Basanta Kumar Biswas

Basanta Kumar Biswas (6 February 1895 – 11 May 1915) was an Indian pro-independence activist involved in the Jugantar group who, in December 1912, played a role in the bombing of the Viceroy's parade in what came to be known as the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy.

Basanta Kumar Biswas
Born(1895-02-06)6 February 1895
Poragachha, Nadia, West Bengal, British India
Died11 May 1915(1915-05-11) (aged 20)
Ambala, Punjab, British India
OrganizationJugantar
MovementIndian Independence movement

Biswas was one of the illustrious names of the early pro-independence activists of Bengal and the entire country. He was expert in bomb making and was initiated into revolutionary movement by Jugantar leaders Amarendranath Chattopadhyaya and Rash Behari Bose.[1][2][3]

Early life

Basanta Kumar Biswas was born on 6 February 1895 at Poragacha in a Bengali Hindu family of Nadia district of West Bengal, to Motilal and Kunjabala Biswas. He belonged to the family of freedom fighter Digamabar Biswas, an active leader of the Indigo revolt (Nil Bidroha) and freedom fighter Manmathanath Biswas was his cousin. He started his schooling in M. I. School in nearby village Madhavpur with his cousin Manmathnath Biswas. In 1906, Basanta was moved to Muragacha school, where he studied upto Entrance examination. Under the guidance of Khirodh Chandra Ganguly, Head teacher of Muragacha school, Basanta started his journey of freedom fight. When he was a student of this School he took active part in the Swadeshi agitation at Poragachcha and its neighbourhood.[4] [5] In 1907 he left his studies and took up a job in 1910 at a swadeshi cloth store at Uttarpara, but left it for touring the different places of India. He went to Puri, and eventually went to Benaras, where he stayed at Ramkrishna Mission. Next year he met Rash Behari Bose in Dehradun and was recruited by him. Bose trained him in arms and bombs, often called him Bishe.[6][2]

Memorial of Basanta Kumar Biswas near his birthplace in Poragacha, Nadia

Revolutionary activities

Basanta Kumar Biswas was a member of Jugantar group, known for his organisation skills and was an important intermediary between Calcutta office of Jugantar and the 'co-conspirators' in Chandannagar.[2] After meeting Rash Behari Bose in Dehradun, he was politically indoctrinated and learnt practical trainings to carry out his mission. He was brought to Lahore by Bose in October 1912 and stayed there with his Punjabi associates. At Lahore he took the job of a compounder at a popular dispensary.[7]

Biswas participated in the plot to throw a bomb on Lord Hardinge, the Viceroy of India. It was carried out by him on 23 December 1912, when Lord Hardinge was passing through Chandni Chowk, Delhi, in a state procession marking the inauguration of Delhi as the capital of India. Dressed in women's clothing , Basanta went to a rooftop overlooking viceroy's route reserved for ladies. He indrotuced himself to other spectators as Lakshmibai - an allusion to famous Rani of Jhansi. As the procession was passing by the rooftop, where Biswas was waiting, a bomb sailed down and exploded behind the viceroy. Hardinge was seriously injured , and the servant behind him holding his parasol was killed.[8] As soon as his job was done Basanta dashed down to street and threw off his saree and disappeared into the crowd. He returned to Punjab where he carried on his revolutionary activities. The authors of the deed remained obscure for many months despite the state's intense investigation, and lucrative reward.[9][10][11][12]

Biswas was arrested on 26 February 1914 at Poragachha, Nadia while he went to perform the last rites for his father. He was also accused of throwing a bomb in the Lawrence Garden, Lahore, on 17 May 1913, in whic a peon, was killed. The trial, which came to be called the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case, began on 23 May 1914 in Delhi; Amir Chand, Abadh Behari, and Bhai Balmukund, were condemned to death in the trial, and Basanta Biswas was found guilty but initially sentenced to life imprisonment as he was just seventeen years of old.[9][10][13]

Assassination attempt on viceroy Hardinge by Biswas

An appeal was formulated at Lahore High Court. The Crown won its appeal and Biswas was sentenced to be hanged.[14]

Basanta Kumar Biswas was hanged on 11 May 1915 at Ambala Central Jail in Punjab aged twenty and became one of the youngest people to be executed during the Indian revolutionary struggles during the 20th century.[1][15]

Legacy
Statue of Basanta Biswas in a school in Nadia

There is a statue of Basanta Biswas established by Rasbihari Basu in a park of Tokyo, Japan. Another statue is situated in front of Rabindra Bhawan, Krishnanagar, Nadia.[16] A school in civil lines, Delhi was named "Shaheed Basant Kumar Biswas Sarvodaya Vidhyalaya" in his memory. Although it was later renamed to Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya. Loka Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has installed a photo of Basanta Kumar at the Museum of the Indian Parliament. Ujjal Biswas, an Indian politician and the present Minister in the Government of West Bengal belongs to the family of Basanta Biswas.[17] The minister has been organising a three-day fair titled Basanta Mela at his village home in the month of February for the past 30 years.[18]

See also

References
  1. Smith, R. v (15 May 2017). "The "mutiny swansong"". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  2. Samaddar, Ranabir (1 August 2007). The Materiality of Politics: Volume 1: The Technologies of Rule. Anthem Press. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-84331-765-4.
  3. আনন্দ, ওয়েব ডেস্ক, এবিপি (4 August 2021). "২০ বছরেই উঠেছিলেন ফাঁসির মঞ্চে, অকুতোভয় বসন্ত কুমার বিশ্বাসের স্মৃতি ছড়িয়ে সুদূর টোকিওতেও". bengali.abplive.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 15 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. DICTIONARY OF MARTYRS INDIA’S FREEDOM STRUGGLE (1857-1947) vol 4. Indian Council for Historical Research. 2016. p. 48.
  5. Sampad Narayan Dhar. Sahid Basanta Kumar Biswas & Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy Case (in Bengali). Kalinagar Co-Operative Colony & Credit Society Ltd.
  6. "Calcutta Notebook" (PDF). Frontier Weekly. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. Heehs, Peter (1993). The Bomb in Bengal: The Rise of Revolutionary Terrorism in India, 1900-1910. Oxford University Press. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-0-19-563350-4.
  8. "Website Disabled". Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2006.
  9. "ExecutedToday.com".
  10. "The forgotten martyrs of freedom struggle". Deccan Herald. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  11. Sengupta, Nitish K. (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
  12. "Biswas, Basanta Kumar - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  13. Anand, Anita (4 April 2019). The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 978-1-4711-7423-0.
  14. "Tributes to martyrs of Hardinge Bomb Case". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  15. "Delhi remembers Hardinge bomb case martyrs". The Hindu. 9 May 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  16. Narayan, Sanyal; Chakraborty, Sudhir (1973). Basanta Biswas noy, Bishe Das (Bengali). Krishnanagar: Krishnanagar College Magazine, Patrika Parishad.
  17. S Kumar. "Ujjwal Biswas TMC Leader Profile Family Education Career Life & Background Ujjwal Biswas - Kolkata Bengal Information". kolkatabengalinfo.com.
  18. NANDI, SOUMITRA (20 October 2017). "Story of Basanta Biswas, penned by Ujjal Biswas, to be portrayed on celluloid". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
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