Introduction
Alongside the constitutional (Moderate) and mass-agitational (Extremist, later Gandhian) strands of the
freedom struggle, a parallel revolutionary strand believed that armed resistance and
individual acts of heroism/martyrdom were necessary to overthrow colonial rule — active both within India
and among the diaspora abroad.
Revolutionary Activity within India
| Organisation | Region | Key Figures / Events |
|---|
| Anushilan Samiti | Bengal (Calcutta, Dhaka branches) | Secret society promoting physical and revolutionary training; linked to the Alipore Bomb Case (1908) involving Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki |
| Jugantar | Bengal | Offshoot of Anushilan Samiti; ran a revolutionary newspaper of the same name |
| Abhinav Bharat | Maharashtra | Founded by V.D. Savarkar and G.D. Savarkar |
| Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), later HSRA | North India (UP, Punjab) | Founded 1924 by Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad and others; carried out the Kakori Train Robbery (1925); reorganised as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928 under Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh |
Bhagat Singh and the HSRA
- Along with B.K. Dutt, threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly (1929) — not to kill, but to make "the deaf hear," protesting repressive bills; both surrendered voluntarily.
- Along with Rajguru and Sukhdev, executed in 1931 for the killing of British police officer J.P. Saunders (in retaliation for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai after a lathi-charge).
- Bhagat Singh's prison writings articulated a distinctly socialist vision for independent India, distinguishing HSRA's ideology from earlier, more purely nationalist revolutionary groups.
Revolutionary Activity Abroad
Flowchart — Key Overseas Revolutionary Centres
London — India House (Shyamji Krishna Varma, V.D. Savarkar)
USA/Canada — Ghadar Party (1913, Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna)
Germany — Berlin Committee (linked to the WWI-era "Indo-German Conspiracy")
- Ghadar Party (1913, San Francisco): Formed mainly by Punjabi immigrants; aimed to organise an armed revolt against British rule in India, especially planned around WWI; the plan (the "Ghadar Mutiny") was largely foiled due to intelligence leaks.
- Madam Bhikaji Cama: Unfurled an early version of the Indian flag at the International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart (1907).
📌 Common Thread: Despite regional and organisational differences, most revolutionary groups shared a belief in individual sacrifice/martyrdom as propaganda by deed, contrasting with both Moderate petitioning and (initially) Gandhian non-violence.
✅ UPSC Focus: Anushilan Samiti/Jugantar vs HRA/HSRA (region and era) · Bhagat Singh's key actions and socialist ideology · Ghadar Party founding and purpose · Overseas centres (London, USA, Germany) and key personalities.