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru shot dead Saunders, the police official responsible for the lathi-charge, at Lahore in December 1928. Their statement said the murder of a leader respected by millions at the hands of an ordinary police officer was an insult to the nation, and that they regretted killing a person who was part and parcel of an inhuman and unjust order.
The HSRA then decided to let people know of its changed objectives and the need for a mass revolution. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929, in protest against the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill, which aimed to curtail the civil liberties of citizens and workers. The bombs were deliberately made harmless, aimed at making the deaf hear. The aim was to be arrested and use the court as a forum for propaganda.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 1924 | HRA founded at Kanpur |
| August 1925 | Kakori robbery |
| September 1928 | HSRA formed at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi |
| December 1928 | Saunders shot at Lahore |
| 8 April 1929 | Bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly |
| December 1929 | Attempt to blow up Viceroy Irwin’s train near Delhi |
| February 1931 | Azad died in a police encounter in Allahabad |
| 23 March 1931 | Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru hanged |
What Followed the Trial?
Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were tried in the Lahore conspiracy case, and others in a series of other cases. In jail the revolutionaries fasted to protest the conditions and to demand honourable treatment as political prisoners. Jatin Das became the first martyr, on the 64th day of his fast. Congress leaders organised the defence, and Bhagat Singh became a household name. There were 26 violent incidents in Punjab alone in 1930. The government response and the revolutionaries’ changing ideas are in Official Reaction and Ideological Rethinking of the Revolutionaries.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Organisation and dates HRA, HSRA, Kakori and the Assembly bomb are stock Prelims facts
- Shift to socialism A recurring Mains theme about the revolutionaries
- Link to the Simon Commission Lajpat Rai’s death led to the Saunders murder
What Came Next?
The next topic describes revolutionary activity in Bengal during the 1920s and 1930s. Next topic: Revolutionary Activity in Bengal.
Key People and Terms
- Hindustan Republican Association Founded at Kanpur in October 1924
- HSRA The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, formed in September 1928
- Kakori robbery The August 1925 train robbery near Lucknow
- Chandra Shekhar Azad Leader of the HSRA
- Batukeshwar Dutt Threw the Assembly bomb with Bhagat Singh
- Jatin Das First martyr of the jail fast, on the 64th day
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- HRA: October 1924, Kanpur; HSRA: September 1928, Ferozshah Kotla.
- Kakori: August 1925, 8-Down train; four hanged.
- Saunders shot December 1928; Assembly bomb 8 April 1929.
- Jatin Das died on the 64th day of his fast.
- Azad died February 1931; hangings on 23 March 1931.
Do Not Confuse With
- HRA and HSRA HRA in 1924; renamed HSRA in 1928 with socialism as goal
- Kakori and the Assembly bomb Robbery of 1925 versus the harmless bomb of 1929
- Saunders and Lajpat Rai Saunders was killed for the lathi-charge in which Lajpat Rai was fatally injured
Memory Hook
Kakori was the setback, Kotla was the rebirth, and the Assembly bomb was the message.
Mains Angle
Questions ask about the HRA and HSRA and their changing methods. These points add depth.
- Revival Disillusion after withdrawal
- Actions Kakori, Saunders and the Assembly bomb
- Change Socialism and propaganda through courts
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Trace the revival of revolutionary activity in northern India in the 1920s and the changes in the HSRA’s approach.”
How to Answer
- Causes Withdrawal of non-cooperation and new influences.
- Organisation HRA to HSRA.
- Actions Kakori, Saunders and the Assembly bomb.
- Conclude Turn to socialism and mass politics.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Hindustan Republican Association?
The HRA was founded in October 1924 at Kanpur by Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee and Sachin Sanyal to organise an armed revolution and set up a Federal Republic of the United States of India based on adult franchise. It was later renamed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
What was the Kakori robbery?
In August 1925 HRA members held up the 8-Down train at Kakori near Lucknow and looted official railway cash. In the crackdown that followed, 17 were jailed, four transported for life, and four, including Bismil and Ashfaqullah, were hanged. It proved a setback for the group.
How was the HSRA formed in 1928?
At a meeting in the ruins of Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi in September 1928, younger revolutionaries led by Chandra Shekhar Azad reorganised the HRA as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, adopting collective leadership and socialism as its official goal.
Why was Saunders killed in December 1928?
Lala Lajpat Rai died of lathi blows in October 1928 during an anti-Simon Commission procession. Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru then shot Saunders, the police official responsible for the lathi-charge, at Lahore, saying that Rai's death was an insult to the nation.
Why did Bhagat Singh and Dutt throw a bomb in the Assembly?
On 8 April 1929 they threw harmless bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly to protest the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill and to make the deaf hear. They meant to be arrested and use the trial as a platform to spread their ideas.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 The HRA was founded at Kanpur in October 1924.
Bismil, Chatterjee and Sanyal founded it.
2 The Kakori robbery took place in 1925.
The 8-Down train was held up near Lucknow.
3 The HRA was renamed HSRA at a meeting at Ferozshah Kotla in 1928.
Azad led the reorganisation.
4 Jatin Das was the first martyr of the jail fast, dying on the 64th day.
The revolutionaries demanded political prisoner status.
5 Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in 1929.
They were hanged on 23 March 1931.
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