Quick Answer: What Was Phase II of the Revolutionary Movement?

Revolutionary Movement Phase II: Bhagat Singh and Chittagong Armoury Raid for UPSC

Quick Answer: Phase II of the revolutionary movement (roughly 1922–1934) was the resurgence of armed nationalism after Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922. Led by the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and its successor, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), and by Bengal revolutionaries like Surya Sen, it was marked by the Kakori Conspiracy (1925), the Saunders killing (1928), the Central Assembly bombing (1929) and the Chittagong Armoury Raid (1930).

Background: Why Revolutionary Nationalism Revived in the 1920s

The sudden withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement in February 1922, after the Chauri Chaura incident, left thousands of young political workers disillusioned. Many had left schools and colleges believing swaraj was near; its abrupt suspension produced a vacuum that the Congress could not immediately fill. Repressive legislation deepened the anger — the Rowlatt Act (1919) had already shown that constitutional protest could be met with detention without trial, and laws such as the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment (1924) extended sweeping powers of arrest.

Unlike the first phase (1905–17), which was concentrated in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab and drew on religio-nationalist inspiration, the second phase drew in a new generation — often students, and notably including women — across northern India and Bengal. Crucially, it also developed a clearer ideological vocabulary: socialism, anti-imperialism and the goal of mobilising the masses.

Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and Kakori Conspiracy, 1925

The HRA was founded in October 1924 (some sources say August–September 1924; the founding meeting at Kanpur is dated to October 1924 by most standard accounts) by Ram Prasad Bismil, Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Sachin Sanyal and others, with later associates including Ashfaqullah Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Rajendra Lahiri and Rohit Kakori-era members such as Thakur Roshan Singh. Its manifesto, the Kakori-era pamphlet “The Revolutionary”, outlined a federal republic of the United States of India based on universal adult franchise and the abolition of landlordism.

On 9 August 1925, HRA members stopped the Number 8 Down Train at Kakori, near Lucknow, and seized government treasure being carried in the guard’s carriage. The action was intended both to fund the movement and to make a dramatic statement. The government response was severe: dozens were arrested in the Kakori Conspiracy Case. On 19 December 1927, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Thakur Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged — four executions that electrified nationalist opinion. Azad escaped and reorganised the party.

From HRA to HSRA: Formation in 1928

On 8–9 September 1928, surviving HRA members met at Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi and reorganised the party as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and others led the change. The decisive ideological shift was the addition of the word ‘Socialist’ to the organisation’s name — signalling that independence was now linked to the abolition of exploitation, not merely the transfer of power. Bhagwati Charan Vohra wrote The Philosophy of the Bomb (1930) as the HSRA’s ideological defence of revolutionary violence.

Simon Commission Protests and Killing of Saunders, 1928

The all-white Simon Commission (announced 1927, arrived 1928) provoked a nationwide boycott under the slogan “Simon Go Back”. In Lahore, on 30 October 1928, police under Superintendent James Scott lathi-charged a protest led by Lala Lajpat Rai, who sustained fatal injuries and died on 17 November 1928. Bhagat Singh, who was present at the protest, vowed revenge. On 17 December 1928, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Azad shot John P. Saunders, a deputy superintendent of police — mistakenly, as the intended target was Scott — in Lahore. The HSRA escaped; Bhagat Singh went underground, also shaving his beard to evade detection.

Central Assembly Bombing, 1929, and the Idea of Propaganda by Deed

On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw two harmless bombs from the visitor’s gallery of the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi — deliberately timed to coincide with the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill, laws hostile to workers and radicals. No one was seriously hurt; the low-intensity bombs and leaflets (“It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear”) made clear the act was symbolic. Both courted arrest, because the trial itself was the platform: the courtroom became a site of anti-imperialist propaganda — what revolutionaries called propaganda by deed, but now directed at awakening the masses rather than at killing officials.

Lahore Conspiracy Case, Hunger Strike and Executions

Tried in the Lahore Conspiracy Case for the Saunders killing and Assembly bombing, Bhagat Singh and comrades turned the trial into a political theatre. In June 1929 they began a hunger strike demanding the status of political prisoners. Revolutionary Jatin Das died on the 63rd day of the fast (13 September 1929), triggering enormous public sympathy. On 23 March 1931, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged in Lahore Central Jail — secretly, ahead of schedule — and cremated on the banks of the Sutlej at Hussainiwala. Azad had already died fighting police at Alfred Park, Allahabad, on 27 February 1931.

Chittagong Armoury Raid, 1930

Parallel to the HSRA in the north, Bengal’s revolutionary activity revived under Surya Sen (‘Master Da’) of the Indian Republican Army (Chittagong Branch). On 18 April 1930, Easter Sunday, his band — including Ganesh Ghosh, Lokenath Bal, Ananta Singh, Ambika Chakrabarti, the teenaged Pritilata Waddedar and Kalpana Dutt — raided the police and auxiliary forces’ armouries in Chittagong, seized arms, cut telephone and telegraph lines, and disrupted rail links.

The raiders then declared a Provisional Revolutionary Government for Chittagong — an attempt to inspire a general uprising. On 22 April 1930, government forces attacked the revolutionaries at Jalalabad Hill; over a dozen fighters were killed. Survivors dispersed into a guerrilla campaign lasting years, including the famous Pahartali European Club attack (September 1932) led by Pritilata Waddedar, who consumed poison to avoid capture.

Aftermath: Repression and Later Actions

British repression was intense: ordinances, mass arrests, and torture. Surya Sen was betrayed and captured in February 1933, tried, and hanged on 12 January 1934, his body reportedly left unclaimed by authorities. Ganesh Ghosh and Kalpana Dutt were arrested and transported for life. The era closed with other actions — the sentencing of Batukeshwar Dutt (transported for life, 1929) and the deaths or execution of most HSRA leaders. Yet the repression backfired politically: martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and Surya Sen drew unprecedented mass sympathy, forcing even the Congress to take note and shaping the radicalisation of the 1930s youth movement.

Ideology of Phase II Revolutionaries: Socialism and Mass Appeal

Key differences between Phase I and Phase II:

• Leadership and social base: Phase I drew mainly on upper-caste, middle-class Bengali, Maharashtrian and Punjabi youth; Phase II included a wider network, prominent Muslim revolutionaries (Ashfaqullah Khan), and active women revolutionaries (Pritilata Waddedar, Kalpana Dutt, Durga Bhabhi).
• Ideology: Phase I was inspired by religio-nationalism and Swadeshi ideals; Phase II was explicitly socialist and anti-imperialist — the HSRA name change (1928) and Bhagat Singh’s writings (including “Why I am an Atheist” and “To Young Political Workers”) reflect this.
• Method: Phase I targeted individual officials (Alipore era, Rash Behari Bose’s attempts); Phase II used action consciously as propaganda to mobilise the masses, courting arrest to use trials as platforms.
• Objective: from mere independence to a socialist republic of workers and peasants, with abolition of feudal exploitation.

For primary sources, refer to the Press Information Bureau archives on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and the National Archives of India for HSRA documents and trial records.

Timeline Chart: Key Events 1922–1934

PYQs and Expected UPSC Questions

Prelims patterns: Questions typically test dates and pairings — e.g., matching Kakori (1925) with HRA, the Assembly bombing with 8 April 1929, Chittagong with Surya Sen, and the hunger strike with Jatin Das. Expect statements such as: “The word ‘Socialist’ was added to the HRA’s name in 1928” (correct) or “Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs intending to kill Assembly members” (incorrect — the bombs were deliberately harmless).

Mains GS-I framing: “The revolutionary movement of the 1920s–30s was ideologically more evolved than its predecessor. Discuss” — answer using the socialist turn, mass-orientation, use of trials as platforms, and participation of women and minorities.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was HSRA formed and who were its key leaders?

The HSRA was formed on 8–9 September 1928 at Ferozeshah Kotla ground, Delhi, when the HRA was reorganised and the word ‘Socialist’ added. Key leaders included Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Rajguru.

What was the date of Bhagat Singh’s execution?

Bhagat Singh was executed on 23 March 1931, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev, in Lahore Central Jail — a day ahead of the scheduled date, carried out secretly.

What was the aim of the Chittagong Armoury Raid?

Led by Surya Sen on 18 April 1930, the raid aimed to seize arms from the police armouries, cut communications, take hostages, and proclaim a Provisional Revolutionary Government in Chittagong to inspire a wider uprising.

What was the Kakori Conspiracy?

On 9 August 1925, HRA revolutionaries stopped a train at Kakori near Lucknow to seize government money. Four of them — Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri — were hanged in December 1927.

How did the Saunders killing relate to the Simon Commission?

During the Lahore boycott of the Simon Commission on 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai was lathi-charged and died on 17 November. To avenge his death, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Azad shot DSP John Saunders on 17 December 1928.

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